Despite an 0-5 start to her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark is showing promise and improvement from her days in college.
That’s the message from ESPN’s Andraya Carter, who has been watching Clark’s career for years.
In a telephone interview with the New York Post, Carter praised Clark’s transition to pro, which lasted just five games.
“I think Caitlin is doing a phenomenal job. She came into the league with so much pressure – literal pressure from the defense, which is designed to stop her – and watch her,” Carter began.
“In all games except her first she has had at least five assists, so I am very impressed with her ability to find her teammates.
Still searching for her first professional victory, Caitlin Clark has shown growth in her game
One person taking notice is ESPN’s Andraya Carter, who has been monitoring and reporting on Clark’s career
“Her ability to read the defense and put the ball where it needs to be is only going to get better.”
Clark struggled in her first two games — a 92-71 blowout against the Connecticut Sun and a 102-66 loss to the New York Liberty — but has since seemed to grow into her own player in the games.
“Obviously the turnover is initially alarming when you look at the numbers, but the improvement she made from the first against the Connecticut Sun to the rematch was remarkable,” Carter said.
“She faced one of the best defenses – if not the best defense – in the WNBA in two of her first four games. It’s a really tough sample size to judge because four of her first five games were against the Sun and Liberty, two of the best franchises in the league.”
So far in just five games in her career, Clark has averaged 17.8 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. She is top-15 in scoring (15th) and top-10 in assists (8th).
Carter said she “hangs my hat” on Clark’s “improvement,” her connection with teammates, her ability to get back up when knocked down and her ability to literally get back on the field when she was injured and rolled her ankle into the sun. .’
“Her resilience, her fight and her competitive spirit – she’s out there and she wants to win,” Carter said.
“She could easily be there with the attitude of ‘nobody expects us to win, we’re not as talented as a team from top to bottom, we’re building for the future,’ but it seems like she wants to win now.
Carter says she’s “hanging her hat” on Clark’s ability to improve in the coming months
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark questions a call in the first half against the Connecticut Sun
“She’s frustrated that it’s not happening and that’s OK. That competitive spirit will lead to success for this team.”
Clark has shown some signs of frustration, such as when she drew a technical foul in Monday’s loss to the Sun for yelling at the officials.
Carter isn’t worried: ‘That happens to a lot of players. Players get technical fouls in the heat of the moment. I wouldn’t even say this is a rookie mistake. That’s a mistake veterans make,” the analyst said.
“For me, I think her resilience, and her improvement when she sees a team for the second time, her fight and the way her teammates rally around her — Caitlin will continue to build on all of those things.”
But one thing Clark has struggled with is adjusting to defense, including many times being plowed through on screens.
Carter doesn’t necessarily believe Clark is being targeted: “I honestly think this is just the WNBA.”
“There’s always physicality in this league. People check each other out and people hit each other. That Sparks-Aces game was extremely physical. Checking on screens, hitting on screens.
“You have to think about it: there are only twelve teams in the league, so there comes a time when these teams are very competitive with each other. It’s just what it’s like when you see teams over and over again.
But there is plenty of room for adjustment, such as on defense, where she struggles with screens
Carter had high praise for Clark’s “resilience, her fight and her competitive spirit”
“There’s a lot of eyes on it when it happens to Caitlin because there’s a lot more eyes on her in general, but the screen that Breanna Stewart pointed at her – she didn’t lean on her, she didn’t lean on her and throw her arms out.
“It was literally just a screen. The speed at which you encounter a screen will also determine its impact. If she has no idea a screen is coming because her teammates haven’t called it and her head isn’t on a turntable, she’s going to hit it really hard.”
Carter believes Clark would improve in this area the longer she plays in the WNBA.
‘If you are in the competition longer, you learn to avoid screens. And when you play with your team longer, the chemistry happens, where the communication is at a high level, where you can avoid screens and no, they’re coming,” Carter said.
‘To me [backlash to Stewart’s screen on Clark] were people who made something from nothing. I don’t think anyone went out of their way to hit Caitlin.
“Do I think people are going out of their way to defend Caitlin? Yes. But the idea that they’re more physical with her than anyone else, I think this competition is just physical.”