Caitlin Clark’s ex-coach speaks out about WNBA star – ‘She didn’t know how to work with others’

Many WNBA fans will be tuning in to watch Caitlin Clark this season following a breakthrough 2024 with Indiana Fever, but the point guard wasn’t always the brilliant team player she is today

Caitlin Clark wasn’t always a team player according to her ex-coach(Image: Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark didn’t know how to work with others early in her career, according to Lisa Bluder.

The 23-year-old has impressed with Indiana Fever following her incredible breakthrough season last year which saw her clinch Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie Team and All-WNBA First-Team honors. At present, the Fever sit seventh in the WNBA standings after being made to do without Clark for the last five games owing to a quadriceps injury.

However, she wasn’t always a team-player according to Bluder, who worked with the youngster at the University of Iowa. Speaking to the Athletic about Clark’s freshman year, the 64-year-old revealed how the star has blossomed from her early college days until now.

“Oh, it was a challenge at first,” she said. “Like her freshman year, Caitlin didn’t really understand how to work with other people as much because she was always the show.

“She could do it by herself. But when you get to a Power Four conference and you’re competing at the highest level, you realize, ‘Oh, I can’t do this all by myself.’

“So it was a realization that she needed her team as well as they needed her. Building that trust was really important early on. But there were a couple of players who transferred after her freshman year because she was hard at first.

“She learned how to develop her leadership skills. She learned how to become more inclusive. And some people, she rubbed wrong and they left, and that’s OK.

“She got better, but I also wanted people who wanted to be challenged and wanted to be their best. Again, giving up your own personal stuff sometimes is really, really hard.”

Lisa Bluder has spoken about Caitlin Clark(Image: Getty Images)

In terms of developing Clark’s leadership skills during her collegiate stint, Bluder also added that she enthused the point guard to utilise books and work with sports psychologists. She added: “Well, we started meeting weekly and having leadership meetings.

“I would have her read some leadership books and we would kind of go through the chapters and talk about them afterwards, ‘What did you learn from this?’ And then we would bring in sports psychologists to work with our team so that she understood.

“I would have them meet with her individually and then meet with the team. Some of those things helped with her leadership. We would show her a video of herself.

“I mean, Caitlin is very passionate. She’s not the only person I’ve done this with. I’ve had other players whose bench decorum or their reaction affects the team in a negative way.

Caitlin Clark has continued to impress at Indiana Fever(Image: Getty Images)

“You have to show it to them because they don’t understand. They don’t know it. They’re living it. They’re so into the moment that they don’t understand how they’re affecting other people. And showing real-life examples away from the court, and after the emotion is over, is a good thing.”

Clark spent four years at the University of Iowa before she was selected as the first overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft, and it appears as though the tutelage passed down from Bluder has paid dividends for Clark’s career. In 2025, the talent is one of the most renowned players in the game today, with a wealth of accolades to her name despite only going pro last year.

Last season, Clark managed an average of 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 5.6 turnovers and 19.2 points per game – smashing through numerous WNBA records in doing so, including becoming the first rookie to register a triple-double and a new record for assists in a single game with 19 against the Dallas Wings.

Despite her recent injury issues, Clark started the season off impressively and boasts an average of six rebounds and 9.3 assists this year thus far. She is finally expected to return on Saturday when the Fever play host to the undefeated New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.