Caitlin Clark Packed Mohegan Sun

[caseyb7]

I attended the Sun Home Opener last night - as I often do.

I had heard the hype about "sold out" and increased ticket priced, which in the WNBA is often exaggerated as so many tickets are comp to organizations who give them out free to members - who never show.

Whoa Nellie - last night was legit. Every seat had a body in it - not at all like a typical W crowd. Sat next to W first-timers, family with 2 youngins holding a "Caitlin" sign for the TV. People were engaged, friendly - and there to see Caitlin. Not for nothing there were a bunch of UConn alumni playing as well - Katie Lou for IN, Mo Jeff & Ono for the Sun.

Surprise to me was Caitlin started and then she played heavy minutes making the crowd & TV, very happy. She scored 20, but the experienced Sun defense disrupted her ball-handling and she turned it over. Really not a surprise for a rookie. Crowd didn't care.

I've been to lots of W games over the years including many Playoffs & Home Openers - NEVER seen Mohegan like that, even for concerts.

Hope it lasts, CC is good for our sport.

 

[my2cents]

The hype seems to be off the charts for this young player. Would like to see her play 10 games before any judgments or evaluations are made.
She has a really quick release.

 

[Rowdy831]

The WNBA has a choice to make and they better make it fast. Last night CC was held and fouled every time she tried to move with the ball and didn't really get a meaningful call all night. The inside game was a complete mugging and nothing called. If that is the brand of basketball the WNBA wants then it will continue to be unwatchable and the opportunity they have right now with Clark will be missed.

Geno often complains about how the college game has become a restricted movement league and when you watch the WNBA you see exactly what he is talking about, but on steroids. I Nan hates certain words to describe players but they fit and if the WNBA ever wants to be mainstream they need to make a change. The WNBA right now reminds me of how the Pistons played Jordan back in the 90's and they need to make the same changes the NBA did back then so they can capitalize on the artistry of players like CC and next year Paige.

 

[caseyb7]

The WNBA has a choice to make and they better make it fast. Last night CC was held and fouled every time she tried to move with the ball and didn't really get a meaningful call all night. The inside game was a complete mugging and nothing called. If that is the brand of basketball the WNBA wants then it will continue to be unwatchable and the opportunity they have right now with Clark will be missed.

Geno often complains about how the college game has become a restricted movement league and when you watch the WNBA you see exactly what he is talking about, but on steroids. I Nan hates certain words to describe players but they fit and if the WNBA ever wants to be mainstream they need to make a change. The WNBA right now reminds me of how the Pistons played Jordan back in the 90's and they need to make the same changes the NBA did back then so they can capitalize on the artistry of players like CC and next year Paige.

I think you are so spot on - both on the Sun defending Caitlin, but more broadly on how opponents play UConn & other "skill" teams.

Part of this is personal opinion - but to my basketball preference I like to see talent highlighted, not the holding/grabbing/interfering style of play whose description I'm not supposed to use. These girls devote their lives to getting GOOD at a genuinely rare skill set which to me is artistry & athletic.

The top-tier schools who can do this as a team are wonderful to behold and a joy to watch. It's like magic how they do this. A reflection of natural gifts, practice and great coaching.

IMO - the "rough em up" short-cut to winning is not enjoyable or authentic. But it is effective when you don't have the talent to match up - and tolerated by the officiating squad. From my seat in the house it appears successful in frustrating & slowing down "skill" teams.

Also in my view it adds to injuries, but might not be a politically correct take.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Caitlin Clark's debut was the top story on local Connecticut news broadcasts on Tuesday. On the local NBC station the first 6 minutes of the news was about Caitlin Clark. I have never seen anything like that before.

 

[FormerCTrez]

I attended the Sun Home Opener last night - as I often do.

I had heard the hype about "sold out" and increased ticket priced, which in the WNBA is often exaggerated as so many tickets are comp to organizations who give them out free to members - who never show.

Whoa Nellie - last night was legit. Every seat had a body in it - not at all like a typical W crowd. Sat next to W first-timers, family with 2 youngins holding a "Caitlin" sign for the TV. People were engaged, friendly - and there to see Caitlin. Not for nothing there were a bunch of UConn alumni playing as well - Katie Lou for IN, Mo Jeff & Ono for the Sun.

Surprise to me was Caitlin started and then she played heavy minutes making the crowd & TV, very happy. She scored 20, but the experienced Sun defense disrupted her ball-handling and she turned it over. Really not a surprise for a rookie. Crowd didn't care.

I've been to lots of W games over the years including many Playoffs & Home Openers - NEVER seen Mohegan like that, even for concerts.

Hope it lasts, CC is good for our sport.

Thanks for the report.

 

[ConnManFan]

The hype seems to be off the charts for this young player. Would like to see her play 10 games before any judgments or evaluations are made.
She has a really quick release.

The problem with this is, the judgements and evaluations when she had played zero games was that she was going to come in and dominate the game. A little pushback, even unfair, after two or three is completely fair game.

 

[CL82]

Hope it lasts, CC is good for our sport.

No doubt. She raised the profile of woman's college basketball last year and it sounds like that's carried over to the WNBA. There are a few young guards that are out there, Clark, Paige, Azzi, Hailey Van Lith that have the potential to have a lot of marquee value in the W. Remember that the NBA had a huge jump in popularity after Bird and Magic joined the league. Sometimes it only takes a few people to make a big difference.

 

[WBBTakeover]

The problem with this is, the judgements and evaluations when she had played zero games was that she was going to come in and dominate the game. A little pushback, even unfair, after two or three is completely fair game.

I think it would be fair, if she were the main one doing the hyping. She's not.

I think of Caitlin as a pawn right now. I know that she's an adult herself, but the actual adults are the ones using her for buzz and revenue. The actual adults are the ones disguising their "-isms" based criticisms of women's basketball (especially of those who dominate the sport by and large) as over-the-top praise of her (and I find that to be so cowardly and disgusting). The actual adults are the ones churning this hype machine into overdrive. Why no smoke for them?

Meanwhile, you have this young woman from the Midwest who wants to hoop and be one of the all-time greats in the sport. Why is that a bad thing?