Pueyo: “I hope more players like Caitlin Clark come along”

Last Monday night, expectation was sky-high for the 2024 WNBA Draft due to the presence of Caitlin Clark with the former Iowa player being selected as the number one pick by the Indiana Fever. The 22nd pick of the evening was Spaniard Helena Pueyo and the guard was selected by the Connecticut Sun to become the twelfth Spaniard drafted by the WNBA after Amaya Valdemoro paved the way in 1998.

With the dust now settled on the draft, AS sat down with 23-year-old Palma de Mallorca native to review Monday evening, the Caitlin Clark phenomenon and her plans for the future.

How does it feel to be a new Connecticut Sun player?

I knew that wherever I went, I was going to be excited. It is a new experience and my hopes are to be part of the training camp with the Sun and I hope to stay here for the whole season which runs from May through to August. If we make it to the finals you finish in September. And, after that, I plan to return to Spain and play there but if they cut me, there are several other teams here that have called me and told me they might have a spot for me. My goal is to play in the WNBA this season, on whatever team it is. And after that, return to Spain.

With only twelve teams in the WNBA with two more expansion franchises on the way, it is not easy to earn a place because there are fewer places available than in the NBA, with its thirty franchises...

Starting next year they are going to add two more teams, so there will be opportunities for them to recruit more players. As things stand the only players sure to make the teams are those who are chosen in the first round.

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What is it like for a Spanish girl to arrive at a high profile university in the world of basketball like Arizona?

At first it's hard. I had many doubts, I didn't know if I wanted to leave or not, I saw that I was very far from home... I think it took me a whole year to fully adapt, to the team and everything else.

How was the adaptation process?

Everything is new: the language, the food, you miss your family, your friends from home. But in the end you realize that it is worth it and that things can work out and doors open. I always say that the opportunity to come here to the US and play is one that very few people have and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The team reached the Final Four in 2021 and lost the final by a single point, against Stanford, but I guess, from the inside, it is an unforgettable experience.

Yes, it was something spectacular. That year, neither I nor anyone else thought we were going to get to where we did. It was game by game, we were advancing and I didn’t even believe it. It took away some of the excitement that that year it was played with COVID measures, there were almost no fans and we couldn’t do many things. But it was an amazing experience, something very beautiful and that I did not imagine I would have the opportunity to experience.

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From your time with Arizona, you’ve seen Sabrina Ionescu rise to fame and this current boom that Caitlin Clark has brought about. I suppose that this change is perceived at all levels, especially in the media.

I remember that in my first year, when we played against Sabrina Ionescu, I was already thinking ‘what a top player’. But this year has been the key, especially with Caitlin Clark as women’s basketball has begun to see a major boom.

Sabrina, Paige Bueckers, Clark... once you have them on the court, what are they like?

Incredible. I remember playing against Sabrina, she appeared to be having a quiet game and when you looked at the statistics she had racked up a lot of points, rebounds, assists... she was doing everything. Bueckers, offensively, is very good, it helps a lot to play against them. And also off the court, like all the impact that Caitlin Clark is having now. All the people who have tuned in, little girls who are noticing her… it’s a very good thing for basketball and she is an incredible player. There are more and more people who watch our games and that is so positive.

I guess they talk about it in the locker room: games the night before, the television audience data... everything that is happening to women’s college basketball.

Yes, something is always discussed before or after training. The audiences that the NCAA matches are delivering and how they surpass those of the men’s tournament. Look at the baskets Clark is sinking, everyone sees it, so everyone comments on it; It has an impact, whether you want it or not, and that is why it is so positive. Just four years ago, this was not the case. There was already a lot of talk with Sabrina, but not as much as now. It’s great that a player like Clark has had such an impact. The important thing is that it continues to grow.

Some veterans have already warned Caitlin Clark to prepare for the WNBA, that this is not college and she will need a good time to adapt. Is the change so big, especially on a physical level?

Everyone brings up their physicality whenever this is talked about. And it is true that there are super big players, with incredible physiques…. But this is basketball, not boxing (laughs). Like everything, it takes time. When I arrived here, in Arizona, I thought the same thing: that all the players were going to be much more physical than me. But it’s a matter of adapting to the game, seeing what your role is going to be and how you can do it well. Maybe that role of yours is not to be physical and grab 45 rebounds.

And that affects everyone, including those at Clark's level.

Players as prolific as her have to work on those aspects in which they are not so good. That’s the key when you make the jump to professional. You’ve already taught everyone that you can shoot three-pointers from the logo and do things like that, now you have to show that you can also defend, work on everything else.

It's a new challenge.

That’s the most exciting thing about this, seeing how players who have always been so, so good can develop those other parts of their game.