Talia Von Oelhoffen and Caitlin Clark
Former Oregon State Beaver and newly minted USC Trojan Talia Von Oelhoffen clapped back at detractors of Caitlin Clark, who were commenting on the Indiana rookie’s shooting form online.
People were making fun of Clark`s unorthodox way of shooting the ball, with some believing that this kind of motion is not going to be effective for her in the pros. But Von Oelhoffen replied to the doubters with a clever retort on X:
“idk would you tell warren buffett where to invest his money,” Von Oelhoffen said.
Referencing renowned investor and billionaire Warren Buffet, Von Oelhoffen statement aligns with the age-old adage, “if it ain`t broke, don`t fix it.” She’s also referring to Caitlin Clark`s jumpshot, which has a “mechanical flaw,” according to basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb.
Clark`s flaw is that her right arm (her shooting arm) is angled fairly outward as she goes up for a shot. It has been some sort of “universal rule” that a perfect, effective jumper involves tucking in the shooting arm so the player`s alignment from their feet to the ball at the top is a straight line.
Talia Von Oelhoffen believes the up-and-coming WNBA phenom is far from concerned with fixing what is already working for her game.
With Clark entering the pros as the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever are already preparing for a massive influx of fans for their games. The league itself is preparing for what it sees as a renaissance in WNBA viewership with the “Caitlin Clark Effect.”
Caitlin Clark`s jumpshot is far from ‘broken’
Regardless of the criticism Clark received for her technique, it`s been effective for her as it is evident from her stats.
Even pros in the NBA know that her jumpshot is far from needing a fix as confirmed by Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. The Slovenian phenom was quoted recently, commenting on Clark`s performance in the Elite Eight against LSU:
“Amazing. What did she have? Forty-one? She was shooting that ball on fire. I watched some of it,” Doncic said. “She shoots it better than me. That’s for sure.”
The former Iowa Hawkeye`s shooting prowess was instrumental in her breaking multiple NCAA shooting and scoring records in the 2023-2024 season alone. It was her signature logo three-pointer that gave her the NCAAW all-time scoring record, for one, beating out previous record-holder Kelsey Plum.
