Caitlin Clark’s NCAA Departure Won’t Make JuJu Watkins College Basketball Queen, Hints the USC Star Herself

Caitlin Clark‘s exit from the women’s college basketball scene has left her throne up for grabs. The 2023-2024 season’s National Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins is seen as a contender, as she has surpassed some of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ star’s rookie season stats. One of these that comes to mind is Watkins’s 920 points season, which saw her surge past Clark’s freshman year record (799) in 2020-21. While the basketball audience may believe this and even ask her questions on the same, the Pac-12 championship winner is interested primarily in her performance and the competition.

In an interview with Paul George on ‘Podcast P’, JuJu Watkins said, “Whoa. That’s a big title. I wouldn’t be considered the person I am without my competition. The comp is everything. The conferences, the great teams. That’s really what matters. Who you’re playing that’s also a factor in how great you are. So I wouldn’t say I’m doing it alone. There are great teams and so many great players and I’m glad I get to play against them.” A key factor in becoming an impact player is the ability to lead your team to multiple victories, and that’s what Watkins did in her freshman year with multiple single-season records.

Watkins holds the USC record for scoring more than 30 points in 14 games, surpassing Caitlin Clark’s national record (12) for a freshman over 25 seasons. Against Cameron Brink’s Stanford, Watkins, with 51 points, broke USC’s Cherie Nelson’s 35-year-old record of 50 points against California. Earlier when they faced Colorado at the Galen Center, Watkins recorded the most points (42) ever scored by a USC player. She ended the season with nine double-doubles and was named part of the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team.

The teenager joined an elite list comprising Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Pam McGee, Cheryl Miller, and Paula McGee to become the 6th USC player to earn the AP All-American First Team honors. Watkins’s efforts saw USC make their first back-to-back NCAA appearance since 2006. Additionally, she became one of the 5 players to score at least 750 points, 150 rebounds, and 50 steals in a single season.

When USC’s HC, Lindsay Gottlieb, was talking about the place the team is in right now, she was proud to have Watkins on the crew. “… It was a team effort, but her gravity and her magnetism, I think, can’t be understated. It’s a JuJu crowd, and it’s very very exciting, unbelievable what’s happening before our eyes…” JuJu Watkins is Southern Cal’s 2nd leading rebounder with 7.3 per game and is second in shot blocks with 1.6 per game. She also averaged a team-high 2.3 steals and 3.3 assists per game.

The 6’2″ player set a single-season USC record with 241 free throws. When Watkins entered the NCAA Tournament, she was the only player in the nation that ranked inside the Top 75 for both multiple steals and multiple blocks per game. With so many records at the start of her career, she will attract a lot of attention going forward, and not to forget the comparison with Caitlin Clark. What does Clark have to say about this new face?

Caitlin Clark will pay to watch JuJu Watkins

Clark’s impact as a freshman was immediate. She did not just follow the normal tradition; through her excellence, she became a player who led the NCAA in scoring and ranked second in assists production. Clark set a new mark as Iowa’s most-touted female players and male players combined. Her head-on scoring attitude even resulted in a tweet from Nigerian basketball star Kenneth Durant, saying she “fits the league.” She possessed an outstanding scoring and playmaking style at the same time that is indescribable by 17 career triple-doubles.

At the end of her last year of college, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ star not only beat the NCAA record book by scoring 3,685 points but also blew the legendary Pete Maravich (3,667) score out of the water by hitting a basket that made her the all-time best when they played against Ohio State. Besides her gift of scoring and passing, her ability to read plays was incomparable. And quickly catching up in records is the teenage sensation, JuJu Watkins. She is already the second-leading scorer this season after Clark and could draw eyes to the NCAA competition next season. 

Usually, people pay a large amount to watch Caitlin Clark, but the Iowa star, who is certainly aware of Watkins’ skills, had this to say in an interview, “I would say JuJu right now probably. That is who I’d pay and go see…” Watkins is tirelessly dynamic as a sniper, athletic as a halfway gymnast, and constantly adding to her skill set.