Nice response from Diana Taurasi

I know a lot is being made about D's quote but isn't that the way it is for every rookie entering the pros? Pro players are bigger, faster, better conditioned, and more experienced. I feel that there is always an adjustment rookies must make when they reach the WNBA...just like the adjustment players need to make from HS to college ball. Whenever you change levels, the competition level increases too so you have to up your game. That is all D is saying.

Clark does not strike me as being particularly strong or quick. I think she will be, at least initially, a 3-point specialist in the pros...until she can work on strength, conditioning, and acquiring other skills. The closest analogy I think we have is Kelsey Plum, a prolific college scorer like Clark. Plum scored 31.7 ppg her last year of college. Clark averaged a very similar 31.6 this year. However, Plum's first three years in the pros she averaged only 8.5. 9.5, and 8.6 ppg while starting all 3 years. It took until her 4th year for her to hit double-digits. Interestingly, she reached double-digit ppg in that 4th year as a sub coming off the bench. But even coming off the bench, she still played the same number of minutes she did as a starter...between 25-26 mpg.

In her 5th and 6th (the most recent) season, Plum has been a starter and is putting up the best numbers of her career...yet they still do not match the gaudy numbers she put up in college. I would expect Clark to develop along roughly the same time line in the pros....again, what D is saying.