Iowa women's basketball will give former Hawkeye Caitlin Clark the ultimate honor on Sunday. Clark will attend Sunday's game against the fourth-ranked USC Trojans, who are led by star JuJu Watkins. The University of Iowa will retire Clark's No. 22 jersey after Sunday's game against USC.

Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen made a bold comparison when talking about what it was like coaching Caitlin Clark at Iowa.

“It was the ride of a lifetime,” Jensen said. She worked as a Hawkeye assistant coach under Lisa Bluder for nearly the past quarter-century. “We worked like crazy to recruit her, and we got to be the last one standing. I will forever believe that it was the perfect match — the perfect staff and kid in a state that loves its female sports.”

Jensen went on to compared Clark to the legendary Michael Jordan when he played college basketball at North Carolina.

“If you know Michael Jordan, you know he went to Carolina. He’s still Carolina blue, right? Forever,” Jensen continued. “I feel really fortunate that Caitlin will forever be black and gold. She’ll always be part of our story here.”

Comparing Clark to Jordan is exceptionally high praise. In this case, it is completely justified. Clark is a once-in-a-generation athlete who has also made a huge impact off the court for women's basketball.

Recapping Caitlin Clark's incredible collegiate career with Iowa women's basketball

Caitlin Clark Iowa

Caitlin Clark had one of the best careers in the history of women's basketball. She even put her name among the greats of college basketball in general when including men's basketball.

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Clark holds a number of unique accolades among college athletes. She has an impressive trophy case and list of historic accomplishments. One of her most impressive is becoming the NCAA all-time leading scorer for both men and women's basketball.

Clark put up some ridiculous stats at Iowa. Here are some of her per game averages during her collegiate career with the Hawkeyes.

  • 28.4 points per game
  • 8.2 assists per game
  • 7.1 rebounds per game
  • 1.5 steals per game
  • 46.2% field goal percentage
  • 37.7% three-point percentage
  • 85.8% free throw percentage

Beyond records and impressive stats, Clark won several awards during her collegiate career. She won the Nancy Lieberman Award three times and AP Player of the Year two years in a row among a litany of other honors.

Clark gained national attention during her final season at Iowa, regularly putting up absurd viewership for her games.

After leaving Iowa, Clark entered the 2024 WNBA Draft and was the first overall pick by the Indiana Fever.