Caitlin Clark recently concluded her college basketball career and now she’s on her way to the big leagues. She is credited by a large majority of basketball fans for the unprecedented success of women’s basketball in the last two years or so. So now, everyone is asking the same question, who will take over the college basketball scene and be the next face of the competition?
Advertisement
While many people believe it should be USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins, the USC star herself humbly denied the honor during a recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George. However, there is one thing that Watkins really wanted, but unfortunately, would never happen now. She was asked by PG-13 if she was looking forward to the battle against Caitlin Clark.
Watkins said, “Yeah, yeah that would have been tough.” However, the Trojans were ousted by UConn in the Elite Eight round. But apart from that, Watkins wants to be comfortable in playing her role as an athlete without having to carry the load of being the face of women’s college basketball.
She said on the podcast, “Well, that’s a big title [being the face of women’s collegiate basketball]. I wouldn’t say that. I think that it’s just…I wouldn’t be considered the person I am without my competition. The comp is everything.” Watkins added that she sees it as what it is, a team sport, and her focus is to get better with her team and play better against the other great teams.
Even though she is the frontrunner in being the face of Women’s college basketball, she is not taking these comments seriously. This could be a brilliant strategy because after Clark’s loss in the Finals, many experts said that she crumbled before the finish line because of the added pressure on her shoulders for months.
JuJu Watkins’ record-breaking freshman year
There’s a reason why Watkins is being put in such a high place at the age of 18. She has been impressive throughout her freshman year at USC, and she has already started breaking records. In the 34 games that she played this season, she averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. She also shot 40.1% from the field, 31.9% from the three-point line, and 85.2% from the free throw line.
Her record-breaking spree includes, most points scored in a game, 51, most Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors, 14, most 30-point games, most points as a freshman in NCAA history and many more. But the one that received the most attention was the passing of the record of Caitlin Clark for most points scored as a freshman, 799. Watkins ended her season with 920 points, taking a giant leap ahead of the previous record and setting herself up for bigger things in the future.
