Caitlin Clark is now keeping busy preparing herself for her long-awaited return to the basketball court as the USA gears up to prepare for its upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifying games. The team is currently undergoing training in Miami, and CC recently sat with the media to talk about how TNT’s decision to associate itself with women’s basketball would now change how youngsters perceive the sport.

“I already had a lot of people ask me before this news came out, how can I watch? I want to be able to watch this, so now you have a way of it’s probably getting streamed on YouTube, I am assuming, somewhere you can probably find it. But as a kid, sometimes you would struggle to get your hands on whether it was on TV or whether you were trying to stream it on YouTube or whatever site it was.”

“I remember growing up, like it was probably harder, especially even for the World Cup cause obviously the Olympics are pretty accessible, but I think making this more accessible to the fans and to the younger generation, whether to young girls and young boys that want to watch basketball or enjoy basketball,” said Clark on how women’s basketball will now have a reputed platform to broadcast their games as opposed to unspecified or unconventional broadcast options which left people in the dark.

Caitlin’s comment takes us to the times when women’s basketball lacked a consistent broadcast home. There was a lack of visibility that confused fans, especially younger fans, about where they could watch their favorite players play. Their respite came in the form of patchy streams and on the hope that someone would be livestreaming the games on YouTube.

So things were very difficult, not like today, where you can watch everything at the click of a button. Just go back before 2016, and you will see how fragmented the coverage was, which restricted access across the country until 2016.

Then came the DAZN era, which extended the long-term production and rights sales, and now it’s TNT that will stream the games on its platform as the USA women’s basketball team goes through its qualifying games in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This would be the first time that TNT has acquired the broadcasting rights of the USA women’s basketball games, and they are hoping fans will tune in in numbers to see their favorites, which also includes Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers.

Moreover, people are also waiting to see Caitlin come back in full force after 8 months of inactivity on the court, dealing with injuries.

Caitlin Clark Says How Last Year’s Injuries Played On Her Mind

Returning to court after a long gap is never easy, and Caitlin Clark is about to do just that as she looks to represent Team USA in the qualifying games. The last time she was seen on court was July 15th, which makes it a long period of about 8 months.

From groin injuries to a bone bruise, then a quad strain, CC wasn’t breathing easy, dealing with one setback after the other, and Clark pointed that out as she addressed the media.

“It’s not like I hurt my knee or tore my Achilles, or something like that, knock on wood. It was these kinds of nagging injuries that would build up and build up, and be dealt with one on top of the other. I think that … played with my mind even more than knowing I would be out for a set period of time. I was always trying to come back and always trying to come back, and then I’d get hurt in another way,” recounted Clark.

That said injury was a critical blow that would force her to miss out on 28 games. But she didn’t lose hope and persevered, focusing on getting back to full health. Clark’s cautious approach to her rehab shows a maturity beyond her years, as she understands that rushing back from nagging injuries, while tempting, could jeopardize her long-term availability for marquee events like the upcoming World Cup.

The rehab seems to have paid off, and Caitlin is having no complaints about how she is moving on the court, and that is definitely a reassuring sign for Team USA.

“Honestly, I was impressed with how with it I felt. Sometimes, I thought maybe it would take me a day or two to really get my first step back. But I felt like myself out there … just remind myself of who I am, what I’ve been, and I didn’t lose that,” said Clark

Although the qualifications will be meaningless for Team USA as they have already earned their FIBA World Cup qualification, it will be a good way to gauge how the team’s chemistry looks before the upcoming World Cup, and so nothing can be taken lightly.