Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides revealed on Sunday that Caitlin Clark told her “they woke a monster” after the rookie was left out of the Team USA Olympic roster. That private interaction differed from Clark’s public comments in which she downplayed the snub and suggested it didn’t bother her.

Clark enjoyed a record-breaking spell at Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes to back-to-back national championship appearances before departing college as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. She’s now showing signs that her game will quickly translate to the next level. The 22-year-old has taken the sports world by storm, but she will not go to the Olympics as part of the original roster despite impressing in the WNBA.

Clark has international experience with USA Basketball at youth level, but she wasn’t able to make the national training camp in Cleveland despite receiving an invite because she was busy leading Iowa to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. While she was under consideration for a spot on Team USA to head to Paris, she was left out of the 12-woman squad.

Since the news emerged, Clark has publicly accepted the decision and told reporters she will root for the team to bring back gold. But behind the scenes, Sides admitted the rookie is using it as a source of motivation for the remainder of the season.

“We talked on the bus, she got the call on the bus,” Sides said. “She texted me to let me know and I just tried to keep her spirits up, and she was like, ‘Hey coach, they woke a monster,’ which I thought was awesome.”

Sides spoke of her feelings on the decision to leave out Clark, commenting: “Little disappointed, of course. She’s my player. That’s the hardest team in the world to make, right – that is a tough team. She’s young, she’s going to have so many opportunities in the future.”

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Caitlin Clark has impressed as a rookie in the WNBA since coming into the league as the first overall pick ( 
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USA Basketball decided to take a veteran squad to Paris, headlined by the likes of Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner, while Sabrina Ionescu will make her Olympics debut. Clark is refusing to hold any grudges over the decision, though.

“I think it just gives you something to work for,” Clark said. “That’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. Hopefully, when four years comes back around, I can be there.”

She added: “I’m excited for them. I’m gonna be rooting for them to win gold. I was a kid who grew up watching the Olympics, so yeah, it’ll be fun to watch it.”

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is impressing as a rookie for the struggling Fever. She is averaging 17 points, six assists and five rebounds this season and dropped 30 points in a tight win over the Washington Mystics on Friday night.

The Fever take on the Connecticut Sun in their next WNBA contest on Monday, June 10.