Last month, Iowa football star Cooper DeJean sparked a massive debate when he claimed he would beat fellow Hawkeye Caitlin Clark in a 1-on-1 basketball game. Clark did not take kindly to his comments, according to DeJean, who spilled her fiery response on the Up and Adams Show.
Caitlin Clark responds to Cooper DeJean
DeJean is now a professional football player and Clark is a professional basketball player, but both competitive athletes held firm in their belief that they would win. Despite Clark’s intimidating message, she could not break DeJean’s spirit after the verbal back and forth.
Kay Adams, who was hosting the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 2024 draft pick for the interview, implored him on when the former Hawkeyes would settle their score on the hardwood, since neither want to back down.
“She’s pretty busy right now,” he said, in perhaps the understatement of the year. “So I don’t know if we’ll get to see that.”
Could Cooper DeJean beat Caitlin Clark 1-on-1?
After his original comments, which came out during the NFL Draft process, football and basketball fans exhausted themselves debating who would win.
Widely considered one of the best athletes in the 2024 Draft, DeJean’s explosiveness would be tough for Clark to match. However, Clark’s superhuman shooting ability is virtually unmatched across the NBA or WNBA. In terms of the tale of the tape, DeJean is 6-foot-1, while Clark stands 6-feet tall.
“A lot of teams asked me if I can beat Caitlin Clark one-on-one, just being from Iowa,” DeJean told Yahoo Sports in April. “I said I think I can. She’d probably score a few buckets on me but I think I could pull it off.”
DeJean was a high school basketball phenom in Iowa just like Clark. He averaged 25.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game as a senior in high school, finishing with more career points than fellow legend of the Hawkeye State, Harrison Barnes. He also recorded the fastest 100-yard dash time in the state his senior year.
“I have nothing but respect for her. She took a shot back at me after. She texted me and said she doesn’t think that I could beat her. I’ll let her say that. I think it would be fun though,” he told Adams.
