On a Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena that was special to Caitlin Clark in so many ways, the Indiana Fever guard chose to briefly direct the spotlight to another player quickly becoming the new face of college basketball.
Clark returned to Iowa over the weekend for the Hawkeyes’ sold-out game against USC, after which Iowa planned to raise her jersey into the rafters and officially retire No. 22.
Ahead of the retirement ceremony, Clark watched her former team pull off a 76-69 upset win against JuJu Watkins and the No. 4 ranked Trojans. Clark spoke to the FOX broadcast during the third quarter about Watkins’s impact on the game and gave the USC guard a classy nod of respect.
“I’ve talked to JuJu a little bit,” Clark said. “Obviously, I kind of watch from a distance, but honestly, more than anything, I just try to be supportive. She doesn’t need my help.
“She’s obviously really talented and her game speaks for itself. She’s so fun to watch, and as you can tell our entire scouting report—Number 12, that’s all it’s about. And that means we have so much respect for her.”
Caitlin talking about Juju
— correlation (@nosyone4) February 2, 2025
“Ive talked to Juju a little bit. Obviously I kinda watch from a distance. Honestly more than anything I just try to be supportive. She doesnt need my help…As you can tell our entire scouting report number 12 thats all it’s about.” pic.twitter.com/aRoh4rS44d
Clark gave Watkins another sweet shout-out during her retirement speech in which she wished her and USC good luck this season.
Watkins returned the love postgame and said of Clark, “I’m a big fan of hers, so to see her get her flowers, it’s amazing.”
Clark, who finished her Hawkeyes career as the all-time Division I leading scorer with a whopping total of 3,951 points, broke countless college records before being selected by the Fever as the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Watkins wrapped up her freshman year at USC with 920 points—besting Clark’s freshman campaign total of 799—and is currently on track to dethroning Clark as the all-time scorer, though she still has quite a long way to go.
Seeing two of the brightest stars in women’s basketball continue to pave their respective record-setting journeys is one thing. Seeing them both play in the WNBA in several years’ time? Let’s hope the league is ready for it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Caitlin Clark Shared Special Message to Juju Watkins During Iowa-USC Game.
