Despite the hype that surrounded Caitlin Clark before the WNBA season, she hasn’t made much of an immediate impact. Geno Auriemma blames her “delusional” fandom for making people doubt if she is indeed as good as she was made out to be. The 11-time NCAA champion even went so far as to claim that her supporters had doomed her career from the beginning.
Clark’s unimpressive start to the season was discussed by the eleven-time National Champion coach during his visit on The Dan Patrick Show.
Caitlin Clark’s fans getting blasted by NCAA Champion
The Indiana Fever guard’s supporters were quickly criticized by the UConn Huskies player, who labeled them “stupid” and responsible for “giving women’s basketball a bad name.” He said,
“The delusional fanbase that follows her disrespected the WNBA players by saying she’s going to go in that league and tear it apart… These people are so disrespectful and so unknowledgeable and so stupid that it gives women’s basketball a bad name. So, the kid was set up for failure right from the beginning… They (WNBA players) were tremendously disrespected,”
“The delusional fanbase that follows her disrespected the #WNBA players by saying she’s going to go in that league and tear it a part… The kid was set up for failure right from the beginning.”
-Geno Auriemma talks Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/HkBwKuVS4E
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 6, 2024
Even though Geno is being a little harsh, his evaluation is mostly accurate. Indeed, the former Iowa Hawkeye had a significant impact on the rise in popularity of women’s basketball. It was more than a little stretch, though, to declare her the front-runner to win the MVP before she had ever played in the WNBA.
Clark, a former star of the Houston Rockets, is adjusting to the league at a very good pace for a rookie, as evidenced by his above-average stat line of 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game.
