Current:Home > FinanceCaitlin Clark 'keeps the momentum rolling' on first day of Indiana Fever training camp-InfoLens
Caitlin Clark 'keeps the momentum rolling' on first day of Indiana Fever training camp
View Date:2024-12-23 12:06:11
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark likes to push the pace.
That was evident during Clark's college career at Iowa, when she frequently grabbed a rebound and turned to run back up the court, quickly pulling up for a transition 3-pointer. She's someone that likes to play quick.
And that is working out in her favor, especially as she transitions from the 30-second college shot clock to the 24-second WNBA clock. There are also only eight seconds to get the ball over halfcourt, instead of 10.
"It's fast, a fast shot clock, but I think all of you know that's how I like to play," Clark said. "So, I think it suits my game pretty well. And, you know, it's a fast pace, a lot faster than college. You gotta learn quicker, you gotta get your mind fully wherever, you know, there's no time to be tired."
More:Four questions to open Indiana Fever training camp: How will Caitlin Clark jell?
The Fever cut that number down even more on the first day of training camp on Sunday, playing five-on-five with a 15-second shot clock. Clark was running with the first team during practice, joining center Aliyah Boston, forwards NaLyssa Smith and Katie Lou Samuelson, and guard Erica Wheeler. Kelsey Mitchell, who has started for the Fever for multiple years, is currently out with an ankle injury to start camp.
Clark easily kept up with the first team during that drill, which also featured rim passes to Smith — something head coach Christie Sides was emphasizing during their film session. But Clark never got out of basketball shape. After all, she played in the national championship game just three weeks ago.
"I feel like I'm in really good basketball shape," Clark said. "There's no getting back in shape for myself, I've been playing basketball. There's been no really off period. And for me, I feel like that's a really good thing. It just keeps the momentum rolling."
Even as the pace quickens for Clark, her fundamentals never wavered. She sank 3-pointers and made elaborate passes throughout the first official day of practice, looking like the same player she was in college. Clark averaged 8.9 assists per game in her senior year at Iowa, and her passing ability will be crucial for a Fever team that had just 18 assists per game — 11th in the league — in 2023.
Her new teammates will just have to get used to those passes coming their way.
"Her passing ability, I mean, you saw some of the passes," coach Christie Sides said. "Like, I'm more mad at how many missed layups that we had. It was off a couple of her passes that I think we're just not used to having, you know, someone who can make some of those passes. So, for me, it's her passing. I'm just enamored at times."
Now, the only thing Clark will really have to work on is her defense, something she said Sides has already been on her about.
"Can't let people drive middle," Clark said with a laugh. "I need to work on that for sure."
Indiana ranked 10th in general defense last year, and Sides said of the 26 close games the Fever were in last year, they could never get stops late – they had a defensive rating of 119 in those moments.
"I hate to even admit that we were focused on defense because we fell (10th) last year, right," Sides said. "That didn't sit well with me. We're going to be better defensively. We have to be better."
veryGood! (27)
Related
- Colts' Kenny Moore II ridicules team's effort in loss to Bills
- Illinois mass murder suspect, person of interest found dead after Oklahoma police chase
- Tragedy in Vegas: Hit-and-run of an ex-police chief, shocking video, a frenzy of online hate
- Dangerous inmate escapes custody while getting treatment at hospital in St. Louis
- 5-year-old boy who went missing while parent was napping is found dead near Oregon home, officials say
- 'Probably haunted' funeral home listed for sale as 3-bedroom house with rooms 'gutted and waiting'
- Louisville police credit Cardinals players for help in rescue of overturned car near their stadium
- The Roman Empire is all over TikTok: Are the ways men and women think really that different?
- American Idol’s Triston Harper, 16, Expecting a Baby With Wife Paris Reed
- Who are Rupert Murdoch’s children? What to know about the media magnate’s successor and family
Ranking
- Candidates line up for special elections to replace Virginia senators recently elected to US House
- Former fashion mogul pleads not guilty in Canadian sex-assault trial
- Police searching day care for hidden drugs after tip about trap door: Sources
- Caviar and Pringles? Not as strange as you think. New combo kits priced as high as $140.
- Inspector general finds no fault in Park Police shooting of Virginia man in 2017
- Fox founder Rupert Murdoch steps down from global media empire
- Lisa Marie Presley's Estate Sued Over $3.8 Million Loan
- Banned New Zealand Olympic runner arrested in Kenya over sexual assault and weapon allegations
Recommendation
-
Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
-
Israel strikes alleged Syrian military structures. It says the buildings violated a 1974 cease-fire
-
Bob Ross' 1st painting from famed TV show up for auction. How much is it?
-
Parents, are you overindulging your kid? This 4-question test can help you find out
-
Two 'incredibly rare' sea serpents seen in Southern California waters months apart
-
Three fake electors and Trump co-defendants ask judge to move their cases to federal court
-
Some Rare, Real Talk From a Utility About Competition With Rooftop Solar
-
Sophie Turner Says She Found Out Joe Jonas Filed for Divorce From Media