Is Women's College Basketball Whiter?
04/01/2023
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Earlier: Diversity Is Strength!—It’s Also, Paradoxically, All-White US Women’s Soccer

I don’t follow men’s basketball much these days, much less women’s basketball, but there was an interesting women’s NCAA semifinal game on Friday, with Iowa upsetting the undefeated defending champion South Carolina. Iowa was led by their star Caitlin Clark, who poured in over 40 points for the second straight game. Like a distaff Stephen Curry, she sometime shoots from 30 feet out.

The Iowa women’s team is very white, with 12 out of the 15 players being white, including Clark.

Is women’s basketball whiter than men’s basketball?

I think so, although I can’t find much on the subject.

Of course, college men’s basketball is whiter than the NBA for basic bell curve reasons, plus the fact that many black college stars leave for the NBA after one year, while the better white players tend to stick around. Hence, Wisconsin went to the men’s NCAA Final Four in 2014 and 2015 with four white starters. Wisconsin and Iowa tend to have the best white college football players. For example, last season, Iowa had two unicorns: starting white cornerbacks senior Riley Moss and junior Cooper DeJean.

Similarly, Gonzaga specialized in recruiting high school players who would stick around for four years (i.e., white players).

But I suspect women’s basketball is whiter because, like in most women’s sports, its best players tend to be pushed by their dads. Conversely, it would be interesting to know which type of male stars tend to be pushed more by their moms: probably dancers, but perhaps also singers and actors.

[Comment at Unz.com]

 

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