‘Get back to the playoffs: Caitlin Clark’s sets goals for rookie season during Indiana Fever Media Day
There has never been a bigger target on a WNBA rookie’s back than Caitlin Clark. The all-time leading scorer in college basketball arrived to Indianapolis to fan-fare, sky-high expectations and a hero’s welcome. Right now, it’s all fun and games until the ball is tipped for the first time.
IOWA CITY, Iowa– There has never been a bigger target on a WNBA rookie’s back than Caitlin Clark. The all-time leading scorer in college basketball arrived to Indianapolis to fan-fare, sky-high expectations and a hero’s welcome. Right now, it’s all fun and games until the ball is tipped for the first time. If anyone understands pressure, it’s Clark. The former Iowa superstar has been ultimately responsible for helping push the women’s game forward.
“I certainly know there’s pressure there,” Clark said of growing the WNBA. “That’s been my entire career.”
“I know this a team sport, it’s not all about me, it’s not everything I have to do,” she said. “When I’ve been able to understand that, that’s allowed me to play my best. I think it’s just using your resources, asking questions, knowing not everything is going to be perfect and giving myself a little grace.”
Being a member of the Indianapolis Fever is a perfect situation for Clark. She’ll have Aliyah Boston, one of the game’s rising post players, running the floor with her and a plethora of shooters including former Ohio State great Kelsey Mitchell on the wing. Erica Wheeler, the WNBA All-Star MVP from 2019, has taken Clark under her wing to show her the ropes of the league. That chemistry has already helped immediately welcome the new members.
“Lin and Coach Sides, they value [relationships], they know that’s very important to create championship culture is those relationships you build with your teammates,” Clark said Wednesday. “You just can’t come in here and put 12 girls and five people on the court at once and assume that their all going to mesh.”
Clark has helped transcend women’s basketball with a game that is unlike anything it has ever seen. From logo three-pointers to jaw-dropping assists in transition, she’s helped draw eyes to a game that has been wanting growth for years.
She finished the season leading the nation in assists (8.9 assists per game) and in scoring (31.6 points per game). She became the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. Clark owns a career 3,900+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
“Our goal this year is to get back to the playoffs, building blocks slowly one step at a time. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Clark told reporters Wednesday. “I think our team, and all the talent on our team, can really feel the potential that this group really has.”
Despite how Clark’s rookie season turns out, there’s a lot of internal optimism about the trajectory of the franchise’s future with Clark and Boston at the helm.
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