Caitlin Clark never had the chance to play for UConn despite having tremendous respect for Geno Auriemma’s program. Her fans, however, are quite glad that she wasn’t coached by the 12-time national champion.
Clark, a five-star recruit, had an excellent career at Iowa, averaging 28.4 points and 8.2 assists per game. She led the Hawkeyes to the Final Four twice and was named AP Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024.
Despite being an undeniable talent, Clark didn’t receive an offer from UConn because the coaching staff was already locked in with Paige Bueckers.
“I committed to Paige Bueckers very, very early and it would have been silly for me to say to Paige, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going to put you in the backcourt and then I’m going to try really hard to recruit Caitlin Clark.’ I don’t do it that way,” Auriemma said. “I try to lock in on who fits us. We try to lock in on them early and that’s what happened to us and Paige.”
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Although it’s been years since Clark and UConn were mentioned in the same sentence, fans are revisiting what could’ve been for the WNBA star.
After the Dallas Wings announced that former UConn star Azzi Fudd would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, Clark’s fans came to the conclusion that they’re happy she never played for the Huskies. They’re convinced Auriemma would’ve pushed Clark’s body to the limit, eventually resulting in a serious injury.
Geno Auriemma doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Caitlin Clark fans.
If you recall during Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA, Auriemma accused her fans of being delusional and disrespectful.
“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.”
There’s clearly bad blood between Auriemma and Clark’s fan base. With that being said, we’d say it’s for the best that she never suited up for UConn.
