May 25, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Checking in on WNBA rookies
By The Next
Hunter Cruse, Lincoln Shafer, and Em Adler discuss who's thriving and who's struggling in the WNBA rookie class
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Hunter Cruse is joined by correspondents Em Adler and Lincoln Shafer to discuss the status of the 2024 rookie class in the WNBA. They highlight Cameron Brink‘s strong start with the Sparks, analyze Caitlin Clark‘s first few games with the Fever, and more.
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The hosts open the show by diving deep into Caitlin Clark’s performance so far this season. After a stressful-seeming start, “she looks like she’s having fun again,” Shafer suggests. “It took until game three where you see her starting to smile on the court. She’s still taking the audacious shots .. but she looks more comfortable on the court.”
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They move on next to discussing one of the more interesting rookies of the 2024 season – Belgian point guard Julie Vanloo, who began her first WNBA season with the Washington Mystics at age 31. “She’s awesome … and technically a rookie,” Shafer clarifies. “She’s already been one of the best guards,” Cruse echoes. “There are not many who can pass, score, and dribble at the guard position. There are just not many players like that.”
Later, the hosts talk about Cameron Brink. “She’s already been one of the best defensive centers in the league so far this season,” Cruse argues. Adler concurs. “She’s had the single most dominant defensive quarter that anyone has had this season,” she says.
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