After finishing an impressive college career, Caitlin Clark is all set to be a rookie in the WNBA. Even though she’s yet to enter the league, Clark is already one of the most well-known basketball players in the country and around the world. But this new chapter is going to bring in new challenges for her, on a stage where she will have to prove herself yet again. During a recent interview with ESPN, Clark talked about the most underrated aspects of her skillset and how those might come in handy in a league like the WNBA.
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The former Iowa Buckeyes star is mostly known for her shooting abilities. As a volume scorer for her team, it makes sense why her shooting skills are highlighted the most. However, Clark believes that she has so much more to offer than just pure shooting that people unfortunately fail to notice.
When asked which are the sleeper skills in her arsenal and how she is willing to use them in the next chapter of her career, Clark said, “I think my passing and I think that’s the biggest thing even throughout my college career too.”
The 22-year-old added that with this transition, she will be surrounded by some of the best female basketball talents in the world. So she can really take her passing game to the next level now. Subsequently, she was asked about the most underestimated aspect of her game. After some thinking, Clark said, “I think my speed. I think I’m a little elusive at times…like I’m not the fastest player out there but I think I’m pretty good at changing speed using change of direction and things like that.”
Since she has had new doubters creeping in as she inches closer to her WNBA debut, Clark has a lot of things to prove to a lot of people. The good thing is that she is aware of her strengths and the areas she needs to work on a little bit more. We’ll have to wait and watch how she uses her underrated and underappreciated skills like passing and speed to impress the fans in the WNBA.
Gilbert Arenas predicts a golden goose treatment for Caitlin Clark
There’s a lot of anticipation in the world of basketball regarding Clark’s WNBA debut. According to several mock drafts, she is projected to be the first overall pick by the Indiana Fever who own the first call. So, before we get there, Gilbert Arenas predicted a few things to come in the near future for Clark and her first franchise. On an episode of the Gil’s Arena podcast, the NBA veteran said that the 22-year-old will be treated the same way the late, great Kobe Bryant was treated as a rookie.
When Kobe arrived in LA, he was an exception for senior players, like Shaquille O’Neal, who were known to give a hard time to the rookies. Arenas said, “When Kobe got drafted, ‘Hey Shaq! Don’t touch him. He’s off-limits. You cannot rookie haze him, you cannot do anything to him. He is protected.'” The NBA veteran said that the franchise would also like to keep Clark at her physical best all the time because she will be the selling point for the franchise and the potential title winner as well.
