“She’s just not built for the physicality of this league.” Geno Auriemma didn’t have the best of takes on Caitlin Clark in June following the Indiana Fever rookie’s struggles with physicality in the W. The problems were such that even Clark accepted finding it tough to tackle this part of the league. However, in a turn of events, Clark has emerged as one of the best players this season as the 22-year-old is on her way to winning the Rookie of the Year Award. This has prompted many analysts to claim that Auriemma’s statements were made due to his affiliation with Paige Bueckers, who opted out of the W draft this year.

Fox analyst Nick Wright took a dig at Auriemma for his horribly aged comment. “What does bother me is some of the people I deeply respect, their basketball credentials, their basketball history, their commitment to basketball and women’s basketball, I think have really not covered themselves in glory with some of this commentary,” Wright stated before giving his respect to the 11x National Championship winning coach. However, what followed showed how Auriemma was wrong.

“This kid’s on the wrong team. She’s got the wrong skillset to handle the physicality in the league and she’s a rookie. This rookie class isn’t even one of the best classes in the last 10 years. She’s just not built for the physicality of this league. She’s not quick enough to get away from the physicality,” Wright quoted the UConn coach from a few months ago.

At the time, this quote made sense as the Fever started the season losing eight out of its first ten games. However, Clark has brilliantly adjusted to the physicality since then and has taken Indiana to the playoffs for the first time in 7 years. “Geno, just say you’re a UConn guy and you thought this was going to be Paige and instead it’s Caitlin,” Wright concluded. But why Bueckers?

Bueckers had returned from an injury in the 2023-24 NCAA season when she took the Huskies to the Final Four. The 2021 USBWA Player of the Year stunned NCAA fans with her exceptional average of 21.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Taking note of her spectacular play, analysts predicted that she would be one of the top 3 picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft before Bueckers, while being honored on her senior night, announced her decision to stick with the Huskies for one more season. And the rest, as you know, is history.

Paige Bueckers will have to wait for a chance at WNBA stardom

Caitlin Clark was drafted as the first overall pick and unanimously, a lot of fans cheered for her. Since then, Clark has established her brand in the W while she has broken record after record. So much so that she eyes the ROTY award this year while some say that she might also clinch the MVP award.

As for Bueckers, analysts have now projected her as the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and hopefully this time, Bueckers will not leave any stone unturned. While Auriemma’s comments haven’t aged well, they even sparked a controversy at the time.

His comments had come in the aftermath when Clark had been nudged to the ground by her rival Chennedy Carter. Even Clark, during the beginning of the season, had acknowledged her woes with physicality. However, the Iowa-alum seems to have worked on it and found her form in the league.

Since the Olympic break, Indiana has had the best record in the league, winning five in a row. Moreover, Caitlin Clark wasn’t just named the Rookie of the Month but also the Eastern Conference Player of the Month. She became the first rookie in league history to be honored with this. Just goes on to show her growing confidence and the upward trajectory that Indiana is on.