Geno Auriemma, the longtime University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach, feels free to share whatever’s on his mind.
The 11-time national champion has voiced his opinion on Kaitlyn Clark on numerous occasions, but this week he offered his latest thoughts on Clark’s adjustment to the WNBA, suggesting Clark is being negatively affected by a “delusional fan base.”
“The delusional fan base that worships her disparaged WNBA players, saying she was going to come into the WNBA league and ruin the league,” Auriemma said during a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
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University of Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma addresses the media during a press conference following the Connecticut Huskies’ game against Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Seattle Regional 3 on March 18, 2023 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“In fact, she had third or fourth best betting odds to be the WNBA MVP. These people are so rude, ignorant and stupid that they give women’s basketball a bad name. This girl was set up to fail from the start.”
He also addressed the idea that opposing teams have “targeted” the former Iowa Hawkeyes star in his first few games as a pro.
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“This girl is a huge target,” Auriemma said, adding that he believes Clarke is being “targeted by society because of her looks, her reputation and the disrespect she has for the WNBA.”
Caitlin Clark speaks with Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma ahead of the 2024 WNBA Draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mandatory Credit: (Brad Penner – USA Today Sports)
He doubled down on that position on Tuesday at the University of Connecticut Coaches Roadshow in Connecticut. “Does she face rookie challenges, rookie struggles? Yes,” Auriemma said. “She’s being targeted.”
Auriemma praised how Clark overcame the challenges he faced early in his professional basketball career.
“I think she’s handling it well. She takes a lot of abuse, she gets a lot of abuse, so she deserves everything she gets, because she takes it with her,” Auriemma said.
Auriemma said he doesn’t think Clark is “ready for the physical intensity” of the WNBA, but noted she will eventually get used to it and be able to consistently rely on her elite skills.
“She’s not cut out for the physicality of this league, and she’s not quick enough to get away from the physicality of it, so there’s a lot of learning curve for her, just like Diana. [Taurasi] “She has some elite skills that can really help her if she gets it, but she needs to be on a better team and get more experience, but that will happen.”
The WNBA logo is displayed on a basketball during a warmup between the Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun at Climate Pledge Arena on June 20, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Auriemma, who reached the milestone of 1,200 career wins earlier this year, poured cold water on the hype and expectations surrounding the WNBA rookie class of 2024. He even suggested this year’s rookie class is inferior to other recent rookie classes.
“I think Cameron Brink said something really smart,” Auriemma said. “She said that now they expect perfection from this rookie class. This rookie class isn’t even the best rookie class of the last decade, but because of the way social media is today, they are perceived as such. So how is this rookie class impacting the WNBA?”
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Auriemma famously didn’t scout Clark in high school, but the legendary coach had high praise for the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball all-time leading scorer ahead of the NBA Final Four matchup against Connecticut in April.
Clark is averaging 15.6 points and 6.4 assists through the first 11 games of her WNBA career.
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