To Those of You Who Think That Caitlin Clark Is a Selfish Shooter ...

[diggerfoot]

I just don't get why some fans here are so hellbent on undermining Clark as a way to build up Bueckers. It's been 3+ years of these types of threads where a number of people feel the need to put down Clark in order to validate Paige. Every year there's arguments that she takes too many shots, she has inflated stats because her teammates aren't good, now her teammates are better than Paige's and that's why she has it easier and has inflated stats. The deep dives into explaining why she isn't really that good are so over the top. I've never seen a non-UCONN player get talked about so much on here in my 20 years on the BY. Clark being great or awful has zero impact on Paige's ability as a player.

Even though I speak out the most about Clark’s teammates being great shooters I suspect you are reacting to someone else, but just in case:

In other threads I qualified that you can be an elite shooter but not an overall elite player, which helps explain why Iowa has such a beautiful offense but is terrible at defense. At no time did I refer to Iowa teammates as better players, just more efficient on offense from being good shooters playing together for so long.

I never referred to Clark’s job being easier, the reason why I think you must be responding to someone else. Otherwise, this is a straw man argument

There was a previous thread, not this one, in which I allude to Clark’s assist stats getting a boost from her efficient teammates, but that was in defense of Muhl, not Bueckers. And I was defending her from UConn fans critiquing their own. I also made clear that Clark is a superstar and Muhl is not, but Muhl has been trained as a PG her whole basketball career and it shows in her passing efficiency.

I get tired of the phrase that Clark carries her team, when their beautiful offense is a team effort. Why should that concern a UConn fan? Because of calls for Bueckers to do the same in a system that historically is all about the team’s efficiency.

 

[my2cents]

As a UCONN fan, the BY is our discussion board and I guess we can discuss what we want.
Both Paige and Caitlin are great players and comparisons can be fun but there will never be a consensus on who is better.
I do wish that Geno would open up his offense more to allow Paige more freedom to make one on one plays. ( a la Iowa). Paige is currently (hope it improves) surrounded by players shooting in the 20%+ range. Very hard to get assists with that poor shooting.
These players shooting poorly, barely get covered on the 3 point line making the lane clogged for any Bueckers penetration.
My rule for Paige would be, 20 shots per game, 6 threes, and 6 foul shots....

 

[Fairfield Fan]

That's for sure.


Why do we really need to care what Caitlin Clark does? She's a great player, that's a given. But, she doesn't play for UConn.

Clark is breathtaking. I haven't seen a player like her since Pistol Pete Maravich when he played in college. Just draw-dropping pure ability. We shouldn't compare 3-point efficiency between the two, because Clark is often shooting from WAY OUTSIDE!!! Missile range! Never seen that before.

 

[HuskyNan]

Clark is breathtaking. I haven't seen a player like her since Pistol Pete Maravich when he played in college.

Sabrina says hi.

 

[Gordo]

Clark is breathtaking. I haven't seen a player like her since Pistol Pete Maravich when he played in college. Just draw-dropping pure ability. We shouldn't compare 3-point efficiency between the two, because Clark is often shooting from WAY OUTSIDE!!! Missile range! Never seen that before.

I don't know why you chose me to reply to (?), but I definitely agree that she reminds of Pistol Pete. He was incredible, and so exciting to watch.

 

[Bjbod]

We're off in non sequitur territory, but I suppose you think the SEC is the bee's knees and that Clark would've had a much harder time in Bee's Knees Land.

To test this hypothesis, let's examine how Clark fared against SEC teams in last season's NCAA tournament (note that this sample is skewed since it only comes from the upper half of the SEC):

vs Georgia: 22 points, 12 assists.
vs South Carolina: 41 points, 8 assists.
vs LSU: 30 points, 8 assists.
Average vs SEC teams in the NCAA tournament: 31.0 points, 9.3 assists.

Quelle surprise ! Both stats were above her season averages. Looks like the SEC's upper crust is the real "cakewalk" as far as Caitlin Clark is concerned.

Well done! You never want to let a good story get in the way of cold, hard facts.

 

[JoePgh]

Sabrina says hi.

I believe that there is some chick from Chino, California who might also like to enter the conversation.

 

[HuskyNan]

I believe that there is some chick from Chino, California who might also like to enter the conversation.

Kelsey Plum deserves a mention, too

 

[cancontent]

Clark has a higher assist ratings than Paige as well as rebounding. Not sure, someone (Clark) who has been at or near the top in assists throughout her career should just be considered a me first shooter.

It's a easy narrative that's easy for some to use. And when I say "easy", I mean in general and not by posters on either WBB board here in the Boneyard.

I've heard the same from several of my friends who are casual WBB fans. Those who look at the stats see a different picture. I could have funded a vacation to Turks and Caicos on the number of "Oh, I didn't realize", I've heard when pointing the assists out to them.

Not to mention, what does the media talk about when it comes to Clark? Her shooting, especially because of her range and the ratings they get from it. They don't do enough to cover what else she can do as they could be. Heck, they do a disservice to a lot of great players by focusing on the easy stuff instead doing a deeper dive.