Lindsay Gottlieb does all she can in advance. The USC women’s basketball coach will scout each of the Trojans’ opponents and look at the way they’ve defended star players before. She’ll watch an upcoming opponent play eight games, against eight different foes.
“And then we’ll see something that we’ve never seen from them,” Gottlieb said, chuckling.
That is because she’s got JuJu Watkins, an extraordinary player who demands an out-of-the-ordinary defensive effort to stop (or slow) her. She is so talented and so prolific that even just the silhouette of her iconic bun instills fear in those who draw the dreaded assignment of defending her. She looks so effortless on the court, even though it’s taken so much hard work to get here.
Watkins, a 6-2 sophomore, was both the National Freshman of the Year and a unanimous first-team All-American a season ago. She set the Division I women’s freshman scoring record — set by Tina Hutchinson four decades prior — with 920 points scored. Last year, Watkins averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while leading USC to its first Elite Eight appearance in 30 years.
And while her overall scoring is down slightly this year (on fewer shot attempts), she’s just as much of a menace to opposing defenses. She’s capable of scoring 50 if you can’t stop her. She’ll drop 20 on a so-called “off” night. Or she can find her teammates if you double- or triple-team her — something opponents do with regularity.
“Sometimes it’s a little frustrating,” Watkins said. “But as long as we get the win, that’s all I can really ask for.”
Gottlieb learned from Iowa, Clark to prepare JuJu
USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb discusses the nuances of building a star-studded team around JuJu Watkins, how the transfer portal has shaped her recruitment process and how the Trojans prepared for the season.
Gottlieb believes that she and her star guard have gotten good at adjusting on the fly to how defenses try to attack Watkins. “And there’s not a whole lot that we haven’t seen by now,” Gottlieb said. That’s certainly true with an especially familiar foe up next: No. 1 UCLA comes to the Galen Center Thursday night for a top-10 showdown (that will tip off on Peacock at 10 p.m. ET). Though both teams are in a new conference this season — the Big Ten — they are well-acquainted with one another, especially after splitting their series in the regular season a year ago and playing in a double-overtime thriller in the final Pac-12 tournament.
And here comes the first of potentially three meetings over the next five weeks, games that will not only have an impact on the Big Ten title and NCAA tournament seeding but also the National Player of the Year race. Right now, UCLA center Lauren Betts is the odds-on favorite, per BetMGM. But Watkins and Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo are squarely in the mix.
The spotlight is nothing new for Watkins, who was named the Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year back in 2020 and the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2023. She was a Los Angeles phenom who chose to stay in southern California for college, a decision that immediately boosted Gottlieb’s program and eventually turned women’s basketball games at the Galen Center into the place to see and be seen. A few months ago, Snoop Dogg attended the USC-Notre Dame game in a JuJu-inspired custom jacket.
Highlights: Watkins’ 2nd half powers USC to win
USC guard JuJu Watkins scores 18 of her 20 points in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers to help the Trojans get their 15th win in a row.
“It was only four years ago when I would literally look up in the stands like, ‘Oh my gosh, you guys, how are we going to bring recruits here and we have 200 people in the stands?’ ” Gottlieb said. “But it’s really changed. I think that’s epic. And while we’ve obviously built a strong team around her with a lot of local kids, and a lot of work has gone into it — I don’t want to understate that — but it’s a JuJu crowd. And she’s bringing people out on the road.
“I get almost emotional seeing, when we were playing at Indiana — 15,000 people. They have a great crowd. And you see so many dark-skinned girls with braids and buns who don’t get to see kids like JuJu every game. To see them come out to games with their fathers, it’s really a neat cultural phenomenon. She has had a huge impact like that.”
And Watkins understands that. She makes time to pose for photos and sign autographs. She fits in her sponsorship obligations — she works with some of the biggest brands in the world, such as Gatorade and Nike (which put her in its Super Bowl ad) — into the already challenging workload that comes with being a college athlete.
Gottlieb has chatted with both Caitlin Clark and her former Iowa head coach, Lisa Bluder, about what this kind of superstardom actually feels like, and if there’s any way to help the person at the center of it all navigate it. Gottlieb encourages Watkins to reach out to Clark because she is one of the only people on the planet who knows exactly what Watkins is experiencing. Earlier this month following a shocking loss on the road at Iowa, Watkins stayed to watch Clark’s jersey retirement ceremony. As one current college star paid her respects to a predecessor who elevated the entire sport, the torch was officially passed.
Ahead of Caitlin Clark’s jersey retirement at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Nicole Auerbach reflects on how Clark’s legacy will shape the next era of Iowa basketball.
It’s JuJu’s time now.
“Last year, that attention came along the way, but now it’s been sort of omnipresent since the end of last season, and it’s been really neat to see her just be so magnetic … and to see her be a star in LA, reaping the benefit of what that brings while at the same time remaining very humble, very authentic and very team-oriented,” Gottlieb said. “The grace with which she handles the stardom is just amazing to see in a young person.”
Said Watkins: “It’s been a process, but my main concern is my performance and continuing to get better. It’s about my own standards.”
On the court, she’s improved her left hand. When defenses force her left, she can still be effective — and her court vision remains strong. She can make the right pass out of a double- or triple-team quicker because she can pick apart defenses faster and more efficiently. And if an opponent tries to contain Watkins, Kiki Iriafen might take over the game, like she did against Ohio State this past weekend, scoring 24 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and adding four assists, one steal and one block to round out an incredible stat line. Or Talia von Oelhoffen is the one to score a key bucket and provide a spark. Or Rayah Marshall posts a double-double. Or … or …
There are a lot of ways these Trojans can win a basketball game, which is why Watkins says this team’s identity is that it is relentless. It figures out a way to solve an opponent’s puzzle, even if USC finds itself facing an early deficit as it feels out a game. This team is always ready to respond.
“We definitely have the goal of the Final Four, a national championship,” Watkins said. “We’re not afraid to voice that because it holds everybody accountable. We’re really aware of our potential and how far we can go, and it’s just a matter of harnessing that ability every day and coming into the gym with a championship mindset.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
