$58 million worth Damian Lillard heaps praise on Caitlin Clark for impressive shooting range ahead of Selection Sunday: "She's being defended hard"

All eyes will be on Caitlin Clark during March Madness as she leads the Iowa Hawkeyes during the NCAA tournament in a few days after an eventful last few weeks of the season.

With Dan Patrick on the NBC Network, $58 million-worth Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard (as per Yahoo Finance) was the latest celebrity who was full of praise for Clark.

“I would put it up pretty high. Seeing as she shoots a lot of those shots off the bounce," Lillard said. "She’s being defended hard. It’s one thing shooting deep but I think shooting it off the bounce in traffic, in big moments, consistently. I would rank it pretty high.”

Caitlin Clark effect continues to grow, ESPN to assign beat reporter

The Caitlin Clark effect has never been more evident. For the first time, ESPN will assign a beat reporter specifically to cover her first two games of March Madness.

ESPN reporter Holly Rowe will be with the Hawkeyes, detailing every minute of the record-breaking Clark's March Madness experience. Rowe spoke about the experience of being assigned to the Clark detail.

“We have had a presence on the ground covering the special moments with Caitlin this year, and I have been at every one of her games where she set a record,” Rowe said.

“I see it as an extension of the dedicated coverage we have had with Caitlin all year. I think there is an intrigue and appetite for all things Caitlin.

“I asked to get taken off men’s basketball this year because I felt this moment that was about to happen,” Rowe said. “… This is the big-time, and this is where I need to be.”

ESPN Vice President of Production, Sara Gaiero, explained why they were taking the unusual step of dedicating a beat reporter to a specific student-athlete after Clark broke the points-scoring record.

“(Holly) has been on the Caitlin Clark beat, if you will, tracking and following her and being present with her when she broke records earlier in the year,” Sara Gaiero said.

“That level of coverage is needed and necessary and warranted this year. It’s not something we’ve done for the previous first and second rounds for a specific player.”

Syracuse assistant professor of Sports Management, Dr. Lindsey Darvin spoke about the Caitlin Clark effect to Yahoo Sports.

“The Clark Effect, it is obviously very real,” Dr. Lindsey Darvin said. “But she’s climbing kind of on the backs of all of these other amazing women that have come before her. Her prominence right now is due in large part to all of those women that came first.”

Holly Rowe will also serve as a sideline reporter for the Iowa Hawkeyes during the tournament's first two games, the only team to receive such consideration throughout March Madness.