University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma has drawn criticism from fans after comparing Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark unfavorably to Paige Bueckers.
Speaking on Sirius/XM's Mad Dog Sports Radio on Thursday, the 72-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer argued that Clark's rise to popularity stemmed from her long-range shooting style rather than being a better player than previous stars.
His comments came ahead of a WNBA game on Friday night in Indianapolis, where Clark's Fever defeated Bueckers and the Dallas Wings.
Freshman Awards and Shooting Range
During the radio interview, Auriemma recalled the 2020-21 college season when both Clark and Bueckers entered women's college basketball as freshmen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Auriemma highlighted that Bueckers, playing for the UConn Huskies, earned national recognition before injuries sidelined her in subsequent years.
"Caitlin and Paige were both freshmen in the same year, and that freshman year was the [COVID-19] year," Auriemma said. "Paige won every single award there was to win. The first freshman ever in history to win every award. And if you were to say, 'Hey, who is the face of women's basketball?' You would say Paige Bueckers."
He noted that Clark's fame surged later when she began taking ultra-long-range three-pointers for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
"No one mentioned Caitlin Clark as a freshman," Auriemma continued. "Through circumstances, Paige didn't play, she missed a whole year [due to injury], and Caitlin decided to start shooting from the logo and the place erupts."
Auriemma compared Clark's impact to National Basketball Association star Stephen Curry, asserting that her deep shooting range captured the imagination of basketball fans.
"And it becomes a phenomenon, not because she was a better player than anyone who had come before," he said, "but because she was taking shots that people in their right mind wouldn't even take, much less make. She was doing something that no one had done before."
WNBA Performance and Fan Backlash
Currently in the WNBA, Clark ranks third in overall scoring and second on the Indiana Fever with a 21.9 points-per-game average. Bueckers ranks seventh in the league for the Dallas Wings at 20.5 points per game.
Bueckers has been slightly more accurate from three-point range, shooting 38.4 percent compared to Clark's 35.7 percent, while Clark has been more prolific, making 2.7 three-pointers per game compared to Bueckers' 1.8.
Auriemma's remarks left Clark supporters furious, with critics pointing to his past recruiting history. The UConn coach famously passed on recruiting Clark after securing an early commitment from Bueckers in 2019.
Critics quickly voiced their anger on social media platform X.
"Dude whiffed on recruiting the best player 6 years ago and can't get over it," read one post on X.
Another user noted Clark's historic NCAA accomplishments: "Before Caitlin, no player in women's college basketball history had ever led the country in both scoring and assists. If she wasn't better than other greats, she wouldn't have been the first to do that."
A third critic added: "What is this guy's deal? Always comes off so bitter. He can't accept that the best college player wasn't a husky, so he downplays her every chance he gets."
Debate Over Hard Fouls
Auriemma's latest statements come roughly a month after he addressed another controversy surrounding hard fouls on Clark in the WNBA, where fans feel she is being targeted by jealous rivals.
Speaking on Richard Deitsch's podcast, Auriemma dismissed the debate as an exhausting culture war unrelated to basketball.
"So instead of it becoming Caitlin Clark gets fouled hard - no s*** every first round draft pick gets fouled hard," Auriemma said on the podcast. "Not every foul is a good foul. Not every foul's a bad foul. But there are fouls that are flagrant. But that's all they are. They are not a referendum on America, which is what the whole goddamn thing has become. A foul is a foul, right?"
