Historically, a women’s college basketball program needs a certain amount of depth of talent around their superstar to win a national championship. Just take into consideration the dynastic runs of Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. Both of their UConn Huskies teams were filled to the brim with pro-level talent and game-changing stars. There’s no way Moore wins back-to-back national titles without Tina Charles. The same can be said for Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck when examining Stewart’s’ four-peat.
Given the noise USC is trying to make this offseason, it’s almost like the Trojans and coach Lindsay Gottlieb got to work crafting a plan while watching South Carolina’s well-oiled machine kick back against any effort Caitlin Clark and Iowa made in the national title game. Clark’s failure to win a NCAA championship during her illustrious career only confirmed concerns for the Trojans: They have to surround their budding superstar, JuJu Watkins, with a wealth of top talent if they want to win it all.
In pursuing elite Stanford transfer Kiki Irianfen, the Trojans are looking to do just that. More on Irianfen in just one moment. Her importance is best understood after explaining how USC has already arrived here…
