USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins made the first shot of her college career — a running right-handed floater after breaking Ohio State’s vaunted press — to score the first basket of the Trojans season. In USC’s opening win over the Buckeyes, she would hit 10 more field goals and finish with a game-high 32 points.
“This is who she is,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said afterward. “She’s ridiculous, and you get used to it.”
Well, the country has gotten used to it, even if opponents haven’t learned how to slow her down. What she’s doing shouldn’t be taken as commonplace. Throughout the season, Watkins reinforced what her coach said that night in Las Vegas, averaging 27.8 points per game — second-most in the nation behind only Iowa’s Caitlin Clark — while adding 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. With a smooth and varied offensive repertoire, the 6-foot-2 guard led the Trojans to their highest win (23) total since 1994. “Her body, her skills, her mental toughness,” Indiana Fever general manager Lin Dunn said of Watkins back in December. “I think she may be ready for the pros right now.”
Watkins might be The Athletic’s Freshman of the Year Award, but she is just part of a freshman class that has the potential to be among the sport’s best-ever…
