Dawn Staley's Prophetic Message To Caitlin Clark From 2021 Resurfaces
If there was any doubt whatsoever about South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley's basketball acumen, a post she sent Caitlin Clark over three years ago proves she truly knows her stuff.
On Tuesday, a Redditor with the username "Background-Square-98" unearthed Staley's old post tagging Clark from February 2021 on the site formerly known as Twitter.
In said post, Staley hinted that she could already tell how special Clark was years before Clark would eventually join the Indiana Fever. Clark was still just in the midst of her first year at Iowa at the time.
"We see you @CaitlinClark22 even if no one else does!!!" Staley captioned the post.
Even as a freshman in 2021, Clark was already an absolute flamethrower. She averaged 26.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists on 47.2% shooting in her debut campaign.
However, the Hawkeyes didn't exactly have their best season when Clark was a freshman. The team tallied a solid 20-10 record that year, but they had averaged 26.3 wins over the three seasons prior to Clark's arrival.
It would have been understandable to have dismissed Clark as a player putting up great stats on a so-so team. But Staley seemed to know that Clark was the real deal.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 19, 2024 © Brett Phelps/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
Iowa was named a 5-seed in the NCAA women's tournament that year. The Hawkeyes eventually bowed out to the UConn Huskies in the Sweet 16.
Staley's Gamecocks eventually faced off against Clark's Hawkeyes in each of the last two tournaments.
In 2023, Iowa beat then-reigning champion South Carolina in the Final Four . Staley got her revenge -- and her second ring in three seasons -- when South Carolina beat Iowa in the championship game earlier this year.