Former Iowa standout Kate Martin is making quite an impression in Las Vegas. Aces star Kelsey Plum had nothing but praise for the former Hawkeye, saying she’s an “amazing sponge,” and that “she makes people better” on the court.

It certainly sounds like Kate Martin has a bright future in the WNBA. That’s according to Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum, who praised the former Iowa standout in a recent Zoom interview with reporters.

Martin, a second-round selection by the Aces in the 2024 WNBA Draft, has been playing for a roster spot ever since hearing her name called in mid-April. It sounds like she’s made quite the impression on Plum, a two-time WNBA All-Star and two-time champion in the league.

The former Hawkeye is also making an impression on coach Becky Hammon.

“Kate Martin is awesome. Kate Martin picks up things so quickly, she’s an amazing sponge,” Plum said. “I think Becky nicknamed her Kate ‘Money’ Martin. I think that’s gonna stick.

“And when I say ‘money,’ it’s not just about scoring and stuff, she’s just in the right place at the right time. She just makes people better. And that’s what Becky values, that’s what our coaching staff values and that’s why she’s gonna be a great asset to our team.”

Martin played at Iowa from 2019-24, helping lead the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten Tournament titles and a pair of NCAA national championship game appearances. She had the best season of her career in 2023-24, averaging 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Martin survived another round of team cuts, putting her closer to earning a roster spot with the Aces for the regular season. Las Vegas doesn’t have a preseason game until Saturday, May 11, playing the Peurto Rico National Team.

As for Martin, her goal is simple: Put everything she has on the court every single rep.

“I’m not trying to prove anything, I’m trying to be myself,” she said, “give my best effort every single rep.”

Jason Whitlock: “Caitlin Clark is making a mistake going to the WNBA. I don’t think it’s the right move and I do think she’ll get swallowed up and perhaps changed by her experience in that league. She has not made a big public display of her beliefs and of her faith -- and I’m making an assumption -- but she does appear to be heterosexual and has a boyfriend who works for the Indiana Pacers. That environment in the WNBA is so hostile to heterosexual White people and people of faith that either she’s going to get bullied and abused at such a level that it’s just not worth it, or she’s going to end up bowing to the woke mob in the WNBA. So I would just avoid it, it’s not worth it.

Walking into the WNBA will kill her. I'll say that Tiger Woods probably still in this moment quite pleased with the life that he chose. Eventually there is going to come a day where he's going to realize 'OH, NO, I MADE A HORRIBLE MISTAKE', and the whole golf thing and obsession with golf, blah, blah, blah, 'that's why 2009 Thanksgiving blew up in my face, that's why me and the mother of my kids are not together. Man, I made a lot of money and got a lot of attention, but that attention and that addiction to that attention harmed me and is probably why I have some sort of drug addiction that I can't beat.' When I say 'drug addiction', the sleeping drugs he took. The sex addiction. All those things will kill you.

So my advice to Caitlin Clark – and I’m not expecting her to take it – but my advice is if you go back and play college basketball one more year, exist in that bubble of love inside of Iowa, and make $20 million next year. You’re going to get less attention and have far less relevancy in the WNBA than you would have at Iowa making more money. Then you’ve played five years of basketball, you’ve made a bunch of money... Go raise kids, go duplicate what your parents have pulled off. Go do that with a pocket full of money and the ability to help young female athletes. Mentor them, disciple them, maybe get involved in coaching. That would be more rewarding than subjecting yourself to Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, and the rest of that very hostile group of people awaiting you in the WNBA.

I would be making a different argument if the WNBA had some sort of legitimate traction and relevancy... It doesn’t. She’s not going to elevate that league. That’s my opinion. The first week or two of her WNBA career people will tune in. When they see that group of tatted up, wannabe men, it’s not the same as Iowa.

Brittney Griner is covered in tattoos. As far as I can tell, we didn’t see anybody like that during this women’s college basketball tournament. Cardoso has a sleeve and all this other stuff, but they’re mimicking men in the WNBA. People aren’t going to watch that. They’re taking knees at every turn. People didn’t like LSU being in the locker room for the National Anthem; the WNBA is the leader of coming up with an excuse to take a knee and disrespect the country. What’s she joining? If she was joining some super successful league that was open to her lifestyle, I’d say ‘have at it.’

Women are building brands in college basketball, and the reason they are is because there is this veneer of purity and traditional values. Colleges are located in more rural areas, not in major urban cities. Families still go to college games, it still feels like a family event, a mom-dad-and-kids event. That’s NOT the WNBA.

I think basketball has given her all that it has to give, and she should move on. I don’t know where I come down on this but my question is: did Caitlin Clark ultimately help or hurt the women’s game? And I say ‘hurt’ because it made me pay attention, and made me go ‘Whoa, I don’t like these people at all, thank God this is over. These women are mean, vicious, jealous, and racist – I'm good.’"

Watch Jason Whitlock of Blaze TV's Fearless explain why he thinks Caitlin Clark should play one more year at Iowa then retire from basketball to spurn the ‘racist’ and ‘bigoted’ WNBA that Whitlock believes would be a fatally toxic poison to Clark’s reputation and career.

Clark already has declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday April 15th, but could have returned to Iowa for a fifth season because of the NCAA’s special rule instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic that would allow athletes to compete in the 2021 season without using up a year of eligibility.

Despite Clark concluding one of the most decorated careers in the history of women’s college basketball and finishing as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, Clark has been absorbing potshots from current and former WNBA players and college stars all year who have attempted to dimmish Clark’s accomplishments and undermine her prospects at succeeding at the next level.

Whitlock says Clark should avoid the WNBA altogether to avoid ‘angry’ and ‘hostile’ women like Diana Taurasi, Lexie Brown, and Breanna Stewart who made headlines undercutting Clark, adding that the WNBA as a whole is ‘anti-White’ and ‘anti-heterosexual.’

Check out the segment above as Whitlock says Clark should take his advice and enjoy another lucrative and fulfilling season at Iowa surrounded by love and support in a boisterous women’s college basketball landscape, and ditch a WNBA full of mean, vicious, jealous, and racist women.