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03/18/25 10:44:00
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03/18 09:10 CDT JuJu Watkins driven to lead top-seeded USC on deeper run in
women's NCAA Tournament
JuJu Watkins driven to lead top-seeded USC on deeper run in women's NCAA
Tournament
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- JuJu Watkins grew up tuning into the NCAA Tournament and
making her own bracket.
Now, it's the super sophomore's time to shine, leading No. 1 seed Southern
California in pursuit of a deeper run than its Elite Eight appearance a year
ago.
"Every year the goal is to break others' opinions," she said.
The Trojans (28-3) host 16th-seeded UNC Greensboro (25-6) in a first-round game
Saturday at Galen Center.
USC was the Big Ten regular-season champion in its first year in the league,
losing to crosstown rival and overall NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed UCLA in the
tournament title game. The Trojans' other defeats were to Notre Dame and Iowa.
Watkins is averaging 24.6 points --- 2.5 less than last year --- and 6.9
rebounds while playing 35 minutes a game. She's notched six games with 30 or
more points, her best being a 40-point effort against California Baptist.
Last season, Watkins led USC to the program's deepest run in the NCAA
Tournament in over 25 years. She was the nation's No. 2 scorer, averaging 27.1
points, and she led all freshmen in scoring with a record 920 points. She had
14 games with 30 or more points, including a 51-point outburst at Stanford, the
most points by any men's or women's player in the nation.
Still, the urge to be better is always there.
"She looks at what she can improve first. She never points a finger at somebody
else," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "It's always where can she grow and
that's a pretty remarkable trait for a 19-year-old."
Part of Watkins' support system is Phil Handy, a 53-year-old former Los Angeles
Lakers assistant who coached in the women's Unrivaled Basketball League this
season. They met through a mutual family friend when Watkins was in eighth
grade.
"I saw the drive in her, I saw her curiousness, what does it look like to be
great," Handy recalled in a phone interview.
Watkins credits Handy for being "very there for me." He views himself as her
"trainer, coach, big brother, uncle." They text regularly and watch game film
together over Zoom. When Handy is in town, they hit the gym.
"Whenever there's work to do, she's never saying no," he said.
Through watching more film this season, Watkins has toiled to match her
basketball knowledge with her formidable skills on the court.
"She's really challenged herself in that way to become a smarter player to
where she understands how to read defenses and what teams are doing," Handy
said.
Watkins chose to attend college in her hometown --- just a few miles from her
primarily Hispanic and Black neighborhood of Watts --- and the community comes
out to support her. Men, women and children of all ages and races clamor for
photos and autographs after games and Watkins patiently rewards them.
"She's pretty remarkable in how she handles the sort of craziness around her,"
Gottlieb said. "She's a natural introvert."
A massive three-panel mural of Watkins wearing her iconic bun in a Nike ad went
up on a building in downtown Los Angeles last month.
"How cool," Gottlieb said, "but she shows up here and I tell her to play better
defense or make the right read. She's so coachable and humble."
Watkins downplays talk of her succeeding Caitlin Clark as the face of women's
college basketball.
"I think it's an honor, but I don't really think about that much," she said.
"The main goal is just staying present here and handling business."
Her off-court business overseen by Klutch Sports is thriving. She has NIL deals
with Nike, Fanatics, snack maker Mondelez, United Airlines, Degree deodorant,
State Farm, Gatorade and collectibles company Funko, among others. Her NIL
valuation is one of the highest in the country at an estimated $739,000,
according to On3.com.
Watkins is bolstered by her family, including parents Robert and Sari, both
former college athletes who are ever-present in the front row. Her sister,
Mali, sometimes sings the national anthem at games.
"They always tell me, ?Just go out there and do you,'" she said.
Seeing Watkins in person has become a hotter ticket. The Trojans' average home
attendance rose to 5,932 this season from last year's 4,421. Celebrities like
Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart, Jason Sudeikis, Michael B. Jordan and Sanaa Lathan, who
starred in "Love & Basketball," one of Watkins' favorite movies, have showed
up. The year before she arrived attendance averaged 1,037.
"We're trying to make it feel like football," she said, referring to USC's
biggest sport. "That's my goal here, to make it feel like a big thing."
Watkins, of course, is the main focus of opposing defenders who by now know her
go-to spots on the floor and try to take them away. But she's got a running
mate in forward Kiki Iriafen, a graduate transfer from Stanford who returned to
her hometown.
Iriafen's 18.2-point average is second to Watkins while her field goal, 3-point
and free throw averages are all higher than the sophomore.
"She's raising my IQ in all ways and pushing me to be a better player," Watkins
said.
UCLA coach Cori Close has seen Watkins up close, with the Bruins losing two of
three to the Trojans this season. Close cites Watkins' "elite-level work ethic"
as one of the reasons she's so good. Watkins is known for hitting USC's gym at
night to put up hundreds of shots, similar to the late Kobe Bryant's diligence.
"When you're driven by success sometimes there is no balance," Handy said.
Last year, a loss pushed Watkins to lonely hours of work, but she's learning
moderation.
"Sometimes it's OK to walk away from it for a little bit," she said. "I'm
watching ?Severance' right now. Just watch a TV show, chill and get back to it
the next day."
Watkins' placid facial expression belies whatever is happening on the court.
Behind closed doors, however, Handy sees her fiery side when she misses shots
or doesn't pick up something as quick as she expects.
"She just has an appetite," he said. "It definitely reminds you of great
athletes before her time, the Kobes, the MJs, the women's players."
It's almost go-time for the Trojans and that means Watkins is narrowing her
mental focus.
"Now I'm kind of in this space where nothing else is around me," she said.
"Just go tunnel vision for as long as possible."
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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