Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was temporarily banished from practice by one former coach as her hot-headed nature got in the way.
Caitlin Clark has revealed why Lisa Bluder once booted her out of training (Image: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Basketball phenomenon Caitlin Clark has revealed how former Iowa Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder once put her on the naughty step. The WNBA superstar has excelled while promoting herself as a genuine and clean-cut talent – but even Clark’s temper can boil over at times.
After igniting a revolution in women’s basketball, the Indiana Fever superstar clinched her team a playoff berth for the first time since 2016. The No1 Draft pick made waves by transitioning effortlessly to the elite standard, with anticipation already building for what she’ll bring in 2025.
But Clark’s intense drive has occasionally caused friction, with even her own coaches and team-mates sometimes on the receiving end. And the 22-year-old has acknowledged her passion may sometimes be a little much.
“Coach Bluder kicking me out,” said the point guard while she and former team-mates listed funny episodes from Iowa training on the the Fresh Tawk with Jade Gyamfi podcast (via the Irish Star). Fellow guard Kate Martin – who now plays for the Las Vegas Aces – couldn’t believe what she was hearing before Clark clarified.
“Mine was only because I would beef with the blue squad,” she added. The Hawkeyes would regularly divide up into two teams for intrasquad games, and even then Clark struggled to hold back in her bid for success.
Any temporary frictions didn’t seem to hinder the team as Iowa managed to reach the NCAA Championship game two years in a row. They narrowly missed out on victory each time, but Clark’s exceptional talent didn’t go unnoticed as she was named the best college player in the nation both years.
WARNING GRAB TAKEN FROM YOUTUBEKate Martin (L) and Caitlin Clark on the Fresh Tawk with Jade Gyamfi podcastCredit: Fresh Tawk with Jade Gyamfi podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p1gC6vEewM (Image: Fresh Tawk with Jade Gyamfi podcast)
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Host Gyamfi related to Clark’s experience and said she too had been asked to step out of practice. “Only momentarily, though,” she pointed out. “I was allowed back in.”
Iowa icon Bluder was linked with the vacant Fever coaching post following Christie Sides’ dismissal, but Stephanie White has since been handed the reins. And the returning icon will have high hopes she can harness Clark’s remarkable abilities to land the team’s first title since 2012.
As the prodigious guard gears up for her second WNBA season, Clark is determined to propel Indiana to greater heights after a disappointing first-round departure in this year’s play-offs. However, she may have to monitor herself in training to get the best out of team-mates, as well as herself.
