Geno Auriemma: Caitlin Clark 'Was Set Up for Failure' by Fans Ahead of WNBA Debut

UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma said on the Dan Patrick Show Thursday that Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark "was set up for failure" after receiving a tremendous amount of hype in her transition from college to the pros.

After setting a host of collegiate records and being named the consensus national player of the year in back-to-back seasons at Iowa, Clark was selected first overall by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft.

It's been a struggle thus far for Clark in some ways. Her team, which went 13-27 last year, hasn't fared well, going 2-9 thus far. Clark has also committed 5.4 turnovers per game and shot just 35.7 percent from the field (29.7 percent from three). On the flipside, she has stuffed the statsheet, averaging 15.6 points, 6.4 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks.

Auriemma had a lot to say on the matter, notably saying that people are "out of their mind" if they thought Clark would come in and dominate early. He also noted that Clark is on "the wrong team" and doesn't have the skillset at the moment to handle the physicality of the WNBA.

Auriemma also cited comments from Los Angeles Sparks rookie center Cameron Brink, the No. 2 draft pick, regarding outside expectations to Megan Armstrong on Uproxx.

"The most tired narrative is that the vets are against the rookies - this old-school versus new-school narrative - and the narrative that the rookies need to be perfect," Brink said.

"I feel like Caitlin Clark has that the worst right now, but even I get that. She had three points the other night (on June 2 against the New York Liberty). I had three points the other night (on May 28 against the Indiana Fever).

"We're expected to be perfect. We were drafted to high-drafting teams coming off of losing seasons, which is fine. It's a learning process. But people expect us to be perfect, and it's freaking exhausting. I feel like we learn how to tune it out, but still, it's unrealistic, and it kind of just shows that people don't know basketball."

Ultimately, Clark is 11 games into her rookie season, and she, Brink, Angel Reese, Aaliyah Edwards and others need much more time than that to adjust to the game. None of them are failures or disappointments by any stretch of the imagination right now as their transitions to the WNBA continue.