LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caitlin Clark — the current Associated Press national player of the year — is in what may be her final season at Iowa. She could stay one more year as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as could Angel Reese of national champion LSU.
Regardless of their futures, JuJu Watkins is poised to step in as the next big star of the women’s game.
The Southern California freshman guard is the nation’s second-leading scorer at 26.8 points per game, right behind Clark, who leads with 30.5.
Watkins earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors in each of her first five weeks. She broke Lisa Leslie’s school record for most 30-point games by a freshman, with five in her first seven games.
She’s led the Trojans to a No. 6 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll and a 10-0 record.
Watkins sat out a win at Long Beach State on Dec. 21, with USC only saying she was day-to-day and not explaining further.
She wasn’t feeling well in a win over Cal State Fullerton three days earlier, leaving the court twice during the game but still finishing with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Trojans next play on Saturday at No. 2 UCLA in the teams’ Pac-12 opener. The Bruins also are undefeated at 11-0 and the game is expected to be a rare sellout for women’s basketball in Los Angeles.
Among the celebrities who’ve come out to watch Watkins are LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Candace Parker, 2 Chainz, Vanessa Bryant and actor Storm Reid, a fellow USC student.
Watkin’s presence helped attract 4,712 to the Trojans’ home opener, their biggest crowd since 2010.
“This is why I’m here,” said Watkins, who has more than 340,000 Instagram followers. “Just to feel this energy in LA.”
As the Watkins phenomenon grows, USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb has considered reaching out to Iowa coach Lisa Bluder to see how they manage Clark’s stardom.
“I think we’re headed for some unprecedented things,” Gottlieb said. “She handles all of this with such grace. We try to do a good job of allowing her to be her, which is different and special, but also shielding her from some extra stuff. We’re constantly kind of updating that plan as we go.”
Watkins has a catchy nickname (her real name is Judea Skies Watkins) to go with her game. The resident DJ at Galen Center responds to every Watkins basket with “Yeah, JuJu.”
Despite the hype that has enveloped her for years, Watkins sounds entirely convincing when she says, “I didn’t really have that many expectations for myself, just to come in and contribute as much as I can to the team.”
Watkins grew up in the Watts section of South Los Angeles and in choosing USC she’s about 10 miles from home. Her community comes out for her, wearing her No. 12 jersey and cheering her every move.
