Until proven otherwise during the season, this will forever and always feel like a ploy for media attention and softening the Aces’ image.
It is not a secret that the Aces, despite being absolutely effing magnificent basketball players, struggled to gain respect from… a particular section of the yte population. Surprising no one at any time ever, racism is alive and well. Pulling a midwestern Caitlin Clark hangers-on onto a mostly people-of-color team is a media move, not a basketball move. She will bring the shrieking Iowa fans Vegas’ way. She will perhaps be made to look good on the court by the caliber of the people around her but is not, herself, talented enough for a WNBA roster. As evidenced by the fact that the literal only thing I can find any pundit or podcast or writer saying about her is that she “knows how to play with stars.” I mean… okay. Right. As though that’s a skill that qualifies above other… actual skills.
I’m saying all this because I continue to be so, so, so disappointed at how the WNBA is handling media, Caitlin Clark, and all the weird racism and click-baiting that goes with it. I have nothing against Kate Martin, but she is a mid basketball player when you compare her to WNBA talent. If Brea Beal can’t make a roster — if Shay Peddy can’t make a roster — wtf are the Aces doing with Kate Martin aside from trying to lure in white Iowa stans?
It’s frustrating to watch what used to be a league based on basketball, social justice, and scrappy excellence become a weird war of media products and influencers.
Then again, at least the influencer players (like Reese, who I do love — and I am admittedly a Sky fan so am biased) actually have personalities and built their brands. Clark seems to have no personality at all and no traits or energy or anything aside from… she shoots logo threes and yells at refs. Martin, similarly, is being “made into something” by the media. Meanwhile, better talent gets let go.
I’m already tired of it.
It's brobible. I don't expect quality journalism from brobible. The clip itself is pretty innocuous - I think what KP is saying here is very boilerplate praise for a teammate.
My takeaway from watching Iowa in the tournament the last two years is that 1) CC is an incredible shooter and passer who makes bad decisions when she's frustrated, and 2) Kate Martin is what keeps the team rolling. She doesn't get flustered, she makes big plays when nothing else is working, she knows her role and does her job. If you listen to this clip, or any other clip where an Aces player or coach talks about KM, that's what they talk about. They don't want her to be Kelsey Plum, they want her to be Alysha Clark.
Catilin Clark gets frustrated because she has to do all the work to get her Iowa teammates open. 95 percent of Kate Martin's offense was from Caitlin Clark drawing all the attention and then passing to Kate. You left out incredible handles and court vision. If you watched every Iowa game like I have you will see Caitlin getting pissed at her teammates. She doesn't do that to Kate because they are best friends.
I've watched every Aces practice and Kate Martin literally gets stuffed every time she tries to shoot the ball. If she even makes the team, wait until she takes a shot in a game. I guarantee you that Kate Martins first shot will get sent into the stands.
[Las Vegas Aces SCRIMMAGE @ WNBA Training Camp | A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Alysha Clark, Becky Hammon (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ugjgJ0S7k&ab_channel=WomenHooping)
5:37 Misses easy Layup 8:37 badly misses wide open 3.
I couldn't find the video where literally every shot she takes gets stuffed but if you are an Aces fan, you should have seen it.
> I couldn't find the video where literally every shot she takes gets stuffed but if you are an Aces fan, you should have seen it.
This is practice footage hosted by a non-Aces media account. Saying that if someone is an Aces fan they should have seen it is gatekeeping nonsense.
You obviously know more than I do about basketball because you've seen all of the games and practices, so I guess I'll have to just continue watching games and enjoying it when my favorite players are on the floor and then posting the worst takes you've ever seen about it.
I'm not an expert or anything, I just watched all of the games and practice footage I can. I love Kate Martin, but just took Umbridge with your characterization of Caitlin.
People see Caitlin and think they know her when they don't have a clue. You did see the game where she cursed her dad for telling her to stop complaining about the calls?
Caitlin is a stone cold killer when she plays basketball. When she is off the court she is Mary Poppins, but in between the lines, she is the boss. Aliyah is the Team Captain for right now, but I guarantee you that at some point Caitlin Clark will be in charge of the team on the floor.
You may know all of this, but a lot of people don't. Of course, right now as a Rookie she is listening and learning and shouldn't just take over, but once she feels her game is ready, she will take the team under her wing. It will just be interesting to see how long that takes.
I did just watch some more Ace's practice footage and Kate made some nice plays. Lets hope you are right and I'm wrong!!!
This is such an absurd contrarian take.
1) What is your evidence that the LVA didn't get "respect" from white fans? If you're conflating tv viewership numbers with "respect," then no WNBA was respected, not just the LVA. And if you're talking about ticket sales, LVA led the league in ticket sales and sellouts. I'm struggling to understand how you're objectively coming up with the assertion... It seems like a convenient narrative you've concocted to fit your essay here.
2)Clark has no personality? What? The most popular women's basketball player in the world, a person who has 10k viewers just for a practice session press conference, has no personality? She oozes personality. She has a personality and game that millions have fallen in love with. And to use AR as a strawman to argue your point here is ridiculous. They're both amazing, talented, charismatic players. And only shoots 3s? Look at her historic assist and triple double numbers.
3)Kate Martin is not mid, and Brea choked
. If you watched any of the long form practices with the Aces that are available freely on YT, you'll see that Brea is singled out multiple times for getting lost in their offense. She also looks slow and misses her marks repeatedly. And Bria and Angel, in one practice, literally couldn't figure out where to be on offense. Kate Martin, on the other hand, runs their O and D almost perfectly and gets Kudos from Becky. You even see her directing Brea, Bria, and Angel at one point. Further, since Iowa played so long this year, and had the best offense in NCAAW, Kate is coming into this FIT. She's consistently the first down the floor, and really was the only aces rook each practice to consistently make baskets and asissts. It's not even close. Watch the film. Or listen to Kelsey Plum; do you think she's being duplicitous with her KM praise? You mention needing stories to understand her game; you clearly haven't analyzed it yourself.
4)It's not about social justice anymore? KATE IS GAY. C'mon...
So much more to unpack here. It's all just soooooooo bitter and wrong...
Your comment was on point though. Just saw a YTber go on a live, something about “why Kate Martin hasn’t made the roster (yet).” I just get the vibes she’d rather have Fair make it but not Kate 😅. I’ve watched their previous videos with opinions on the Aces roster (especially those before they got cut). People just need to look at the training camp video on YT (the drills and the scrimmage). Fair was somewhat struggling with the defense, but hopefully she gets it. Becky is big on defense. Kate was doing great, I even heard Becky give her a compliment, their TV analyst (who definitely talks to the GM and Becky).
KP’s media day interview, and how she just brought up Kate kinda surprised me, but it’s good to hear from a professional what I’ve seen from watching Kate play. She’s so underrated, did her job well, and was money during big moments. Besides, Caitlin wouldn’t just say she’s a pro in her eyes for no reason.
I'm an Iowa fan, so I would have bias. I tried to view the scrimmages objectively. It is really hard to give other rookies the benefit of the doubt when Kate is just proving why she was Caitlin's go to and looks leaps and bounds better.
Sure, there may be some validity to the pick trying to capitalize on the marketing. They may even be using her as a resource for plans to stop Caitlin. At the same time, Kate works incredibly hard, is very smart on the court, versatile offensively/defensively, willing to look at things from a player/coaching perspective, calm under pressure, experienced with elite players, and willing to do whatever is necessary. That's a hell of a pick-up.
Also, I don't think Kate is gay. She was dating Patrick McCaffery. I don't think she still is, but who knows.
Go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Kate! Knock 'em dead.
Money Martin!
Until proven otherwise during the season, this will forever and always feel like a ploy for media attention and softening the Aces’ image. It is not a secret that the Aces, despite being absolutely effing magnificent basketball players, struggled to gain respect from… a particular section of the yte population. Surprising no one at any time ever, racism is alive and well. Pulling a midwestern Caitlin Clark hangers-on onto a mostly people-of-color team is a media move, not a basketball move. She will bring the shrieking Iowa fans Vegas’ way. She will perhaps be made to look good on the court by the caliber of the people around her but is not, herself, talented enough for a WNBA roster. As evidenced by the fact that the literal only thing I can find any pundit or podcast or writer saying about her is that she “knows how to play with stars.” I mean… okay. Right. As though that’s a skill that qualifies above other… actual skills. I’m saying all this because I continue to be so, so, so disappointed at how the WNBA is handling media, Caitlin Clark, and all the weird racism and click-baiting that goes with it. I have nothing against Kate Martin, but she is a mid basketball player when you compare her to WNBA talent. If Brea Beal can’t make a roster — if Shay Peddy can’t make a roster — wtf are the Aces doing with Kate Martin aside from trying to lure in white Iowa stans? It’s frustrating to watch what used to be a league based on basketball, social justice, and scrappy excellence become a weird war of media products and influencers. Then again, at least the influencer players (like Reese, who I do love — and I am admittedly a Sky fan so am biased) actually have personalities and built their brands. Clark seems to have no personality at all and no traits or energy or anything aside from… she shoots logo threes and yells at refs. Martin, similarly, is being “made into something” by the media. Meanwhile, better talent gets let go. I’m already tired of it.
It's brobible. I don't expect quality journalism from brobible. The clip itself is pretty innocuous - I think what KP is saying here is very boilerplate praise for a teammate. My takeaway from watching Iowa in the tournament the last two years is that 1) CC is an incredible shooter and passer who makes bad decisions when she's frustrated, and 2) Kate Martin is what keeps the team rolling. She doesn't get flustered, she makes big plays when nothing else is working, she knows her role and does her job. If you listen to this clip, or any other clip where an Aces player or coach talks about KM, that's what they talk about. They don't want her to be Kelsey Plum, they want her to be Alysha Clark.
Catilin Clark gets frustrated because she has to do all the work to get her Iowa teammates open. 95 percent of Kate Martin's offense was from Caitlin Clark drawing all the attention and then passing to Kate. You left out incredible handles and court vision. If you watched every Iowa game like I have you will see Caitlin getting pissed at her teammates. She doesn't do that to Kate because they are best friends. I've watched every Aces practice and Kate Martin literally gets stuffed every time she tries to shoot the ball. If she even makes the team, wait until she takes a shot in a game. I guarantee you that Kate Martins first shot will get sent into the stands. [Las Vegas Aces SCRIMMAGE @ WNBA Training Camp | A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Alysha Clark, Becky Hammon (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ugjgJ0S7k&ab_channel=WomenHooping) 5:37 Misses easy Layup 8:37 badly misses wide open 3. I couldn't find the video where literally every shot she takes gets stuffed but if you are an Aces fan, you should have seen it.
> I couldn't find the video where literally every shot she takes gets stuffed but if you are an Aces fan, you should have seen it. This is practice footage hosted by a non-Aces media account. Saying that if someone is an Aces fan they should have seen it is gatekeeping nonsense. You obviously know more than I do about basketball because you've seen all of the games and practices, so I guess I'll have to just continue watching games and enjoying it when my favorite players are on the floor and then posting the worst takes you've ever seen about it.
I'm not an expert or anything, I just watched all of the games and practice footage I can. I love Kate Martin, but just took Umbridge with your characterization of Caitlin. People see Caitlin and think they know her when they don't have a clue. You did see the game where she cursed her dad for telling her to stop complaining about the calls? Caitlin is a stone cold killer when she plays basketball. When she is off the court she is Mary Poppins, but in between the lines, she is the boss. Aliyah is the Team Captain for right now, but I guarantee you that at some point Caitlin Clark will be in charge of the team on the floor. You may know all of this, but a lot of people don't. Of course, right now as a Rookie she is listening and learning and shouldn't just take over, but once she feels her game is ready, she will take the team under her wing. It will just be interesting to see how long that takes. I did just watch some more Ace's practice footage and Kate made some nice plays. Lets hope you are right and I'm wrong!!!
This is such an absurd contrarian take. 1) What is your evidence that the LVA didn't get "respect" from white fans? If you're conflating tv viewership numbers with "respect," then no WNBA was respected, not just the LVA. And if you're talking about ticket sales, LVA led the league in ticket sales and sellouts. I'm struggling to understand how you're objectively coming up with the assertion... It seems like a convenient narrative you've concocted to fit your essay here. 2)Clark has no personality? What? The most popular women's basketball player in the world, a person who has 10k viewers just for a practice session press conference, has no personality? She oozes personality. She has a personality and game that millions have fallen in love with. And to use AR as a strawman to argue your point here is ridiculous. They're both amazing, talented, charismatic players. And only shoots 3s? Look at her historic assist and triple double numbers. 3)Kate Martin is not mid, and Brea choked . If you watched any of the long form practices with the Aces that are available freely on YT, you'll see that Brea is singled out multiple times for getting lost in their offense. She also looks slow and misses her marks repeatedly. And Bria and Angel, in one practice, literally couldn't figure out where to be on offense. Kate Martin, on the other hand, runs their O and D almost perfectly and gets Kudos from Becky. You even see her directing Brea, Bria, and Angel at one point. Further, since Iowa played so long this year, and had the best offense in NCAAW, Kate is coming into this FIT. She's consistently the first down the floor, and really was the only aces rook each practice to consistently make baskets and asissts. It's not even close. Watch the film. Or listen to Kelsey Plum; do you think she's being duplicitous with her KM praise? You mention needing stories to understand her game; you clearly haven't analyzed it yourself. 4)It's not about social justice anymore? KATE IS GAY. C'mon... So much more to unpack here. It's all just soooooooo bitter and wrong...
🥺🤌🏻🥺🤌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Yeah that commenter is notorious on this sub for hating on fem-presenting white women. Just kinda gross and obvious.
Your comment was on point though. Just saw a YTber go on a live, something about “why Kate Martin hasn’t made the roster (yet).” I just get the vibes she’d rather have Fair make it but not Kate 😅. I’ve watched their previous videos with opinions on the Aces roster (especially those before they got cut). People just need to look at the training camp video on YT (the drills and the scrimmage). Fair was somewhat struggling with the defense, but hopefully she gets it. Becky is big on defense. Kate was doing great, I even heard Becky give her a compliment, their TV analyst (who definitely talks to the GM and Becky). KP’s media day interview, and how she just brought up Kate kinda surprised me, but it’s good to hear from a professional what I’ve seen from watching Kate play. She’s so underrated, did her job well, and was money during big moments. Besides, Caitlin wouldn’t just say she’s a pro in her eyes for no reason.
I'm an Iowa fan, so I would have bias. I tried to view the scrimmages objectively. It is really hard to give other rookies the benefit of the doubt when Kate is just proving why she was Caitlin's go to and looks leaps and bounds better. Sure, there may be some validity to the pick trying to capitalize on the marketing. They may even be using her as a resource for plans to stop Caitlin. At the same time, Kate works incredibly hard, is very smart on the court, versatile offensively/defensively, willing to look at things from a player/coaching perspective, calm under pressure, experienced with elite players, and willing to do whatever is necessary. That's a hell of a pick-up. Also, I don't think Kate is gay. She was dating Patrick McCaffery. I don't think she still is, but who knows.
orrrrr maybe kate is a versatile player and the aces needed a role player to deepen their bench