Caitlin Clark explains how she responds to critics of her game as she transitions to WNBA
Caitlin Clark established herself as one of the biggest names in college sports and women’s basketball. However, along the way, she has also faced plenty of criticism for her game.
Ahead of the WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark spoke to ESPN’s Holly Rowe. There, she explained how she responds to that criticism as she begins to transition to the WNBA.
“I think it’s honestly pretty similar to my college career too,” Caitlin Clark said. “I think no matter what stage you’re on, if you’re at the highest stage, there’s always going to be people who are critiquing you. There’s always going to be people that are complimenting you, and I think that just speaks to how I was raised to like, you know, I’ve never been one to weigh the opinions of haters too much. I was told the level you feel the praise, that’s going to be the same level you feel all the hate. So, I feel like I just try to stay right in the middle and everybody’s entitled to their own opinions.”
Amid all of that, Clark says the biggest thing for herself is to remain confident in herself as she moves to the WNBA.
“But I think the biggest thing for myself and just having confidence in who I am and what I’m able to do with my career, and by no means do I think I’m gonna go in there and score 30 points a game but I think I’m confident in my abilities. That’s what I’m excited for.”
Most fans know Caitlin Clark for her scoring. After all, she’s the all-time leader for points scored in college, regardless of gender. However, she’s also an excellent passer and finished her career at Iowa with 1,144 assists. That’s 8.2 assists per game and it’s second all-time in women’s college basketball for career assists.
It’s that ability to pass the ball that Clark expects to help her translate to the WNBA.
“I think my passing and that’s like even the biggest thing throughout my college career too. Everybody always fell in love with my shooting or my scoring, but I’ve always been somebody that has loved to pass the ball. I think that’s something I developed at a young age. Being able to get my teammates open, be able to hit my teammates in transition. I love to play up temp, I love to play fast,” Clark said.
“And, obviously, going to the WNBA the talent level around me is gonna be really, really good. So, it should make my job easier feeding them the ball.”