ESPN’s women’s college basketball player rankings for the 2024-25 season were somewhat controversial, with USC’s JuJu Watkins taking the top spot over UConn’s Paige Bueckers despite the Huskies’ 80-73 victory over the Trojans during the Elite Eight this past April.
ESPN’s Alexa Philippou explained Watkins’ No. 1 ranking by citing her all-time great season as the top-scoring freshman ever.
“As the No. 1 recruit, Watkins was a known commodity entering her freshman season,” Philippou prefaced before saying, “But she still managed to surpass expectations of just how dominant and transformative she would be in Year 1. She did a little bit of everything but ultimately stood out as a walking bucket: Scoring more points than any other freshman in Division I history (920), Watkins is the nation’s top returning scorer with Caitlin Clark off to the WNBA. With more help around Watkins this season, particularly from new addition Kiki Iriafen, the Trojans are among the favorites to reach the Final Four in Tampa.”
Not dissimilar to describing Watkins as “dominant and transformative,” Philippou called Bueckers “transcendent.”
“Playing in her first full season since 2020-21, Bueckers reminded the nation how transcendent she is as she…
