Photo by Soobum Im/Getty ImagesJason Whitlock has usually defended Caitlin Clarks presence in the WNBA, but the former ESPN analyst believes she has regressed in recent months.Clark has struggled to an extent during her third season in the WNBA, being outperformed by other emerging stars like Paige Bueckers and her teammate, Kelsey Mitchell.And Jason Whitlock believes the reason behind her recent issues and behaviour concerns stems from her time at the University of Iowa.Photo by Soobum Im/Getty ImagesJason Whitlock says Caitlin Clarks weaknesses are being exposedSpeaking on his show Fearless, Jason Whitlock suggested that spending her college years playing at Iowa rather than a Division 1 powerhouse team kept Caitlin Clark protected.Since coming to the WNBA, Clark hasnt realised that she needs to play a scrappier and aggressive brand of basketball, something he believes she never learned at the University of Iowa.When I look at Caitlin Clark, she never left Iowa, which protected her from being in practice. She could have went to any of these great schools, and she could have been practising against other elite players.She shows up in the WNBA, and she thinks the solution to every problem is, Well, let me just shoot more threes, thats how I fixed all the problems.Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston, and many of these other players are like, No, I got a teammate over here that can fix the problem.When Im facing competition thats equal to mine, I dont throw a tantrum, I dont blame the referees, I just compete harder and go to another level and realise this is going to be a dog fight. Im not going to dominate. Its just going to be an ugly dog fight for the entire afternoon.I dont think she learned that Iowa and some people that are critics, not me, are saying They look a little lost.When the going gets tough, they start throwing tantrums, and they start lobbing up three pointers rather than [saying], I got this teammate over here that can handle this. You know what? Im not going to look to the refs to bail me out. Im going to bail myself out by playing smarter.'Jason Whitlock is totally wrong about Caitlin Clarks toughnessThere is room to criticise Caitlin Clark for her excessive complaining and lobbying towards the referees since she joined the WNBA.But to make the suggestion that Clark never had to play a gritty brand of basketball before becoming a professional shows that Whitlock never watched Clark play at the University of Iowa.In both 2023 and 2024, Clark managed to take the University of Iowa to consecutive NCAA national championship games.And to get there, they had to get through some of the toughest teams in the country, while Clark navigated her way past tough and physical defences.To suggest that Clark is a weak-willed and soft player is a ridiculous assertion from Whitlock, who has complimented her presence in the league in years past.Read more:Dave Portnoy defends Caitlin Clark after her answer on Sophie Cunningham controversyCaitlin Clark reaches another historic WNBA milestone despite Indiana Fever loss to Minnesota LynxCaitlin Clark picks side in womens sports debate after teammate Sophie Cunninghams strong comments