JuJu Watkins Reminisces Last Season’s Elite Eight Defeat as She Reflects on USC Future

Is it time for JuJu Watkins to become the cream of the crop in college basketball? With the biggest stars of the NCAA such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese leaving for the WNBA this year, the spotlight will be on someone else going forward. After a stunning freshman year with USC, Watkins is primed to be the next big thing. Even Caitlin Clark seems to agree with that notion. With the new season still a few months away, JuJu sat down with Kevin Hart to discuss her future in Southern California.

Speaking about USC’s Elite Eight loss to the UConn Huskies, she said, “It was just so much fuel, I mean, I’m so motivated by the loss. I mean, it was definitely something for me to reflect on, um for the team to reflect on. We had a great year, and we had a run, but at the end of the day it’s about what’s next and, I mean it’s just fuel to the fire for us to want to get a National Championship because that’s always the goal.”

The Women of Troy faced an 80-73 defeat in the Elite Eight at the hands of UConn. In the game, JuJu dropped a double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds along with 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. She averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, with a 40.1 field goal percentage in her freshman year.

Within a year at USC, JuJu amassed 920 points, 248 rebounds, 112 assists, 78 steals and 56 blocks. If she continues to score like this every season, then these stats might put Caitlin Clark’s 3951 points in jeopardy. Speaking of Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie recently offered some help to the USC freshman.

Caitlin Clark to help JuJu navigate the spotlight

JuJu Watkins met Caitlin Clark at the Wooden Awards held in LA a few weeks ago, where the Iowa alumna received the honor of the best player in college basketball. Last week, Clark met USC’s head coach, Lindsay Gottlieb after Indiana’s practice at the Trojan’s Galen Center.

During this meeting, Clark offered JuJu her support for the upcoming spotlight that is set to shine on Watkins. Clark told Watkins, “I had this attention for a year and a half, two years. You’re going to have it for the next three.”

Following this conversation, Clark gave Gottlieb her phone number as an offer to help Watkins with the upcoming pressure. “I’m certainly going to utilize that as a resource if she’s this willing. I think that’s just a neat thing. And I do think it’s really cool on her part to be willing to pay it forward, so to speak, and help someone else,” JuJu gave her insights on Clark’s willing gesture.

It is a fortunate thing for JuJu as who knows better than Clark what JuJu is about to go through in the coming months. That pressure, media attention, fan backlash on social media, and expectations to perform spectacularly every time you step on the court.

“The hardest part about being Caitlin Clark I would say is having to feel like you’re always ‘on’. You just have bad days, and those days where you don’t want to talk to anyone, but somebody comes up to you and this is their 10-second interaction with you, so you better smile and be kind. But at the same time, it’s just like, you want to be normal sometimes,” Clark described what she went through and how she handled all that fame in college.

It is going to be a blast when JuJu begins another campaign to win the upcoming season’s national championship. Meanwhile, Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.