Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith Pick Juju Watkins as Their Player to Watch in NCAA Tournament Over Paige Bueckers

It’s March, which means all eyes are on the NCAA and its March Madness tournament. While the men’s tourney will feature some of the country’s top players, including Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the women’s tournament looks to be just as stacked with elite talent. One name that stands above the rest is USC’s JuJu Watkins. The 19-year-old star is someone that Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe believe will be the top player to watch in the women’s tourney.

The famed analysts, while on their show First Take, discussed how big of a prospect JuJu could turn out to be. Chiney Ogwumike, who also made an appearance on the episode, predicted UConn’s Paige Bueckers, who she believed would be a first-round draft pick in the WNBA, as the breakout player of the women’s March Madness.

But the boisterous Stephen A. and Sharpe couldn’t disagree more. They pegged JuJu to be the next big thing due to her affinity for scoring on “all three levels” offensively.

“This girl is spectacular,” SAS began. “She is flat-out balling.” Smith even compared JuJu to the supreme talents of Caitlin Clark, who he credited as a top-tier passer and shooter.

ESPN’s top analyst went on to claim Watkins does those things just as well as Clark, and that adding a National Championship would put her above the Indiana Fever superstar. “What can’t JuJu Watkins do? She’s a show. She’s a show-stopper,” SAS passionately declared.

Sharpe vehemently agreed with Smith regarding JuJu’s potential greatness. “If she were to win a championship, we got to mention her with the Candace Parkers,” the NFL legend explained.

“We got to mention her with the Maya Moores. We’ve got to mention her with the historically great women’s basketball players.” Sharpe wasn’t done there either.

“Her game reminds me of Maya Moore,” he added. “There is nothing she cannot do. Her offensive game if flawless.” This popped Ogwumike, who also agreed with the three-time Super Bowl Champion about JuJu’s upside. It’s hard not to side with SAS and Sharpe. JuJu has dropped 24 PPG this season and is shooting 42% from the field.

This wasn’t the first time Stephen A. spoke highly of Watkins either

Smith has long been a supporter of JuJu and the immense skills she has at the guard position at USC. Earlier this month, he questioned why the 19-year-old prodigy is not being talked about the same way ballers speak about Caitlin Clark.

When are we gonna start talking about [Watkins] the same way we talk about Caitlin Clark?” asked SAS candidly.

As Sharpe noted earlier, Clark was unable to bring a championship to Iowa during her stint in college. If JuJu manages to do what CC didn’t…she’ll forever live in the legacy of the all-time college greats.

JuJu clearly has the talent and on-court charisma to become the next big star in the WNBA. Along with Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, and Angel Reese, she could possibly turn the league’s fortunes around.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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