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College basketball fans aren't buying on the collective claim of former NBA champion Jeff Teague, DJ Wells, and Brandon Hendricks that Iowa basketball legend and Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark would win a championship if she chose to commit to UConn in college.
The hosts of the "Club 520 Podcast" were convinced that Clark — who played for four seasons with the Hawkeyes and became the all-time NCAA Division I leader in points scored encompassing all genders — would help UConn win the national championship and go undefeated every year if she played there.
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“You put Caitlin Clark on UCONN, they’re definitely going to the National Championship. Undefeated every year,” the hosts said. (2:47)
Fans, however, had a different take on the topic and pointed out that 11-time national champion coach and the winningest coach in college basketball, Geno Auriemma, would sabotage Clark's career if she played with UConn.
One fan reacted about how Auriemma's system would affect Clark's superstardom, thinking that the UConn mentor would force the guard to follow his system 24/7.
"Put Caitlin Clark on UConn and we never know who she is because Geno would want her to stand in the corner and would coach all the good things out of her," the fan wrote on X.
"Agreed if she plays how she has been, but the problem is geno, do we really believe he would let her play her style of basketball. But put all Uconn players at iowa. They win 4 years straight," another fan added.
"Nah, Geno would have channeled her into a cookie cutter role player," the college hoops enthusiast pointed out
"I’ve heard that Geno at UCONN has a system for playing the game. What I have seen of UCONN, that system is not the way Caitlin plays basketball," a fan added.
Other fans believe that Geno Auriemma would ruin Caitlin Clark's career had she committed to UConn.
"Nope Geno would have ruined her 🤷," one fan said.
"Geno would mess that up," another college hoops fan retorted.
"Most likely… unless Geno’s ego got in the way," an X user pointed out.
"Not with Geno, we saw what happened to Paige," one social media follower said, referencing what UConn is doing with its top superstar guard Paige Bueckers.
Other fans believe that Auriemma hates Clark and he'll never give the Iowa superstar a chance to thrive within his system.
"Geno didn’t want CC 🤡," a fan wrote.
"AND THAT’S WHY GENO HATING ON CC. He knows he fkd up royally not recruiting her. He literally cost himself 2-3 National Championship…Smdh," another basketball enthusiast added.
"This is a wild statement and so incorrect…," one fan said.
"Yes, but Geno knew best. 😵💫, " a user added.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma rips apart Caitlin Clark in previous comments
UConn coach Geno Auriemma has been a staunch critic of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark ever since she was playing with Iowa. He picked apart Clark's fans for being disrespectful to WNBA players during his guesting on the Dan Patrick Show in June.
"The delusional fanbase that follows her disrespected the WNBA players by saying she's going to go in that league and tear it apart," Auriemma said.
Auriemma stepped up his tirade by pointing out her physical deficiencies that WNBA players could take advantage of when they play against her.
"She’s just not built for the physicality of this league. And she’s not quick enough to get away from the physicality," he said. "But she needs to be on a better team and she needs to be more experienced and that will come."
Auriemma said in an interview that he was a phone call away, and he'll accept a generational player like Clark to play at UConn. But other factors have got in the way, and the legendary coach says he's just happy for the six-foot guard for making the best decision, and that is to play for Iowa in 2020.
Are the hosts of the Club 520 Podcast correct on their claim that Caitlin Clark would've won a championship for UConn if she committed to the Huskies? Let us know your insights in the comments section.
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