Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever’s no. 1 pick in the draft is experiencing some rough spots with her transition to women’s professional basketball.
Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz/Reuters
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Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball superstar and no. 1 draft pick by the Indiana Fever of the WNBA knew it wouldn’t be easy.
Despite displaying flashes of brilliance, her stats and prowess, so far, shows she’s struggling with her transition to the WNBA.
After 12 games, Clark is averaging 16.8 points, with 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Her three-point bombs, such a big part of her repertoire, have been hit or miss. Her field goal percentage is a pedestrian 32.7.
In her last game against the Washington Mystics, Clark exhibited more of the play many are coming to expect from the West Des Moines, Iowa native. Clark put up 30 points, including seven three-points (tying a rookie record) in an 85-83 win before a sellout crowd (20,333) at the Capital One Arena in Washington. She also had four steals, though her turnovers (8) were again alarmingly high.
Prior to her performance Friday night in Washington, Clark hasn’t connected on more than four field goals all season.
As widely reported, the thin, pony-tailed point guard (fresh from her SNL cameo) entered professional basketball with exceedingly lofty expectations; so, the bar was set pretty high for her before the season even began.
At Iowa, the Indiana Fever’s rookie point-guard ascended to the top of the mountain. With the Hawkeyes, she compiled 3,951 points over four years — the most ever in NCAA men’s or women’s Division I history. She was the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I play along with setting a single season three-point record.
Prior to the regular season, Clark inked a lucrative ($28 million) endorsement deal with Nike, which raised the bar even more for her in being tasked to live up to everyone’s high expectations.
WNBA arenas are selling out for the first time in a long time all because of Caitlin Clark’s popularity. Journalists are beginning to cover the WNBA for the first time, hoping to catch glimpses of “Caitlin Fever” and report on her every move, both on and off the court.
So far, Clark has hit some speed bumps transitioning to the fast pace of the WNBA, including navigating through sophisticated double coverage defensive schemes, blocking screens, and the mammoth physicality of the game compared with college basketball. She additionally has to adjust to the size of her opponents. With Clark at 6 feet, so many in the WNBA tower over her, making it difficult to make the most of her opportunities and pick her shots.
Most of all, many point to the physical play of the WNBA, which Clark is finding her biggest challenge.
Clark absorbed a hard, flagrant foul by Chicago Sky’s by Chennedy Carter recently, which sparked a great deal of controversy.
Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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In particular, Clark has voiced her concern over the questionable officiating (or non-calls) while she gets slapped around like a ping pong ball. “I feel like I’m getting hammered …everybody is physical with me and opponents get away with things that other people don’t get away with” Clark told reporters in a post-game press conference.
The Fever’s beleaguered rookie being targeted as if she were public enemy number 1 hit a boiling point recently in a game against the Chicago Sky’s shooting guard Chennedy Carter who body checked Clark to the ground before the ball was even in play. The referees called it an away-from-the ball foul, later upgrading it to a flagrant foul. Many liken the flagrant foul committed by Carter to a physical assault, since the ball wasn’t even in play.
Others complain Clark is getting preferential treatment by the media because she is white and argue other WNBA players are subjected to the same hard physical play as Clark has been enduring, but no one bats an eye.
Chennedy Carter refused to discuss the aggressive foul on Caitlin Clark during the postgame presser, telling reporters, “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.”
Whether Clark is getting preferential treatment or is indeed being too aggressively hammered, one thing is for certain: many WNBA players aren’t taking kindly for the way she is absorbing so much media attention and ignoring their talents. Many especially don’t like how she has profited so handsomely from lucrative endorsement deals, such as Nike, while leaving others in the dust.
With Clark being left off the U.S. Olympic basketball team heading to Paris, it’s clearly a direct snub or poke in the eye to someone who (in many people’s minds) has been given too much media attention and would likely attract around the clock coverage if she were on the Olympic team. The argument that she wasn’t talented enough falls flat when you compare her stats to other members of the Olympic team.
Undoubtedly, Caitlin Clark is trying to stay professional and composed as she continues to absorb the wrath of jealous and wounded WNBA players who feel they’re being ignored.
Will Caitlin ever become a superstar in the WNBA?
In evaluating Clark’s rookie season so far, I recently heard one ESPN analyst say, “she just doesn’t have it.”
I think Caitlin Clark has a lot of basketball ahead of her before making such a reckless comment as “she just doesn’t have it.”
In all professional sports, there are examples, by the truckload, of athletes who had spectacular college careers, but turned in average or less than average rookie seasons before rising to stardom and even becoming hall of famers.
Dirk Nowitzki, drafted ninth overall in 1998 NBA Draft (by the Milwaukee Bucks) and then traded to the Dallas Mavericks had a rocky start to his career.
In his first professional game in the NBA, Feb. 5, 1999, Nowitzki had only two points, no rebounds and four assists, and was 0 of 5 from the field.
The German born 7-foot guard struggled, mightily, in his first season, shooting 40.5 % from the floor and 20.6% from beyond the arc, while averaging just 8.2 points.
Nowitzki later commented that he tussled mostly with the size and the striking physicality of the NBA during his rookie season.
As is well documented, Dirk Nowitzki had a spectacular NBA career, which included an NBA championship and 14 All-Star appearances with the Dallas Mavericks.
In 2023, he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.
NBA guard James Harden is another multi-talented all-star who got off to a bumpy start in the NBA.
Harden caught the eye of many as a college player at Arizona State, making him the third overall pick (by the OKC Thunder) in the 2009 NBA Draft.
But his initial ride into the NBA met with some turbulence. He averaged 9.9 points in his rookie year, averaging only 22.9 minutes on the floor, 1.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, while shooting just 40.3 percent from the field.
When he landed in Houston in 2012, Harden’s career propelled to great heights. Beginning in his fourth season in the NBA, he averaged more than 20 points for 15 consecutive seasons; and from 2017 through 2019, he averaged more than 30 points per game.
Harden is especially celebrated for scoring 40 points against Phoenix on April 18, 2012, becoming the first reserve NBA player to score 40 points since Dallas guard Rodrigue Beaubois in March 2010.
Harden was a big reason the Thunder advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals, before being defeated by the Miami Heat in five games.
The Los Angeles native was selected as the NBA’s MVP in 2018.
Terry Bradshaw completed just 83 passes in his rookie campaign (1970) for a dismal completion percentage of 38.1 percent.
Photo Credit: Harry Cabluck/AP
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If ever there was a case of a Hall of Famer who turned in a dreadful rookie season, look no further than quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was drafted as the number 1 pick overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970.
Though the Steelers managed to win five games in 1970, a big improvement from their 1-13 season the previous year, their new field general out of Louisiana Tech had a tough time adjusting to the NFL.
Bradshaw completed just 83 passes in his rookie campaign for a dismal completion percentage of 38.1 percent. Worse still, the Steelers rookie quarterback threw just 6 touchdown passes with an atrociously high 24 interceptions.
Bradshaw, in fact, had 46 interceptions and only 19 touchdown passes in his first two years as a professional football player.
Today, Terry Bradshaw is hailed as one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever played the game. He led the Steelers to four Super Bowls over six years (1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979), throwing for 932 yards and nine TD’s.
Bradshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility.
In 1989, Troy Aikman was drafted No. 1 by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Draft.
His first game as a professional football player was a 28-0 drubbing to the New Orleans Saints, a game in which he was intercepted twice, with no touchdowns, two sacks, and a passing rating of 40.2.
Aikman finished the season (interrupted by a broken finger, which sidelined him for five games) with nine touchdowns, 18 pics, while averaging just 5.9 yards per pass.
The Cowboys finished the season with a how low can you go, 1-15 record.
In week three of the season, the Cowboys were crushed by Washington Redskins (30-7), a game coach Jimmy Johnson called “just awful” and replaced his franchise QB with Steve Walsh, both finishing with two interceptions.
Aikman, like many other rookie quarterbacks, discovered how complex the NFL really is compared to college and he struggled with the talent level of opponents and their ability to disguise certain coverages.
When he retired after 12 seasons, Aikman was lionized as one of the most prolific NFL QB’s, leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins, along with being named to the Pro Bowl six times and setting 45 Dallas Cowboys passing records, including the club’s career record for completions (2,898), passing yards (32,942), touchdowns (165) and completion percentage (61.3).
The Oklahoma native was inducted into the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Peyton Manning didn’t have the easiest of rookie seasons either with the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. The Colts went 3-13 in Manning’s maiden voyage into the NFL.
After a mediocre passing performance in week 5 of his rookie season, many were questioning whether the Colts would have been better served if they had drafted Ryan Leaf who was drafted by the San Diego Chargers.
As columnists began placing Manning’s rookie season under closer scrutiny, Baltimore Colts legend Johnny Unitas told Conrad Brunner of the Indianapolis Star, "I think people demand an awful lot of these kids, principally because they're talking about tremendous amounts of dollars.” "If I invested $25 or $30 million” Unitas remarked, “I'd want immediate results, and I think that's the biggest problem."
As is well known, Peyton Manning’s diligent work ethic paid off handsomely and he went on to have a remarkable NFL career, which included two Super Bowl wins with two different teams (Colts and Denver Broncos).
Over 18 seasons, Manning passed for 539 touchdowns, 71,940 passing yards, and went to 14 Pro Bowls. He was additionally the Associated Press’s NFL MVP five times along with being selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
The “Sherriff” was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Baseball, to be sure, has had a few late bloomers as well.
Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson who debuted in 1955 at age 18 struggled in his first few seasons in Major League Baseball.
In his first 60 MLB games from 1955-1957, Robinson hit .178 with a .487 OPS in 161 plate appearances.
He made his first appearance with the Orioles on September 17, 1955, at Memorial Stadium, batting sixth in the lineup against the Washington Senators. He slapped two hits in four at bats. After that game, however, he went into an 0-18 slump at the plate before being replaced in the lineup.
It wasn’t until 1960 when Robinson caught fire, climbing to third in the lineup with a .333 BA and was selected to his first All-Star Game, which would be the first of 18 straight All-Star games for the Little Rock, Arkansas native.
By the time his 23-year career was over, the “Human Vacuum Cleaner” won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards, (the most by a position player) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, one of 16 players to have been honored on the first ballot since the inaugural class of 1936.
Sandy Koufax was largely limited to the bullpen in his first few years with the Dodgers due to persistent control problems. He considered quitting after the 1960 season.
Photo Credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Some might be surprised to discover Los Angeles Dodgers flame-thrower Sandy Koufax struggled in his first few seasons in MLB and even considered calling it quits.
During his first three years (1955-57), he was mainly confined to the bullpen, pitching only 204 innings, winning 9 and losing 10. He logged more innings from 1958-1960 in which he displayed nothing but mediocrity with 24 wins, 21 losses. And though his fastball showed its blazing potential, he was prone to endless control problems.
1960 was definitely Koufax’s low point, winning 8 and losing 13 games.
In one game during the 1960 season, April 22, 1960, the St Louis Cardinals banged him around for 5 runs in the first inning. He never registered an out, before he was lifted by Walter Alston.
Koufax told New York Times Columnist Joseph Durso (published in 1980) after the 1960 season, "I threw all my baseball stuff away, left the clubhouse and didn't think I'd ever come back. I even went into business, but wasn't crazy about it. Then I decided maybe I hadn't worked hard enough, so I the next spring reported to Vero Beach. Our clubhouse man, Kobe Kawano handed me the gear and said, "I took all your stuff out of the garbage.”
Many were thankful Koufax came back in 1961.
The Brooklyn, NY native led the National League in strikeouts (269 in 1961), and his walks and earned run average shrank appreciably. Between 1963 and 1966, Koufax’s seasonal W-L record during that period was 25-5, 19-5, 26-8, and 27-9. His ERAs were off the charts: 1.88, 1.74, 2.04 and 1.73. Similarly, his strikeouts were out of this world: 306, 223, 382 and 31 during those years. He pitched four no-hitters and one perfect game.
Koufax additionally became the first pitcher (at the time) to reach four career no-hitters on Sept. 9, 1965, surpassing Larry Corcoran, Cy Young, and Bob Feller.
Sandy Koufax, "the Left Arm of God" as he was nicknamed, was officially voted into the Hall of Fame, alongside Yogi Berra and Early Wynn in 1972.
Roberto Clemente had a ho-hum rookie season with a .255 BA, 5 HR's and 47 runs batted in. He walked only 18 times in 124 games when he debuted for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1957.
Clemente’s batting average didn’t rise above .300 until 1960 when he sported a .314 BA, 16 HR’s and 94 RBI’s and was selected to his first All-Star Game, one of 14 All-Star appearances before his life ended tragically. The Carolina, Puerto Rico native improved his stats in 1961 even further when he won the first of his four batting championships with a .351 average and 23 home runs.
He captured back-to-back batting titles in 1964 and 1965, hitting .339 and .329 respectively; and in 1967, Clemente had the best year of his career .367 BA and earned yet another batting title.
Clemente was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in March, 1973, just months after his tragic accident in a plane crash, which was traveling to deliver supplies to Nicaragua.
So, with Caitlin Clark being only 22 years-old and having played only 12 WNBA games (with 28 more to play), I think the “Mad Bomber” is entitled to experience some rookie growing pains and learning curves from college before we pass judgement on her caliber of play and what kind of future she’s capable of in professional women’s basketball.
I think it’s a bit premature for an ESPN analyst to say, “She [Caitlin Clark] just doesn’t have it.”
--Bill Lucey
June 9, 2024
