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There is a lot of buzz around Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut on May 3.
Yet, Lindsay Schnell of CBS Sports thinks fans should lower their expectations for Clark’s scoring this season.
Schnell wrote in a May 3 article, “Defenders are going to be aggressive and physical with Clark, so it’s likely she’ll struggle to score at the clip she did in college.”
While Schnell isn’t convinced that Clark’s college scoring will translate to the WNBA right away, she does believe another aspect of the Iowa legend’s offensive game will: her passing.
“New York’s Courtney Vandersloot led the league last year in assists with 8.1 per game,” Schnell wrote. “But Clark can top that merely because she has so many great options to pass to, from 2023 Rookie of the Year [Aliyah] Boston to Kelsey Mitchell to NaLyssa Smith and others.”
“Her passing will translate immediately, especially in transition,” Schnell added of the 2024 WNBA Draft’s No. 1 pick.
Schnell makes another surprising claim about Clark (who is currently -700 to win 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, according to FanDuel) in the article.
“Los Angeles Sparks’ Rickea Jackson will be the 2024 Rookie of the Year,” Schnell wrote.
“The 6-foot-2 guard/forward has tremendous size to go along with her skillset, which means she’ll make an immediate impact,” Schnell said. “What’s more, the Sparks are in desperate need of some scoring — they lost their top two scorers in the offseason — and Jackson can provide that.”
FanDuel has Jackson at +3000 to win Rookie of the Year.
Clark’s Passing Prowess Is Often Overlooked
Even if Clark does struggle to score in the WNBA compared to college, she can always lean on her elite passing.
Her 8.9 assists per game at Iowa last season led the NCAA by a long shot. The second most assists per game a player had was 7.3.
When speaking with the media on April 29, Clark noted that her passing has been catching Fever teammates off guard at practice.
“There has been passes I’ve thrown where they’re not even looking, but they’ll look at the last second,” Clark said.
Aliyah Boston praised her new teammate’s passing on April 29.
“Caitlin’s ability to pass that ball. Caitlin’s ability to get the ball into the post at the right angle is going to be really good for us,” Boston said, per Matt Dowell. “We know that, hey, we run, Caitlin is going to find us.”
The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer went viral in April for the insanely accurate pass she threw to her brother in the stands after an Iowa win.
What Clark Faces With The Dallas Wings
The Indiana Fever’s first preseason game on May 3 will show whether Clark’s college scoring will translate into the pro game.
Dallas had the WNBA’s fifth-best defensive rating last season. Two players on the Wings (Satou Sabally and Arike Ogunbowale) ranked in the top 10 for steals in 2023.
While Sabally is injured and won’t play on May 3, Clark will likely be matched up against Ogunbowale, who also plays point guard.
Therefore, Clark’s May 3 performance against one of the WNBA’s top defensive guards will provide a nice litmus test to see how her offense will translate.
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