Caitlin Clark- A to Z Plus Some More

Last night I got an interesting text from a friend that asked if I could think of any other rookie that veterans have gone after as much as they seem to be going after Caitlin Clark. I was with my son, so it provided a good conversation. 

Lebron James evidently was at least “challenged” by the veterans when he first entered the league. And veterans had made negative comments about his ability. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabber was physically challenged, but NBA refs responded by him shooting lots for free throws.

And obviously Jackie Robinson was attacked verbally and physically by oppoenents, and for the most part MLB umps let it go. 

This discussion has come to a head after yesterday’s flagrant, away from the ball, non-basketball play by Chennedy Carter on Caitlin Clark. 

C- Carter- I have attached a short excerpt written about Carter when she was with Atlanta. While talented, she has had a history of being out of control whether in relation to her opponents or even her teammates. If you look at her playing history, despite talent, no team seems to want to keep her on her roster. She has been dropped from three different teams, it doesn’t help for now, but I would predict based on past behavior patterns, she will not be in the WNBA for a lot longer. 

F- Fever- When Clark goes down in these situations, where are her teammates. Any time any teammate goes to the floor for any reason, all four of the teammates on the floor should be running to help the player up. From things the Fever teammates have said, they support Clark- they need to show it by running over to help her up. At a minimum, come pick her up. And there are situations where players need to physically step in and at least step in the other player’s path- send the message,”We are with Caitlin.”

G- Goon- Dre Green says Indiana needs a “goon” on the roster to act as an enforcer. I don’t know the culture of the WBNA to know if a team HAS to do that to stop it. If they have to have a goon to stop it, I don’t think that is a positive for the WNBA in the long run. Maybe Green has been effective and provided that role for Steph Curry, but Green’s behavior this past year has not drawn more fans to the NBA. So I don’t think having a goon on the Fever roster is the answer, but just having teammates stand up for her.

S- Sky- What is going on with the Chicago Sky franchise? From her reaction on the bench, Angel Reese despite her claims, clearly has an agenda when it comes to Clark. Sky picked up Carter who has a checkered past of physical and emotional control. And the coach in the post game press conference certainly didn’t come across with a message that would bring people back to the WNBA. I am not sure the WNBA keeps growing with a new version of the old Detroit Pistons. 

Right now there are a lot of new eyes turning to the WNBA. I realize many of the new fans are going to be Fever fans, but there are a lot  of first year WNBA fans who are in effect “free agents.” I have always liked the Seattle Storm. My “local” team would be the Sky, but I have not interest in being their fan the way they are configured. The Sky has to be concerned about whether they will get or keep fans with their present makeup. 

C- Clark- She can’t back down, but she also needs to say less on the floor. But one player talking to another player does not warrant the second player physically blind-siding the player in retaliation. 

Z- Zebras- One of the most frustrating things for a coach is when the refs don’t really understand the big picture of what is going on. Quite simply, it is frustrating when refs don’t really understand basketball and don’t understand team strategies. 

In high school girls basketball, my teams ran a lot of set actions. We had one opponent who realized a way to shut down our sets was to get up and be very physical and prevent freedom of movement. They challenged refs to call any of the 100 fouls they were going to commit each game. Good refs would quickly recognize what the other teams strategy was, while weaker refs were oblivious to what was going on. 

Bad ref don’t understand what the other team is trying to accomplish. The WNBA refs act like that. It is as if don’t understand other teams are going to get physical to stop Clark. The refs need to understand the game. 

J- Jealous and Insecure- When the second child is born to a family, the oldest child may get bent out of shape. Everyone comes over to the house to see the “new baby.” The parents take a hundred picture of the “new baby.” Most healthy first born are able to navigate and at some point realize the parents don’t love the new born more, new born get more attention.

I had a girl transfer to Galesburg. The best player on the team could not handle the new player coming in. It was obvious the returning “best player” was afraid they would not remain in the limelight. The “returning best player” did things in her power to poison the other players about this transfer player. It became a painful situation- the “returning best player” and her buddies never fully realized that the transfer was good for us and made us better.

Another year, I had a senior post player take aside two sophomore guards and explain to them,”It is my turn to be the star, you need to get me the ball.” This player couldn’t handle the thought of not remaining in the limelight. 

I realize it is fair to say that there may be 5, 10, or even 15 players better than Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. Clark getting all the publicity is not about her being the best in the WNBA, it is not saying other players are not great. Caitlin Clark’s attention is good for all the WNBA players. 

W- Wake up- Caitlin Clark is not just good for the WNBA, Caitlin Clark is GREAT for the WNBA. The WNBA from their league offices to their general managers to the players— you are really messing up something that could and should be a huge plus for the entire league. There a literally millions of people who are ready to be WNBA fans, but unless you figure out how to get rid of the negativity and the hostility, fans are going to be turned off by the whole league.