Swish Appeal recently held a long (and fun!) interview with Caitlin Bickle, a 2019 NCAA national champion with the Baylor Bears.
The 6-foot-1 forward/center who was selected to the 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team and 2023 Big 12 All-Defensive Team also is the newest member of the Connecticut Sun. In 2023, Bickle was invited to the Sun’s training camp. Since then, she worked on her game in Greece and now, more than a year later, will join Connecticut’s roster. She’ll also be playing for San Martino in Italy next season.
We talk about her time at Baylor, playing for head coach Kim Mulkey and with NaLyssa Smith, making the WNBA, her equestrian career and her tattoos. Some highlights from the interview include:
On playing for Coach Mulkey:
I think it’s just a whole different level of basketball. I don’t think people really realize that once you go from high school to college or any level, you know, kind of up a step, just like when you go from college to pro, it’s all so different. I think just the expectation of perfection. If people even walked in on one of our practices, you’d be like, “Oh, okay, well, that makes sense why they won a national championship.”
On being a pass-first big:
I think I like assists more than I do like scoring like, truth be told; you can ask anyone from my college team. That was my thing, I think I get more excited off of that than anything else. And so I’ve told our guards [in Greece], I’m like: “Go!” Because if I get it in transition, it’s easier for me to hand it off to someone or to kick it up ahead for an open shot.
A special thank you to Orlando J. Castaño, Jr. of 4front Sports for arranging the interview.
