- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,169,878
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Caitlin Clark; Raven Johnson
Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty; Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Raven Johnson has been reunited with former Final Four foe Caitlin Clark
- The recent South Carolina star had a run-in with the former Iowa standout in 2023 at the Final Four
- Clark refused to guard Johnson at the time, and the result ended up affecting Johnson's mental health
Raven Johnson and Caitlin Clark, whose Final Four showdown in 2023 sparked hurt feelings, have been reunited on the same team.
The former South Carolina guard was drafted by the Indiana Fever on Monday, April 13, meaning Johnson and Clark will now be teammates, three years after the former Iowa star taunted Johnson by refusing to defend her in the national semifinal game.
Johnson, 23, was selected tenth overall by the Fever, who praised her defensive mentality and toughness in a celebratory call with her after the draft.
But the Atlanta native has shared in the past how Clark’s behavior during the 2023 game had a lasting effect on her play.
“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said on the I Am Next podcast. “That’s one reason I hate the internet now, because of that situation. I got bashed. I got bullied. I got called all these things that I wasn’t — aka, like a monkey. … It was just things like that, and I just thought I wanted to quit basketball at that time. I wanted to go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Raven Johnson and Caitlin Clark face off during the 2023 March Madness tournament
Credit: Maddie Meyer/Getty
In the game, Clark made a motion as if to wave off her defensive assignment on Johnson, leaving the latter free to shoot from 3-point land. Clark knew she was shooting 24.1% from beyond the arc and effectively dared her to shoot, but Johnson refused to for fear of missing it, according to The Athletic.
“What was the biggest learning lesson? My mental [health],” Johnson said on the podcast. “That’s really big for me because [it] took over everything. It took over my body. It took over my mind, and I didn’t know who I was.”
She continued, “There were days I didn’t eat, or I didn’t even want to walk out the room. I lost myself, and I definitely don’t want to go back to that phase of my life. But, you know, maybe I needed that to find who I am today.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Raven Johnson and Cathy Engelbert pose at the 2026 WNBA Draft
Credit: David Dow/NBAE/Getty
Now, Johnson is set to play behind Clark in the rotation, coming off the bench to earn her minutes as a rookie.
All of which is okay with her, she says.
“Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell — I think I’ll learn a lot from them,” Johnson told reporters after the draft. “I’m probably gonna be a gnat, too, because I’m gonna ask them a lot of questions.”
Read the original article on People
Continue reading...
