"She doesnt need my help" - Caitlin Clark makes feelings known on JuJu Watkins' future as Iowa beats USC on jersey retirement day

Caitlin Clark watched her Iowa Hawkeyes take on JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena ahead of Clark's jersey retirement ceremony. The Iowa legend had the chance to talk about the sophomore guard, who is expected to achieve big things in college and follow a similar path to CC.

At some point during the broadcast, Clark talked about Watkins, what she's able to do and what she can still achieve in the future.

"I’ve talked to JuJu a little bit. Obviously, I kind of watch from a distance. But honestly, more than anything, I just try to be supportive,” she said. “She doesn’t need my help. She’s obviously really talented in her game. She speaks for herself.”

Caitlin Clark's former team beat Watkins' Trojans 76-69 in an entertaining game that saw them take big leads at different points. In the end, Lucy Olsen's 28 points beat Watkins' 27 units to secure a big win for the Hawkeyes. They improved to 15-7 with this victory while the Trojans dropped to 19-2 in one of the biggest upsets of the season.

JuJu Watkins is coming off a strong freshman campaign in which she averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. She's posting 24.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 spg and 1.9 bpg this season on the way to a 19-1 overall record before today's game.

After the game was over, Clark directly said some encouraging words to Watkins, according to David Eickholt of CBS Sports.

“I’m a huge fan of all of you. Juju Watkins.”

Caitlin Clark was happy to see Iowa Hawkeyes beat USC on her special day

Caitlin Clark was ecstatic to see her former team go toe-to-toe with one of the candidates to win it all this season. The Indiana Fever star shared a three-word message on her Instagram story to celebrate the result.

"Something bout it," she captioned the post.

More than that, she was caught clapping and celebrating while the team scored in the final minutes of regulation.

After she left for the WNBA, the Iowa Hawkeyes aren't as dangerous as they were with Clark on the roster and Lisa Bluder on the sideline, the Hawkeyes remain an intriguing squad. If they could be as competitive as today, they can make some noise down the road.

Clark finished her day with her jersey hanging in the rafters after a historical run in Iowa.