“When I decided to commit, it was to kind of bring that winning legacy back and that excitement around USC women’s basketball and LA basketball in general,” JuJu Watkins had revealed, recollecting the day she decided to commit to the USC Trojans. While the head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is forming a team around Watkins, an NBA legend opines that Watkins & Co. might not be able to fulfill their wishes this season, if they continue playing the brand of basketball they showcased in the season opener against the Ole Miss Rebels.

On Tuesday’s episode of Club 520 Podcast, Jeff Teague overtly disregarded the Trojans from the Championship winning list, and instead shared his reasons for not supporting the California-based team.

“She was doing it all around the court. They only got three people that shoot on that USC team. It’s going to be interesting to see how they work out for the rest of the year. I mean they all talented, but I don’t see them making too much noise. Not the way they play. It’s kind of a weird way they play. It’s like you shoot I shoot she shoot…,” Teague stated.

“When she transferred you know friend transferred there, it was a whole bass. Like okay we have a projected top five lottery WNBA player with JuJu. So I mean we saw how it was last year JuJu shot the ball all by herself and now I guess maybe it’s that… a little bit better. If it’s just three instead of one I don’t know…,” DJ Wells added.

Gottlieb is trying to form a team with Watkins and the incoming transfer Kiki Iriafen, who is the 2nd pick in the ESPN’s mock draft for the 2025 WNBA drafts. While Watkins scored the team’s highest 27 points with 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 5 blocks, the former Cardinal also hit a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

However, the issue with the Trojans was that they lost three quarters to the Rebels who are a lower-ranked team. And many opine that Ole Miss came from a 15-point deficit because of the team placing too much trust in Watkins, Iriafen, and their free throws.

The duo hit 25 of their team’s 31 points in the first half. And from the free throw line, the team mustered up 17 points. Plus their third starter Talia von Oelhoffen could only hit two points, and an ESPN analyst also recommends that the two stars need the support of von Oelhoffen, if they want to increase their chances of making it big this season.

While the game ended in USC’s favor by 2 points, ending on a 68-66 margin, no one can deny that USC lacked the offensive skills needed to decimate big teams. However, there are chances that this could have been a result of too much pressure on Watkins.

Is JuJu Watkins going through a lot?

“She’s certainly going to be one of the prominent faces of the women’s college game this year,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said of Watkins. After being a contender for Caitlin Clark’s NPOY award last year, the California-born has created quite a buzz this season. Even before this game, when the UConn Huskies were playing a game against Fort Hays State, there were murmurs on social media that the two prime NPOY contenders would be Paige Bueckers and Watkins.

Hence, the pressure on the 19-year-old is immense which only increased after stars like Napheesa Collier mentioned their expectations. “Yeah, I think it’s so bright. Like just even the two that you mentioned are so fun to watch. Like just really great talents. So bringing that obviously is just going to improve the product more and more. And then, also, like again, it was such an explosion this year… of like a cult following of these new rookies,” spoke the 2024 WNBA DPOY on the growing women’s basketball scene. But was also clear about the impacts of Bueckers and Watkins.

“And they, those two specifically, have the same thing. So, bringing more eyes and even more viewership to the W, growing the game in that way. But I think those, I think both of them are generational talents, honestly. So the, the talent that they’re going to bring to the W is going to be super fun to watch,” Collier recently stated in a podcast.

If that wasn’t enough, Watkins is also expected to take over the position held by Clark in the league despite just being in sophomore year. In October, brands too tried to capitalize on her image as Nike gave her one of the most lucrative shoe deals in basketball. Therefore, the young point guard will have to deliver if she wants things to come to fruition for her.

However, going ahead, the Trojans will have to make sure to improve their offense since they have a big game coming up against Notre Dame in late November. And that will make it clear whether Teague’s statements stand true.