Caitlin Clark reflects on her Iowa journey after having jersey retired

The University of Iowa retired legendary guard Caitlin Clark‘s jersey on Sunday during a game against USC, hoisting it into the rafters to hang forevermore.

Clark has already enshrined herself in Iowa lore after one of the most remarkable careers in college basketball history. She was touched by the jersey retirement ceremony on Sunday, reflecting back on what it meant.

“It’s kind of a weird feeling coming back here and not being able to play, but it’s just really exciting times still for this program,” Clark said. “I’m very fortunate to be a part of it, and feel very lucky that a lot of my former teammates and former coaches are here and able to support me, and a lot of friends and family. Just really lucky.”

Caitlin Clark’s presence alone seemed to spark the Iowa program, which had a five-game losing skid not too long ago.

The Hawkeyes played with their hair on fire, upending the fourth-ranked Trojans 76-69 in front of a packed Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That snapped a 15-game winning streak for USC and might just have been exactly what the doctor ordered for Iowa.

Then again, Caitlin Clark has had that kind of effect on the program for the past several years.

She’s just now finally getting a chance to appreciate it after a whirlwind senior season followed by an immediate jump into the WNBA, where she earned Rookie of the Year honors.

“It’s been fun looking back on this whole past year and everything that’s been able to happen,” Clark said. “But just the journey we went on, I think reflecting back on my entire career, whether in the beginning when I didn’t play in front of anybody to the very end, where we went to our second Final Four, second national championship game. And just how much things changed, not only for our program, but how much things changed for women’s basketball in my time here. Just very grateful and fortunate.”

Caitlin Clark’s playing days at Iowa might be done, but her impact certainly has not abated. And she continues to rack up impressive accolade after impressive accolade.

Caitlin Clark turns down NBA 3-point shootout

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark won’t participate in the NBA’s All-Star special 3-point shootout in San Francisco in mid-February, and the reason might surprise you. Clark’s representatives at Excel Sports told ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania that Clark “wants her first three-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star in Indianapolis this summer.”

While a bit of a bummer for the NBA, which has pushed to highlight the WNBA more in recent months, the move makes sense for Clark.

The former Iowa star has done everything in her power to advance only on merit, rather than the superstar brand appeal that she has as arguably the face of women’s basketball these days. Wanting to support the women’s game by appearing there first is a very on-brand move for Caitlin Clark.