Caitlin Clark says players, coaches in WNBA are 'a lot smarter' than in college

After just one season in WNBA, Caitlin Clark noticed one big difference between women’s basketball at the professional level and basketball at the college level: IQ needs to develop.

22-year-old Indiana fever Guard was recently named TIME Magazine’s 2024 Athlete of the Year as well her profile in the publicationClark shared her early impressions of the level of competition in the WNBA.

“Pro players and professional coaches – this is no disrespect to women’s college basketball – are much smarter. I love women’s college basketball. But if you go back and see how people looked after me in college, it’s almost disturbing.” Clark told TIME.

Clark broke numerous records during her time at Iowa, becoming the NCAA Division I women’s career scoring leader and all-time Division I leader in three-pointers in her senior season before leading the Hawkeyes to a second straight national championship game and being named National Player of the Year .

In her debut season in the WNBA, she added more accolades to her resume, including All-WNBA First Team and Rookie of the Year, after setting league records for single-season and single-game assists, becoming the first rookie to achieve that triple-double in WNBA history and breaking the rookie scoring record.

Although Clark’s college basketball career was not without its challenges, such as repeated fights with fellow WNBA and college rival Angel Reese and LSU and losing her last chance at an NCAA Tournament title to the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Iowa native thinks the overall college competition could be better.

“They didn’t double me, they didn’t trap me, they weren’t physical. It’s difficult. It’s college. Many of these women will never play basketball again in their lives. they have the IQ to understand how the game works, so I totally get it. And that’s not disrespectful at all. They have no IQ. For girls this age, it needs to be kept simple.

Clark, who was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, hasn’t had it easy in the WNBA, but he’s found a way to overcome his development challenges.

The Indiana Fever finished the season 20-20 and were eliminated in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.

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