Caitlin Clark just scored a career-high 35 points against the Dallas Wings on Sunday. She broke the WNBA rookie scoring record by passing a former league legend as well.
Just last week, she broke the WNBA single-season record for assists.
Throughout the entire second half of the season, it has seemed like the Indiana Fever guard is breaking records on a nightly basis.
She is the runaway leader for Rookie of the Year. Clark has even inched her way into serious conversation as MVP of the league.
And with that, many basketball fans are recalling comments made by legendary UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma. To say they haven’t aged well would be an understatement.
Auriemma’s Take On Caitlin Clark Was Bad – Real Bad
It’s nearly impossible to convey just how bad Auriemma’s comments were regarding Clark. The Huskies coach seemed to suggest that the Indiana rookie was going to be in for a difficult first season.
In fact, he implied that anybody who thinks she’ll make an immediate impact on the league is “delusional.” Turns out, that attribute is more applicable to Geno.
“If you’re a great college player like Caitlin was, the delusional fan base that follows her disrespected the WNBA players by saying that she’s gonna go in that league and tear it apart,” Auriemma said in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show back in June.
“These people are so disrespectful and so unknowledgeable and so stupid that it gives women’s basketball a bad name,” he continued. “So the kid was set up for failure right from the beginning.”
Yeesh. If that is a failure, then it’ll be pretty amazing when Clark is firing on all cylinders!
Caitlin Clark is lighting up the WNBA. Geno must be fuming right now😂😂😂
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) September 15, 2024
"Her fans thought she's going to go in that league and tear it apart, there were actually odds on her being MVP. These people are so disrespectful and so unknowledgeable"#WNBA #FeverRising pic.twitter.com/YwFasUj7yP
RELATED: Caitlin Clark Sets WNBA Rookie Scoring Record, Passing First Player She Met As A Kid: ‘Always A Fan’
Not Built For The Physicality Of The WNBA?
Offering Auriemma a little respite, he was trying to say that Clark wasn’t going to bust out of the gates as the top player in the league.
And she certainly had some growing pains to start.
That said, he also seemed to hint at the time that Clark deserves some of the hard fouls she gets because she’s a trash talker herself. And because it’ll affect her game negatively.
“I think she’s handling it great,” Auriemma said of the flagrant fouls. “I think she talks a lot of s—, and she gets a lot of s— back. She deserves everything she gets because she gives it as good as she gets it.”
“She’s just not built for the physicality of this league, and she’s not quick enough to get away from the physicality,” he added.
Auriemma said that with a little hard work and effort, Clark might make something of herself.
“When she gets it, she has elite skills that are going to help her,” he stated. “She needs to be on a better team, and she needs experience.”
Clark is currently ranked 6th in the KIA 2024 MVP Ladder, just two slots behind former UConn star Breanna Stewart. The Fever are currently the 6th seed and headed to the WNBA playoffs.
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