Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides revealed the interaction between her and star rookie Caitlin Clark after she got left out of the USA roster for the Paris Olympics this summer.
Despite her popularity and play expanding the WNBA‘s audience greatly, Clark is yet to find her stride in the pros after being selected by Indiana with the first overall pick in April.
While addressing the media on Sunday afternoon, Sides narrated how Clark approached her with the news. She then praised the former Iowa Hawkeye for taking the unfortunate news in stride.
‘I’m a little disappointed, of course – she’s my player,’ Sides said when asked about Clark getting snubbed. ‘That’s the hardest team in the world to make, right? That is a tough team.’
‘She’s young. She’s gonna have so many opportunities in the future.’
Christie Sides revealed what Caitlin Clark said after getting left out of the Olympic roster
‘We talked [actually] on the bus,’ Sides added when asked how she coached Clark out of the bad news. ‘She got the call on the bus, and she texted me to let me know.’
‘I just tried to keep her spirits [up],’ Sides continued. ‘The thing she said was: ‘Coach, they woke a monster,’ which I thought was awesome.’
After a stellar collegiate career in Iowa, Clark has done well but struggled to find consistency since transitioning into the WNBA. The rookie averages 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists for the Fever .
However, the NCAA top scorer has noticeably struggled against the upper echelon of teams in the league. Clark’s lowest-scoring performances came in a loss to the Las Vegas Aces
Clark has broken her silence on being snubbed by Team USA roster for the Olympics
Dave Portnoy (left) is furious with Clark (right) not expected to go to the Olympics
The No 1 overall pick is averaging 6.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists for the Fever
Nevertheless, Clark said she is excited and rooting for the team as they take to Paris.
‘I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,’ Clark said on Sunday.
‘I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could’ve gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team.
‘I’m excited for them, gonna be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, it’ll be fun to watch them.
‘Honestly, no disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for. It’s a dream, hopefully, one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little bit more motivation. You remember that, and hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.’
