JuJu Watkins is the next big thing. There is no doubt about that. After putting her name on the media’s radar last year, she’s following it up with some of the most inspired play that women’s basketball has seen since Caitlin Clark. Many analysts believe she can create the sort of hype that Clark had around herself if she continues her dominant performances with USC.
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Ros-Gold Onwude spoke about the USC sophomore’s rise to the top and stated the criteria she’d have to meet in order to have the kind of buzz like Clark did before her.
At the start of the podcast episode, Ros-Gold had spoken with her co-host about the fame and the fortunes that came along with Caitlin Clark. Her co-host shared how even people in remote areas of Australia were talking about Clark. This led to them wondering if any other player can achieve the level of ClarkMania.
One of the names they’d discussed was JuJu Watkins. Having led USC to a Big 10 regular season championship this season, Watkins will have to have a very deep March Madness run for the crowd to rally behind her, according to the Stanford alum.
They’re entering college basketball’s biggest month on a 7-game winning streak, which includes 2 statement making wins over SoCal rivals UCLA, with the second one coming at the Bruins’ home stadium of Paulie Pavilion.
When talking about the possibility of JuJu having a Clark-esque hype train around her, Gold-Onwude said, “I think we’re on track for that. Team success and individual success, as you march into March Madness, and as the magnifying glass gets bigger, if JuJu can continue on this track, I think we can see JuJumania.”
Of course, March Madness brings an increased number of eyes on college ball, and since Clark’s dominance over the last 2 years put women’s basketball into the national sphere, JuJu has the perfect opportunity to prove her mettle.
JuJu Watkins is just getting started
Watkins announced her arrival with an explosive 51-point outing in her freshman year, breaking the record for most points scored by a freshman in NCAA D1 WBB history.
She’s a scoring machine, too, with her 27.1 ppg average last season being second only to Caitlin Clark’s 31.6. She led the Trojans to an Elite Eight appearance last season, which was the deepest run by the team for nearly 30 years.
Her dominance on the court is almost impossible to match, and she has continued it off the court, too. She signed an extension with Nike in October, and while the monetary value is undisclosed, Shams Charania reported that the deal was one of the richest endorsements in women’s basketball history.
As a native of LA, JuJu has received a tremendous amount of love in her city, too. Nike has made her one of the faces of their “You Can’t Win, So Win” campaigns, and have put up murals of her across the city of LA.
