Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark has been the biggest storyline of the 2024 WNBA season—from her debut previous thirty day period towards the Connecticut Solar to her 30-stage gem against the Los Angeles Sparks to her occasional on-court docket struggles.
Geno Auriemma, who coached numerous present WNBA stars at UConn—from Diana Taurasi to Napheesa Collier to Breanna Stewart—weighed in on the on-courtroom physicality that Clark has dealt with in excess of her to start with 11 video games.
“Is she experiencing the rookie challenge, the rookie hardships that are inherent with remaining a rookie? Indeed,” Auriemma advised reporters in Connecticut on Tuesday. “She’s also staying focused.”
Through the third quarter of the Fever’s 71–70 gain over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, Chennedy Carter slammed into Clark absent from the basketball through an inbounding engage in. Clark reported the foul was “not a basketball enjoy,” and Carter’s coach Teresa Weatherspoon afterwards stated it was “not proper.”
“I never bear in mind when [Michael] Jordan arrived into the [NBA], men searching to go out and defeat him up,” Auriemma mentioned. “I really don’t bear in mind when [Larry] Chook and Magic [Johnson] came in the league and elevated the NBA, them obtaining qualified and getting conquer up just for the reason that of who they ended up and the focus they were being acquiring.
“Enjoy the simple fact that now’s the time [for the WNBA]. I get it. It is prolonged overdue. Why are you blaming that child? It truly is not her fault, due to the fact you would trade places with her in a minute, but you are not there. You might be not her. So, you’re [complaining] that she’s finding what she’s finding.”
Following enjoying 11 video games in much less than three months, Clark and the Fever are resting till Friday night’s matchup towards the Washington Mystics.
