Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean made the rounds on social media last month after stating that he thought he could beat fellow Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark in a 1-on-1 basketball game. DeJean provided some additional insight into the trash talk exchanged between the pair on Wednesday.
Cooper DeJean Provides Insight Into Trash Talk With Caitlin Clark
DeJean made an appearance Wednesday on Kay Adams’ “Up & Adams” show and was asked about his previous comments in a pre-draft interview where he said he was asked by teams if he felt as though he could beat Clark in a game of 1-on-1.
“A lot of teams have asked me if I could beat Caitlin Clark 1-on-1,” DeJean said at the time. “I said, ‘I think I can.’ She’d probably score a few buckets on me, but I think I could pull it off.”
Iowa CB Cooper DeJean thinks he can beat Caitlin Clark one-on-one 😮 @IowaAwesome pic.twitter.com/U2qX8MoTKl
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 24, 2024
Clark was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft after wrapping up her standout college career as the NCAA’s all-time points leader. DeJean, meanwhile, was selected by the Eagles with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Adams asked DeJean to clarify his comments during her show, and DeJean began by complimenting Clark before revealing that the women’s basketball star clapped back at him in the wake of his comments.
How did Caitlin Clark respond to fellow Iowa Hawkeye Cooper DeJean saying he could beat her 1-on-1??? 👀🔊@CaitlinClark22 @cdejean23 @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/JQPl3vezij
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 8, 2024
“Caitlin’s a special player,” DeJean said. “She’s done so much for women’s basketball and the University of Iowa in general. So I have nothing but respect for her.
“She took a shot back at me after [the comment]. She texted me and said she doesn’t think that I could beat her. I’ll let her say that. I think it’d be fun, though, if we got to play each other.”
MORE: Anthony Richardson Welcomes Caitlin Clark to Indiana, Requests 1-on-1
Adams then asked DeJean once again if he thought he could beat Clark 1-on-1, and DeJean doubled down on his previous response. Adams shared some skepticism in that belief but changed her tune a bit after watching some of DeJean’s highlight tape from his time playing high school basketball.
Enjoy some @cdejean23 bball highlights this afternoon pic.twitter.com/4eEb1aP1AO
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 5, 2024
DeJean provided some additional insight into his basketball skills on Adams’ show.
“I can jump a little bit obviously, as you can see from these highlights. I’ve got a little bit of a jump shot, too. Not much is shown in [this highlight reel]. I really wanted to play basketball coming into high school. I wanted to play basketball in college, but it didn’t work out. I stuck with football, and football was probably the better option for me.”
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Adams finally asked DeJean toward the end of the segment about when he and Clark might finally settle their back-and-forth on the court. With WNBA teams already into the preseason, DeJean said that Clark is likely too busy to play him 1-on-1 any time soon.
Whether Clark and DeJean do ultimately end up playing against each other, it’s clear there is both mutual respect and a fun rivalry between the pair.