Caitlin Clark may be the greatest women’s basketball player of all time, but there’s another former Iowa athlete who thinks he can beat her in a one-on-one game.
Cooper DeJean, the former Iowa cornerback and one of the top prospects in this year’s NFL draft, said NFL teams asked him multiple times during the combine if he could beat Clark in a game of hoops.
“I said I think I can win,” DeJean said Tuesday in an interview with CBS Sports.
DeJean’s response caught me off guard and he could tell.
“You don’t think I can win?” he asked, to which I responded by reminding him that Clark, the former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar and Indiana Fever’s No. 1 overall draft pick, is widely considered the greatest women’s basketball player of all time. In DeJean’s defense, he has experience in the hoops. In high school, he earned three letters at point guard.
“She would definitely score on me, for sure, but I think I could pull it off,” said DeJean, who added that Clark’s shooting prowess would be her biggest challenge. “But it would be close… She can shoot from anywhere, I think.”
DeJean’s confidence against Clark is not a knock against Clark, but rather an insight into DeJean’s confidence in his athletic abilities. He was a very successful multi-sport athlete in high school, winning state titles in track and field and football. DeJean was a 1,000-yard receiver as a sophomore before leading his high school to back-to-back state titles as a starting quarterback. He scored 59 total touchdowns as a senior in addition to catching three passes as a defensive back.
DeJean went to Iowa to play safety, but moved to cornerback when injuries plagued the Hawkeyes’ secondary during his freshman season. He then found immense success at the cornerback position, catching seven passes and returning two for scores. DeJean’s pick six against Kentucky in the 2022 Music City Bowl landed him the game’s MVP award.
DeJean’s versatility, one of his strengths as a football player, has created some uncertainty regarding his draft. While no one doubts his status as a first-round talent, questions have been asked about whether or not he would be better off at safety at the next level.
These questions don’t seem to concern DeJean, who is looking to help his future team win in any way he can.
“Really, wherever the team needs me, wherever they see me, wherever they think I can impact the game the most,” said DeJean, who joined forces with Head & Shoulders and their Make Every Wash Count campaign. “Whatever position I play, I’m ready to do it. Obviously I played corner for most of my college career, but I feel like there are multiple positions in a defense that I can play. I just want to trust the coaches that I’ve been doing it for a long time and try to make an impact wherever they put me.
