Caitlin Clark’s basketball IQ has been praised ever since she entered the league, and during the game against the Seattle Storm, she showed just how confident she is in her instincts. She trusts herself enough to even go past her head coach to make the final decision.
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Late in the second quarter, Caitlin Clark found herself nearly stripped of the ball by Storm rookie Flau’jae Johnson, after which the ball sailed out of bounds. After the turnover was called against Indiana, however, CC quickly ran to the sideline, immediately arguing that the ball had gone off Johnson’s foot. Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco narrated the sequence on the ESPN broadcast as it happened, which was later clipped on X.
“Caitlin Clark was telling Steph White, ‘I want a challenge,’ Lobo said to Ruocco. “Steph kind of looked at her. She went right past Steph. Went to the bench and told the replay assistant coach on the bench… Watch CC. She looks at Steph. Okay, forget it. She goes right to the bench instead.”
“It goes to Rob Dozier, who runs the replay system for the Fever, and he very quickly twirls his finger and says, yeah,” Ruocco added.
“You go to one parent, they don’t give you the answer you want, Ryan Ruocco. You’ve got to go to the other one,” Lobo concluded with a bout of laughter.
After the challenge was approved, leading to refs reviewing it, the replay confirmed that Clark was right to call for the challenge, as even Lobo and Ruocco noted that the ball went off Johnson’s foot.
Clark ignoring White became news as we have seen flashes of trouble between the two this year. Earlier this season, there were several sideline interactions between the star guard and her coach featuring animated discussions. This sparked speculation about tension between the two. Since then, both have publicly dismissed that narrative.
“I think a lot of those things happen all the time,” Clark said a few days after they were caught in a heated exchange on camera. “I know there’s a camera on me and that’s how it’s going to be, but there are a lot of people out there in the media or on TV that think they know a lot of things and they’re just blatantly wrong about a lot of things. I ride with Steph, I ride for these girls. Steph has my back more than anybody.”
White reiterated the sentiment, refusing to let media narratives affect her relationship with her star player.
“My relationship with Caitlin is great. I love Caitlin. I ride with her”
Regardless of what the situation between the two is like, moments like the one in the Storm game have only led to further speculation. And it is unlikely to stop after Caitlin Clark was seen ignoring her coach.