Time for a Real Discussion About Caitlin Clark

[Clonefan32]

You can also be a feisty competitor without flopping around and showing up the refs every time down the court.

It's part of the game and has been for as long as star players have existed in basketball. Selling fouls when you feel contact is taught in high-level basketball now. You may as well get used to it.

What's funny to me is anyone on a non-biased, national scale doesn't seem to have an issue with the way she plays. I don't see some sentiment from non-Iowa State fans that her complaining is over the top or that she's a "bad role model". I gauruntee if she played for Notre Dame or something you'd have no issue with it.

 

[theshadow]

I gauruntee if she played for Notre Dame or something you'd have no issue with it.

I have an issue with it whenever and wherever it happens. Shut your mouth and play the game. There have been a number of games where an official with stones would have run her.

 

[KidSilverhair]

No, I don't think she did...after I noticed that, I rewatched several times. Tell me *when* she dribbled? I know it's water under the bridge. It's just one of those little things that tends to bug me. Good/great players get away with a lot of little things.

Right after she gets the pass and moves to her left, you can see the ball bounce off the floor

And I see you already saw it. I’ve been busy this morning and just getting back here. No worries.

 

[nfrine]

You can also be a feisty competitor without flopping around and showing up the refs every time down the court.

You must have missed last years K-State game. Caitlin was Emmy Award Winning at the end.

 

[Cyhig]

In what way is she not humble? Give me one example where she's not shown humility. You are creating his weird narrative that just isn't there.

You can be a nice, humble person and still be a feisty competitor on the floor. Take our guy Tyrese for example. By all accounts an awesome, charitable, giving guy. On the floor, he's doing the "Dame Time" celebration, staring down Wally Sczerbiak, talking **** to people courtside, etc. Doesn't make him not humble. Doesn't make him a bad guy. It makes him a competitor.

Show me one time she has shown humility? She is constantly whining and complaining to officials. Look at the video last night after she made the shot. She immediately ran toward the crowd with her arms wide as if to say "I am god". She ran to the opposite corner from her teammates. She didn't want to celebrate with her teammates; she wanted all the attention on herself.

That's not being humble IMHO. That more closely resembles being arrogant/egotistical

 

[Shawker]

Show me one time she has shown humility? She is constantly whining and complaining to officials. Look at the video last night after she made the shot. She immediately ran toward the crowd with her arms wide as if to say "I am god". She ran to the opposite corner from her teammates. She didn't want to celebrate with her teammates; she wanted all the attention on herself.

That's not being humble IMHO. That more closely resembles being arrogant/egotistical

Watch any interview with her after a game or a general interview with her. She always comes across as gracious and humble. She gives kudos to her opponents and teammates and coaches alike.

When someone hits a game winning shot it's a very common occurrence for them to just run around like crazy and not immediately turn around and go to their team's bench. One that comes to mind is the Gonzaga player (Suggs I think) after his buzzer beater in the Final 4 a few years back. You're reallllly stretching with trying to use that as a negative against her. She was amped up. The crowd was amped up. Emotions take over in that type of situation. You're being kind of ridiculous with some of these comments.

 

[Cyhig]

Watch any interview with her after a game or a general interview with her. She always comes across as gracious and humble. She gives kudos to her opponents and teammates and coaches alike.

When someone hits a game winning shot it's a very common occurrence for them to just run around like crazy and not immediately turn around and go to their team's bench. One that comes to mind is the Gonzaga player (Suggs I think) after his buzzer beater in the Final 4 a few years back. You're reallllly stretching with trying to use that as a negative against her. She was amped up. The crowd was amped up. Emotions take over in that type of situation. You're being kind of ridiculous with some of these comments.

The natural instinct after winning is to celebrate with your teammates, not run as far away as possible from your teammates. Her demeanor on the court does not portray any humility.

Perfect Example of celebrating with teammates

 

[wenkeej]

It's part of the game and has been for as long as star players have existed in basketball. Selling fouls when you feel contact is taught in high-level basketball now. You may as well get used to it.

What's funny to me is anyone on a non-biased, national scale doesn't seem to have an issue with the way she plays. I don't see some sentiment from non-Iowa State fans that her complaining is over the top or that she's a "bad role model". I gauruntee if she played for Notre Dame or something you'd have no issue with it.

If she "played for Notre Dame or something" those of us in Iowa wouldn't see her on tv on a nightly basis along with not having a passing interest in how her team is doing and tuning in from time to time. Which is why we probably wouldn't have an issue. We wouldn't see it.

I know who Paige Bueckers is but couldn't tell you a thing about her play on the court or her in-game demeanor because I haven't seen her play outside of the random highlight clip.

 

[Gonzo]

The natural instinct after winning is to celebrate with your teammates, not run as far away as possible from your teammates. Her demeanor on the court does not portray any humility.

Perfect Example of celebrating with teammates

So it's the fact that she didn't immediately run to her teammates to celebrate that equals zero humility?

 

[wenkeej]

Watch any interview with her after a game or a general interview with her. She always comes across as gracious and humble. She gives kudos to her opponents and teammates and coaches alike.

When someone hits a game winning shot it's a very common occurrence for them to just run around like crazy and not immediately turn around and go to their team's bench. One that comes to mind is the Gonzaga player (Suggs I think) after his buzzer beater in the Final 4 a few years back. You're reallllly stretching with trying to use that as a negative against her. She was amped up. The crowd was amped up. Emotions take over in that type of situation. You're being kind of ridiculous with some of these comments.

Yes, she does seem like a nice young woman doing interviews and and taking pictures with young girls.

She also seems like a whiny, entitled brat when she is playing basketball.

 

[nrg4isu]

What's funny to me is anyone on a non-biased, national scale doesn't seem to have an issue with the way she plays. I don't see some sentiment from non-Iowa State fans that her complaining is over the top or that she's a "bad role model". I gauruntee if she played for Notre Dame or something you'd have no issue with it.

That's just false. I've got two girls (5 and 7) and will not go out of my way to have them watch Caitlin Clark. I haven't seen much of her, but what I have is not good. The few clips I've seen she is NOT at all who I want my kids to be. Yes, I'm an ISU fan, but I don't think that colors my opinion here at all. If Clark were a good role model, then I'd have no problem pointing her out to my kids. There's a long list of athletes I'd rather them look up to before Clark.

 

[Cyhig]

So it's the fact that she didn't immediately run to her teammates to celebrate that equals zero humility?

When something like that happens (making a game winning shot at the buzzer), your instincts take over. You don't have time to think what you are going to do. Her instincts told her run away from her teammates. celebrate the moment with the crowd by herself. That should speak volumes to her true character. Actions speak much louder than words

 

[HFCS]

Watch any interview with her after a game or a general interview with her. She always comes across as gracious and humble. She gives kudos to her opponents and teammates and coaches alike.

When someone hits a game winning shot it's a very common occurrence for them to just run around like crazy and not immediately turn around and go to their team's bench. One that comes to mind is the Gonzaga player (Suggs I think) after his buzzer beater in the Final 4 a few years back. You're reallllly stretching with trying to use that as a negative against her. She was amped up. The crowd was amped up. Emotions take over in that type of situation. You're being kind of ridiculous with some of these comments.

You would not like it if Tamin Lipsey yelled at a ref for a solid minute and then the ref changed the call on the previous play. You wouldn't like that he didn't get T'd up and you wouldn't like that he gets to officiate the game.

He could be the nicest guy in the world off the court and you'd hate his guts for what I described above. Just reality of 100% of fans.

Niang is the nicest guy in the world and 90% of your fan base hates him for blowing a kiss, let alone if he bullied the refs into changing calls in our games against Iowa.

 

[CyCity]

I have to admit, I read this thread and I get a good chuckle. Some of you people are absolute, world-class haters. She's a great player doing new things in the women's game. Some of you sound silly.

She’s a poor version of Sabrina Ionescu so I’m not sure she’s doing anything new at all besides taking a ton of bad shots. Clark is really good at basketball but she’s not doing anything another player didn’t just do in 2020.

 

[Gonzo]

When something like that happens (making a game winning shot at the buzzer), your instincts take over. You don't have time to think what you are going to do. Her instincts told her run away from her teammates. celebrate the moment with the crowd by herself. That should speak volumes to her true character. Actions speak much louder than words

I get not liking her for her complaining to refs, for some of her on-court antics, I'm not a fan of some of that either. But this just seems weird. College and pro athletes celebrate major wins/accomplishments all the time by taking a few seconds for themselves and not immediately seeking their nearest teammate to hug, that doesn't mean they have no humility.

 

[Gonzo]

I think it's even more telling that her teammates didn't track her down to celebrate with her.

Lol, sure they did.

 

[nrg4isu]

Lol, sure they did.

Re-watched, you're right, they did eventually.

 

[VeloClone]

I have heard her interviewed a couple of times and I even commented to Mrs. Velo that she comes off as a likeable person off the court. It is her on the court demeanor that makes people not like her. Yeah, if it was just the shrug or celebrating a shot, who cares. If it is against your team you probably don't like it but it doesn't move the needle. When she complains after every call or no-call that doesn't go her way that is irritating. When she gets the call but continues to berate the ref because the call didn't come fast enough for her that jumps the shark for me. I don't know how screaming, "Call the first one!" at the ref after he blew the whistle to award you the foul doesn't result in a technical but she gets away with that kind of stuff.

I think that is the kind of thing that makes a lot of people find her unlikeable.

 

[ClubCy]

When something like that happens (making a game winning shot at the buzzer), your instincts take over. You don't have time to think what you are going to do. Her instincts told her run away from her teammates. celebrate the moment with the crowd by herself. That should speak volumes to her true character. Actions speak much louder than words

So I guess you can’t stand Scotty C who jumped on the scorers table after a buzzer beater or Naz who posed on the other side of court (iconic photo) until his teammates ran over?

 

[Cyhig]

I get not liking her for her complaining to refs, for some of her on-court antics, I'm not a fan of some of that either. But this just seems weird. College and pro athletes celebrate major wins/accomplishments all the time by taking a few seconds for themselves and not immediately seeking their nearest teammate to hug, that doesn't mean they have no humility.

Running away to celebrate on your own shows your true character. It says "this is my spotlight.... I don't want to share it with anyone". Yes, other players do the same thing. And I have the same opinion when that happens.

Arrogant/Ego... call it whatever you want. That's exactly what it is though.