Raven Johnson, Caitlin Clark reunite with Fever after wave-off: ‘Maybe I needed that’

· Yahoo Sports

Caitlin Clark and Raven Johnson were once bitter rivals at the center of one of the most viral moments in women’s college basketball, when Clark waved off a wide-open Johnson in the first quarter of the 2023 Final Four and refused to guard her.

Now, Clark, the former Iowa superstar, and Johnson, the former South Carolina standout, are teammates after the Indiana Fever selected Johnson with the No. 10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Monday. Clark was picked first in 2024.

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“Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell — I think I’ll learn a lot from them,” Johnson told reporters Monday night in New York. “I’m probably gonna be a gnat, too, because I’m gonna ask them a lot of questions.”

Three years ago, however, Johnson and Clark weren’t exactly on speaking terms as their teams went toe-to-toe in the Final Four. In the first quarter, Clark was supposed to be guarding Johnson on the perimeter, but she emphatically declined with a wave of her hand. Johnson shot 24.1 percent on 3-pointers during the 2022-23 season, so Clark left her wide open, and Johnson refused to shoot the ball for fear of missing. Clark’s public dismissal filled Johnson with embarrassment that lasted long after South Carolina lost.

Clark owned that moment and the overall night, totaling 41 points, eight assists and six rebounds to steer Iowa to the national championship game. Johnson, meanwhile, finished with 13 points, including a 3-of-6 showing from behind the arc. Although she shot 50 percent on 3-pointers, Johnson recently detailed how Clark’s hand wave, albeit all in the spirit of competition, scarred her psyche.

“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.”

Johnson cited her faith in God and support from her teammates, coaches and loved ones as what helped her regain her confidence and continue her noteworthy career at South Carolina. She ultimately used her viral moment with Clark as fuel to improve her outside shooting, and when the two met again in the 2024 national championship, Johnson got the last laugh as South Carolina won 87-75 to complete its undefeated season at 38-0. Ironically, Johnson missed 10 of her 11 shots and all four of her 3-pointers in the rematch, despite shooting 35 percent on 3s in 2023-24, but she hounded Clark on defense. Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, poured in 30 points while shooting 10-of-28 from the field.

“What was the biggest learning lesson? My mental (health),” Johnson said on “I Am Next” while explaining how she recovered from the embarrassing end of her 2022-23 campaign. “… That’s really big for me because (that moment with Clark) took over everything. It took over my body. It took over my mind, and I didn’t know who I was. There were days I didn’t eat, or I didn’t even want to walk out the room. I lost myself, and I definitely won’t want to go back to that phase of my life.

“But, you know, maybe I needed that to find who I am today.”

Johnson is projected to be the Fever’s third point guard behind two-time All-Star Clark and veteran Tyasha Harris, who signed with Indiana in free agency. Fever coach Stephanie White and general manager Amber Cox raved about Johnson’s defense and the experience she gained while playing under Hall of Fame point guard and legendary coach Dawn Staley.

Johnson started 117 of the 154 games she played at South Carolina and reached the Final Four in each of her five seasons. She won an NCAA title alongside Boston in 2022 but appeared in only two games as a true freshman. When the Gamecocks returned to the national championship in 2024, Johnson had emerged as a full-time starter and helped her program capture its third national title. Johnson capped her college career by being named the 2026 SEC Defensive Player of the Year while averaging career highs of 9.9 points and 5.1 assists and shooting a career-high 39.8 percent on 3-pointers.

“Every year, she’s worked on her game. Every year, she’s come back with something different,” White said. “Staying another year to be able to continue to grow on the offensive end of the floor (was beneficial), and you saw the work that she put in. It’s not gonna be any different at this level.”

The Fever begin training camp Sunday, which will mark the first time Johnson officially reunites with Clark on the court and joins the rest of her new teammates. The rookie is excited for her next chapter and plans to embrace the Fever’s lofty expectations after last year’s run to the playoff semifinals.

“We’re talking about a team that could possibly win the championship,” Johnson said. “I think it’s crazy, but they have a lot of vets that I can learn from, and they’re winners. Everybody on that team likes to win, and I think that’s what makes this team special. So, to go to a program like that, that has the same mentality as me of winning, is phenomenal.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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