Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo compares Caitlin Clark to Pete Maravich, questions 'resentment' toward her

After missing time with a quad injury, Caitlin Clark has wasted no time since returning to play. After a phenomenal game over the weekend, things would get chippy in Clark’s second game back after she was poked in the eye and knocked down against the Connecticut Sun.

Naturally, the incident set off another round of discourse regarding why so much physical play seems to follow Clark. ESPN’s First Take debated it, with Stephen A. Smith comparing Clark to Larry Bird. Also on the panel, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had a different comparison to another era, though, bringing up “Pistol” Pete Maravich.

“She might be a Pistol Pete,” Chris Russo said. “I mean, she’s got a lot of Pistol Pete in her. Number one pick, fun offensive player at Iowa. Pistol Pete at LSU.”

Maravich was a standout at LSU where he was a three-time All-American. He’d go on to have what eventually became a Hall of Fame career in the NBA as well, largely known for his offensive play. In fact, while Clark was chasing history in college, she was chasing Maravich. It would be his all-time scoring record, regardless of gender, that she broke at the college level.

It was during Clark’s college career that she built up a massive following and fanbase. That has led to plenty of opportunities on and off the court. It’s also why Russo believes that incidents like the one against the Sun stem from a professional resentment.

“There has to be some level of professional resentment because Caitlin Clark does all the State Farm commercials, she’s made a fortune off the court, she hasn’t won a championship yet. They had a preseason game this year, her team in Iowa. You know what the rating was? 1.2 million watched on TV. Why? Not because of the other team, because of Caitlin Clark. People read about that,” Russo said. “They see that, they were in the league long before she was, they helped build the league. Here, she comes in and the whole world is now paying attention. There’s no way you can tell me that there isn’t some level of annoyance that she’s gotten all this publicity early on in her career.”

This incident wasn’t the first this season between Clark and opposing players as physical play caused skirmishes. It seems like that’s a trend that’s going to be continuing moving forward. In the meantime, she’s going to try and continue to back up the opportunities she has with her on-court play.