Savage Words: When it comes to Caitlin Clark, I was wrong
One of the hardest things a human being can do is admit they’re wrong.
I was wrong.
When Caitlin Clark was nearing her graduation date from the University of Iowa and the WNBA draft was looming this spring, I got sick of hearing about her.
Not so much her. I’ve never met her. I’m sure she’s nice. But I got sick of hearing about how this 22-year-old from West Des Moines was going to transform women’s basketball…how she was going to come into this professional basketball league and steal all the headlines.
I was wrong.
I was adamant, and told anyone who wanted to discuss it, that they were delusional if they thought Caitlin Clark was going to have success in the WNBA.
“They’re never going to let that happen,” I told people earlier this year before the WNBA season started. “There’s no way these veterans of the league are going to let this kid fire off 35-foot 3-pointers without a massive defensive effort. They’ll never let it happen.”
I was wrong.
I told people to look up Jimmer Fredette. He was an amazing scorer in college at BYU. He averaged 29 points per game his senior season and was unanimously named the 2011 National Player of the Year. He scored a school-record 52 points in a game during his senior season and holds BYU records for most 3-pointers made (296), most 30-point games (24) and most 40-point games (6).
Sound familiar?
He gained pop culture lore 13 years ago and his name became a verb as opponents who he scored against were considered “Jimmered.” He was a household name.
I told people Caitlin Clark’s career would look similar to Fredette’s.
I was wrong.
Fredette was drafted 10th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He played six years in the NBA where he averaged 6.0 points per game and slowly drifted off into obscurity.
That won’t happen with Clark. On that, I’m now certain.
I was the first employee of the Indiana Fever in 1999. When I was hired, there wasn’t even a team name yet. No colors, no name, no coach. Really, nothing.
I went 25 years without anyone – ever – asking me if I actually worked for the Fever. Since the team selected Clark with the top overall pick in April, I get it all the time. My guess is if you’re reading this that you’d never heard of the Indiana Fever six months ago. Now, the team is as popular – and this is not a stretch here – as the Los Angeles Lakers.
I spent five years working in the WNBA between Houston and Indiana. Although I never played basketball on a real competitive level, I feel like I’ve had a good grasp on the WNBA since it began in 1997.
I argued at my favorite watering hole with my dorky friends who had succumbed to the “Caitlin Clark effect” earlier this year that they, too, were delusional if they thought she was going to carry that success over into the WNBA. I told them she’d average 15.0 points per game this year and that the Fever would never finish .500.
I was wrong. She averaged 19.2 points and the Fever finished 20-20.
I’ll always argue that Cynthia Cooper is the greatest women’s basketball player to ever play. I was with her for two years with the Houston Comets in 1997-98 when she was named the regular season and Finals MVP both years.
So before I wrote this column and admitted my errors when it came to Caitlin Clark, I reached out to Cynthia. I don’t talk to her often – maybe once a year. I sent her a text, told her what I was writing about and asked her if I was missing something.
Is she as good as advertised? Just curious to get your thoughts, is what I sent her.
Her reply:
She is an absolute SUPERSTAR!!!! Saw her play against the Dallas Wings and she did not disappoint.
So, if Cooper can say it, then I’ll absolutely admit that I was wrong.
Being wrong is doubly hard knowing my idiot friends were right. I also told them that there’s no way the Fever would win a championship in 2024. No…flipping…way
Now, I’m actually looking forward to seeing how wrong I can be.
