"Geno just say you’re a UConn guy": Nick Wright blasts Geno Auriemma over his take about Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark's early WNBA days brought in an array of criticism from the basketball world, including the women's Huskies coach Geno Auriemma. In a June 6 episode of "The Dan Patrick Show," Auriemma claimed that the hype created around Clark by her fans has her “set up for failure right from the beginning" in the big league.
Moreover, the coach also questioned Caitlin Clark's game style and her ability to handle the physicality.
Now, nearly three months later, Fox Sports' Nick Wright bashed Geno Auriemma for a biased take on Thursday's rendition of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd."
“Geno, just say you’re a UConn guy and you thought this was gonna be Paige, and instead it's Caitlin,” Wright said. (1:05)
Despite harsh criticism of Auriemma's comments, Wright explained that he believes the UConn coach to be one of the biggest contributors to women's basketball growth. Moreover, he claimed that Geno Auriemma might be the most knowledgeable person in terms of women's basketball.
"What does bother me is some of the people I deeply respect," Wright said before his take. "Their basketball credentials, their basketball history, their commitment to women's basketball, I think have really not covered themselves in glory with some of this commentary," he added.
Caitlin Clark's leadership outlives Geno Auriemma's comments
Even though she touched the 20-point mark in her debut, it took her 15 shots to do so. Moreover, her playmaking was non-existent as she gave out 10 turnovers.
Caitlin Clark was struggling when Auriemma commented on her ability to live up to the expectations. She averaged 15.6 points on 33.93% shooting and 29.5% from the arc, garnering 5.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 5.3 turnovers per game. It was a learning curve that fans, and even notable media personalities overlooked.
However, Caitlin Clark has steadily changed the notion since Auriemma’s comments in June. She has improved to average nearly 20 points, 5.8 rebounds and 9.4 assists while shooting 44.23% from the field and 34.72% from the three-point line (including the all-star game).
Her leadership has also changed the course of the Indiana Fever, who began the season behind a dismal 2-11 run at the time of Geno Auriemma’s remarks. The Fever has won 15 of their 23 games since then and clinched their first-ever playoff spot since 2016.