A European vacation is a dream. But seems like the ‘generational talent‘ Caitlin Clark is not onboard because of one reason. Last year when the Iowa Hawkeyes were gearing up for the NCAA season, they took a trip to Italy and Croatia to play three exhibition games. And naturally as was the case, Caitlin Clark, along with her friends Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin, and Jada Gyamfi, took off exploring the countries. While they were in Croatia, the point guard had to come face to face with something she feared, while for Martin, it was a cute encounter.

On Monday’s episode of ‘Fresh Tawk with Jada Gyamfi’, Clark shared an experience that was possibly her worst nightmare coming true while Martin shared an incident from her life that made her a proud aunty. And viewers got to know how the two differ.

“The one bad thing was the cats. I hate cats, and they were running everywhere. Remember? When we were eating outside that one restaurant. I think it was a Mexican restaurant one of the nights in the like… little alleyway. And there was a cat was like running under my feet, and I was freaking out. Made me wanna cry,” Clark stated while recounting her trip to Croatia.

“We took an Uber and cry some random spot and there was had tons of cats. Do you remember?,” Marshall asked. “Yeah where you guys just got dropped off in a random parking lot,” Martin recollected the incident. While for the rest of the Hawkeyes, it was clearly a trip with no plans made, the first-overall pick this year was stuck at cats!

“Oh, my God. Yeah, there tons of cats everywhere you looked. And we were like that would have been my worst nightmare, and I do not like cats,” Clark remarked about her horrors. But who knew Caitlin Clark’s best friend Kate Martin would have another story to add as she revealed her love for the furry little friends.

“I just became an aunt to a cat. My brother got a kitten… Yeah it’s the cutest kitten I’ve ever seen… Suzie (name of the kitten). He did (on being asked if he picked it up). It’s like so my sister’s dog is named Sunny after my grandma’s ‘Sunshine’ and then we had a grandma Sue so he named the cat Suzie after my grandma,” Martin explained. Nonetheless, their bond didn’t suffer.

Clark and Martin formed an inseparable bond when they played for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The two featured in two back-to-back National Championship Finales, which only strengthened their relationship. Post that, Clark was drafted as the number one pick in the WNBA by the Indiana Fever whereas Martin was taken by the Las Vegas Aces in the second round.

When the generational player was asked about her existing ties with Martin before Indiana’s game against the Aces in July, the No. 22 divulged that she still texts Martin every day, and the two share advice with each other regarding making it big in the league. Calling Martin as one of her best friends, Clark enumerated “I think just being there for one another and just be a listening ear,” according to Sporting News. Moreover, Clark also told about her adventures in Italy that reflected her care for Martin.

Caitlin Clark remembers a near-death experience in Italy

Clark & Co. had ended the last season as the runner-up. Hence, they played their exhibition games against top-notch teams. Her squad battled Team Slammers, KK Tresnjevka 2009, and Croatian All Stars, winning all three. However, unfortunately, they also had a near-death experience while in Italy which the former NCAA Queen revealed on the same podcast.

We literally could’ve died… We literally could because, remember there was a rock and you couldn’t go like, you only had to dive under the rock. If you didn’t get under, you were dead. … I had to swim back, too. I’m like, ‘Bro, I can’t keep doing this. This is a workout,” Clark stated while pointing to Martin.

Thus, despite the two having differing opinions about cats, one can be sure that the reigning ROTY cares about her friend. Perhaps, fans will get to see more of the 2024 batch of the Iowa Hawkeyes together. While they might not be together right now in their professional careers, there is no denying that it was one of the most loved batches in women’s basketball in recent years.