No, this wasn’t the fantastic introduction to the professional ranks for Caitlin Clark. Certainly not the pliant basketball bliss that some of her legion were hoping to get a hangover from this weekend.
But rooks can’t jump over things.
Her first two games may feel like a letdown, especially Thursday’s epic home opener with the Indiana Fever. The moment was big enough for history to reach the location. Sports’ latest transcendent figure made waves at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, much like the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers series.
Then the New York Liberty shut down the party and Breanna Stewart shattered any illusions that a rookie could be the WNBA’s best player.
But Clark will be fine. Fine. This is just the first of many difficult parts. A great game is coming. Even more bad ones too. But it is necessary. You can’t climb a mountain if it’s slippery.
Sabrina Ionescu talks about Caitlin Clark’s adjustment to the WNBA and the reception she received during a visit to Oregon when deciding where to go to college
“I just know she’s going to continue to work really hard and persevere. Good things will happen to good people.” pic.twitter.com/thI8tDfs4C
— New York Liberty Videos (@SNYLiberty) May 17, 2024
The only question is whether the fans she brought to women’s basketball will allow her to do so. Clark has spoken about giving himself grace. If it wasn’t a coded message to her masses, it should be received as such. She is unlikely to be deterred by unrealistic expectations placed on her shoulders. But it can make the climb more difficult. That’s what she wants anyway.
All hoopers, real hoopers, share this trait. Those who are groomed on tarmac in the inner city, in sparkling gymnasiums in the suburbs, in specialist academies in Australia, on dirt lots under the rural sky. One of their similarities is this universal truth: they embrace what is difficult. They are motivated by the difficulty. As long as success is possible within the confines of their deluded self-confidence, hoopers are prey to the smoke. Real hoopers. They want to conquer a hill. It’s how they affirm their belief of greatness.
That’s why Clark will be fine. We already know she’s a real hooper. She has long revealed that essence.
She might be chilling somewhere right now. Cashing in on her celebrity and growing her brand before a season-long farewell tour in Iowa. The NCAA’s extra year of eligibility before the pandemic allowed her to return to her comfort zone in college. Yet she chose this. To be chased by a more athletic DiJonai Carrington. To be smothered by a bigger Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. To brave traps, double teams and hard mistakes. To find her bearings under the weight of her enormous fan base and great fame.
To grab her lumps. To risk disappointment.
It may take some time for her to find her feet, especially since she wants to win more than dazzle. But she is not meant to be the same Clark who conquered the nation.
First off, the Fever’s schedule is brutal to start. Their next two games are rematches against New York on Saturday and Connecticut on Monday, two teams that Indiana lost to by a combined 57 points. That will be followed by a three-game roadie in Seattle, Los Angeles and defending champion Las Vegas. That’s a far cry from what Fairleigh Dickinson, Northern Iowa and Purdue-Fort Wayne will have to warm up against early in the season.
Plus, Clark already gets most of the attention from much better defenders.
Her debut was a dance with Carrington, a six-foot-tall hound who is in the league to harass ballhandlers (and who is good enough at it, she doesn’t mess up her perfect makeup in the process). Clark’s home debut was a date with Laney-Hamilton, a vet in every sense of the word. She played for eight teams in six years, including four overseas, before breaking through with the Liberty in 2021. She has at least 15 pounds on Clark and a decade of hard-hitting hoops under her belt dating back to her Rutgers days. Another true hooper who was determined to be felt by Clark.
Both picked her up in the full court or guarded Clark in the half court.
Dijonai Carrington puts the clamps on Caitlin Clark đź”’ pic.twitter.com/pGQ7MlXIqb
— ESPN (@espn) May 15, 2024
Clark is still learning about the violation, which isn’t aimed at her. The Fever play inside out and put Aliyah Boston or whoever the size advantage and try to draw the defense in for the kickout. It’s not the offense I would run with Clark as my point guard. But this is also part of it.
Clark’s career-high 40.1 percent usage rate in college — meaning she used that percentage of Iowa’s plays — won’t happen this season. Seattle’s Jewell Loyd led the league last season with a 31.5 usage percentage. Clark’s usage percentage through two games: 28.7.
Not only are defenses focused on her, and the Fever offense is prioritizing post-ups, and the ball isn’t in her hands nearly as often as it was in college, but Clark also has teammates who can do some things as well. And they have room to work while Clark draws attention. So people like Erica Wheeler, NaLyssa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell are professional scorers looking to take advantage of the space. So the ball doesn’t return to Clark very often.
The other expected outcome was that Clark was attacked in defense. Stewart forcing the switch to get Clark on her back was a window into the life of a rookie. She needs to get better at moving her feet instead of reaching, learn her opponents’ tendencies through film studies to gain some advantages, and – perhaps most importantly – take her strength and conditioning to a new level so that should not defend them. legs and energy in attack.
If her legend continues in the WNBA, it could take months or even seasons for her to become a dominant player at this level. However long it takes is how long she needs and how long she should get. As sensational as she is, it’s unfair to think of Clark as some carnival act who goes from town to town splashing trick shots. That’s below her level. Sure, those deep bombs release bursts of ecstasy into the air when they explode. It’s easy to want repeat hits of such a sensation.
But this is a real hooper on the road to basketball excellence. This is a career that, if things go well, could cement her name among the all-time greats. That’s worth taking a seat and enjoying the whole process. Because if she gets there, it will be because of the struggles along the way.
With her basketball IQ, Clark probably knew this was coming. It’s a real goose. As it should be. A certain segment of her legion, intoxicated by Clark’s captivating playing style, expected the pros to be a continuation of her Hawkeye brilliance, as if the WNBA were some kind of lateral move. As if her meager salary was representative of the league’s players and not its cause.
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But anyone watching the WNBA could have anticipated the early struggles for Clark. WNBA OGs tried to warn, even as some mixed a little hate into their shouting. But they knew.
It’s a safe bet she’s never been trapped off a screen with someone as tough as Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas, or hounded on defense by a scorer like Stewart. Even if Clark is about this life, it takes adjustment.
Sabrina Ionescu, one of the league’s biggest stars, shot 4 of 17 in her debut in 2020. She wasn’t at Clark’s level, but she was a big star in Oregon. Her first game, with the Liberty, was a big deal. She got smoked by Seattle, missing all eight of her 3s with 4 turnovers in a loss.
Ionescu scored 33 points in the next game. But in her third match, a grade 3 ankle sprain ended her season. She still managed to become an All-Star and is one of the best guards in the game. However, true hoopers bounce back. Ionescu did that. Clark will do that.
She’ll take it at a clip of better than 30.4 percent. She misses many open shots and defends many others. She just needs to find her rhythm. And her great passing ability means she can impact the game in more ways than one. She has a good size of 1.80 meters, a high IQ and a love for the profession that keeps her working. She’ll find out. Can you wait long enough for her to do that? Can you appreciate this part as much as the upcoming rise?
It just takes time. It takes the hard lessons of bad games and tough losses. It takes film study. It takes loss that comes with a hatred of losing. This part is necessary.
And the grace to let her go through it.
(Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
