Why did UConn’s Geno Auriemma call Caitlin Clark fans ‘delusional?’

From the talking heads to Congress itself, it appears everybody has a take on the Indiana Fever’s rookie sensation and what she has had to deal with since entering the WNBA. Yet, to her credit she has for the most part kept her head down and continued to plug away.

Geno Auriemma raises an interesting point

The Indiana Fever are now 11 games into the season and sitting on a 2-9 record but the only thing anybody is talking about is Caitlin Clark’s time in the league so far. The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft has not hit the ground running since her arrival and many have attributed that to the way in which she has been treated by other players. Indeed, things reached a fever pitch last Saturday when Clark and Co. took on the Chicago Sky. As you would have seen by now from our previous report, Clark was on the receiving end of a heavy hit from the Sky’s Chennedy Carter, who later added fuel to the fire by questioning Clark’s credentials before declaring she had “no regrets” about her actions.

It was in the wake of those events that long-time UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma weighed in on the situation, saying that Clark was in fact being “targeted”, however, what he also added was a take on the reason why and one has to admit, it makes sense. Speaking on “The Dan Patrick Show” this week, the 70-year-old was frank in his assessment of Clark’s fanbase, calling them “delusional” when speaking about the sequence of events that have transpired.

“If you’re a great college player like Caitlin was, the delusional fan base that follows her disrespected the WNBA players by saying that she’s gonna go in that league and tear it apart. ... These people are so disrespectful and so unknowledgeable and so stupid that it gives women’s basketball a bad name,” Auriemma said. “So the kid was set up for failure right from the beginning.” Auriemma also alluded to the idea that it’s simply a matter of time before Clark improves her physical attributes, something he believes is hindering her in these early stages. “I think she’s handling it great,” Auriemma said. “I think she talks a lot of s--t, and she gets a lot of s--t back. She deserves everything she gets because she gives it as good as she gets it. She’s just not built for the physicality of this league, and she’s not quick enough to get away from the physicality. ...When she gets it, she has elite skills that are going to help her. She needs to be on a better team, and she needs experience.”