Flau'jae Johnson: Guarding Caitlin Clark will be a 'good display' for me
Flau’jae Johnson is well-aware of Caitlin Clark’s greatness. On Monday night, she’ll attempt to limit the Iowa standout’s shine. Ahead of LSU and Iowa’s matchup in the Elite Eight, Johnson discussed the challenge of defending Clark.
“She’s just a great player,” Johnson said. “Last year I got to switch on her early in the game, and I was like, ‘She’s not going to pull that for real,’ and then she pulled it for real from half court, and she made it. I was like, whoa. Kind of had spurts and moments getting in switches with her.
“So it’ll be a good display for me. It’s just like I want to compete at the highest level, and right now Caitlin is the highest level. So if I can defend her, try to contain her and get the win, we’ll be fine. There’s no stopping her, but containing her, I’m going to take on that challenge.”
Johnson and the Tigers won that challenge last season when they faced off against the Hawkeyes in the national championship, walking away with a 102-85 victory. In the loss, Clark still notched a game-high 30 points and eight assists while shooting 9-22 from the field.
However, Clark recorded six turnovers and did not haul in a single rebound. LSU did not stop her, but it contained her. Now, LSU will look to repeat history nearly a year later. It won’t be easy.
Clark has only improved since last season, averaging career-bests of 31.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game this year. The national sensation has not slowed down in the postseason, averaging 29.3 points through her first three games of the NCAA Tournament.
Kim Mulkey opens up on challenge of facing Caitlin Clark
Flau’jae Johnson isn’t the only one who’s all to familiar with Clark’s talents. This weekend, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey weighed in on having to face off against Clark again.
“The biggest same is Caitlin Clark,” Kim Mulkey said. “That’s the same. The difference is the personnel. The difference is those that were role players are big players, which is what all coaches hope is that you respect the process and when your time arrives, you take advantage of it. They’re still gonna shoot a lot of 3s. But Caitlin Clark is a generational player.”
“She’s not all about 3s. She can pass the ball,” Mulkey said. “She can take you off the dribble. Obviously, our focus will be on her, but not solely on her. Caitlin’s gonna do what she does. You’re not gonna stop her. You just hope that you can contain her a little bit and make sure that you do your job on the other four players.”