Credits: USA TODAY Sports

Caitlin Clark’s effortless jumpers from 30+ feet have often drawn comparisons to Stephen Curry. Her ability to maintain perfect shooting form from the logo is a rarity in women’s basketball. Her long-range exploits have single-handedly drawn a ton of audience to the WNBA. But nailing deep threes might not be her best strength, according to coach Mike Krzyzewski. During an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s The Herd podcast, Krzyzewski suggested Clark has other attributes that rival her shooting.

For Coach K, it is CC’s passing that takes the cake. The 5x NCAA Champion coach also hailed the former Iowa star’s game sense, which allows her to read the floor better than most players. He lauded Clark for maximizing the potential of her young teammates through her unparalleled court vision.

But at the same time, Coach K thinks CC’s team may not be getting the best out of her. He seemed sure that her skillset would shine even more in conjunction with her well-seasoned teammates if used properly.

“I think the best thing she does is pass. She is an amazing passer and she sees things, there are talks about her shooting, scoring, and obviously she does that really well, but she makes teammates better and putting her on a WNBA team, where you have adults, older players, really talented players, you gonna see her talent even more.”

Statistically, there is a strong case for Clark’s passing being a level above her shooting. Before the Olympics break, she led the league in assists with 8.2 dimes per game.

She also created a WNBA single-game record with 19 assists against the Dallas Wings. On the other hand, she is fifth in the league in three-point-makes per game with 2.7 threes per game, shooting 32.7% from deep(27th).

These statistics prove that Clark’s passing is head and shoulders above everyone else in the league, while her shooting is largely a work in progress. Her pass-first mentality has helped Indiana Fever improve their record around the All-Star Break.

Caitlin Clark looks to pass at every turn

During a recent post-game conference, Clark admitted that she is always looking to share the ball, especially in fastbreak situations. She also confessed that sometimes she tends to pass it around so much that defenses can react to her tendency and enforce turnovers.

Clark has already broken the WNBA record for most turnovers(5.6 per game) in a season at the midway point. But these turnovers are worth it for CC as it makes for thrilling basketball.

“A lot of my turnovers come from playing exciting basketball. At times, I feel like I can almost overpass cause I want to set them up so badly that I almost lose vision of the basket at times, I am almost thinking of passing the ball, and kind of forget about shooting.”

During the press conference after Team USA vs WNBA All-Stars, she revealed that feeding the ball to her teammates and complementing their game gives her immense joy. It far surpasses the happiness of notching a bucket.

“I just want to set my teammates up for success, get them in positions to be successful. I probably take more pride in that probably than making shots.”

Clark’s mental make-up explains why she is such an effective passer.