JuJu Watkins

Last updated

JuJu Watkins
No. 12–USC Trojans
Position Point guard / shooting guard
League Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-07-15) July 15, 2005 (age 19)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High school
College USC (2023–present)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
FIBA Under-17 World Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Hungary Team
FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 Mexico Team

Judea Skies "JuJu" Watkins (born July 15, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the USC Trojans of the Big Ten Conference.

Contents

Watkins attended Windward School and Sierra Canyon School, both in her hometown of Los Angeles. She was ranked the number one recruit in her class by ESPN and earned national high school player of the year honors as a senior at Sierra Canyon. In her first season at USC, Watkins was named a unanimous first-team All-American and won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. She received national freshman of the year recognition and set the NCAA Division I freshman scoring record.

Watkins has won two gold medals with the United States at the youth international level. She was named Most Valuable Player of the 2022 FIBA Under-17 World Cup and the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship.

Early life and high school career

Watkins started playing basketball in a park league at age seven. [1] Watkins trained with Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy and modeled her game after Arike Ogunbowale. [2] As a freshman at Windward School in Los Angeles, Watkins averaged 21 points and nine rebounds per game, leading her team to the CIF Southern Section Open Division title game and the regional final. She was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year. [3] In 2020, Watkins was named SportsKid of the Year by Sports Illustrated Kids . [4] As a sophomore at Windward, she averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. [2]

Entering her junior year, Watkins transferred to Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. [5] She led her team to the Open Division state title and a 30–2 record as a junior. After averaging 25 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists, Watkins was named California Gatorade Player of the Year and Ms. Basketball. [6] [7] She earned player of the year honors from the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News . [8] [9] As a senior, Watkins averaged 27.3 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, leading Sierra Canyon to the CIF Southern Section Open Division title, a 31–1 record and the regional final. [10] On senior night, she scored a career-high 60 points, the second-most points in a game in area history, in an 88–39 win over Notre Dame High School. [11] Watkins was recognized as Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the Year. She repeated as player of the year from the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News, as well as California Gatorade Player of the Year and Ms. Basketball. [12] [13] Watkins played in the McDonald's All-American Game, where she shared MVP honors, and the Nike Hoop Summit. [14]

Recruiting

Watkins was considered a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2023 class, according to ESPN. On November 15, 2022, she announced her commitment to USC over offers from South Carolina and Stanford. [15]

College career

Freshman season

On November 6, 2023, Watkins made her college debut and scored 32 points in an 83–74 upset win over AP No. 7 Ohio State. She set the USC record for points in a freshman debut, surpassing Lisa Leslie from 1990. [16] On November 22, she posted her first double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 71–70 win over Penn State. [17] It was the first of three consecutive 30-point games by Watkins, which tied Cheryl Miller for the longest such streak in program history. [18] On January 14, 2024, Watkins recorded 32 points and 10 rebounds in a 73–65 win over AP No. 2 UCLA. [19] On February 2, she scored a career-high 51 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 67–58 victory over AP No. 4 Stanford. Watkins broke the USC single-game scoring record held by Cherie Nelson since 1989. [20] It was the first 50-point game by an NCAA Division I freshman since Elena Delle Donne of Delaware in 2010. [21] On February 23, Watkins scored 42 points in an 87–81 win over AP No. 11 Colorado. She set the single-game scoring record for the Galen Center, her team's home arena, and had her 11th 30-point game, eclipsing Cheryl Miller for the most in a season by a USC player. [22] [23] In her next game, Watkins posted 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a 74–68 loss to AP No. 18 Utah, passing Paula McGee for the program freshman single-season scoring record. [24] At the end of the regular season, she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12, while earning All-Defensive Team honors from the league's media. [25] [26]

In the semifinals of the 2024 Pac-12 tournament, Watkins posted 33 points and 10 rebounds in an 80–70 double overtime win over UCLA. She set the tournament single-game scoring record by a freshman. [27] Although Watkins was held to nine points on 2-of-15 shooting in the final, her team defeated Stanford, 67–58, to win its first Pac-12 tournament since 2014. [28] She led USC to the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA tournament, where she had 29 points and 10 rebounds in an 80–73 loss to UConn. During the game, Watkins broke the Division I freshman scoring record, held by Tina Hutchinson of San Diego State since 1984. [29] As a freshman, she averaged 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, ranking second among Division I players in scoring. [30] Watkins was a unanimous first-team All-American: she earned first-team All-American accolades from the AP and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and made the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches' All-America team. [31] [32] [33] She received the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation's top shooting guard, and was named the top Division I freshman by the USBWA and the WBCA. [30]

Sophomore season

Entering her sophomore season, Watkins was named Big Ten preseason player of the year. [34]

National team career

Watkins won a gold medal with the United States at the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Mexico. She averaged 20 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.2 steals and 3.7 assists per game, earning tournament MVP honors. [35] At the 2022 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Hungary, Watkins led her team to the gold medal and was named MVP after averaging 13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game. [36]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold Career best°League leader

College

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2023–24 USC 343434.640.131.985.27.33.32.31.64.127.1

Off the court

Personal life

Watkins is the daughter of Robert Neal-Watkins and Sari Watkins. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee. [1]

Endorsements

In 2022, as a high school junior, Watkins signed with Klutch Sports Group, becoming the first female athlete to be represented by the agency. [37] Later that year, she signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Nike. [38] In 2024, Watkins signed a multiyear contract extension with Nike, described by ESPN as one of the largest shoe deals in women's basketball. [39] In the same month, she signed a multiyear deal with Gatorade. [40] Watkins has also signed NIL deals with AT&T, Celsius, Dove, NerdWallet, Ritz and Wells Fargo, among other companies. [41]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nneka Ogwumike</span> American basketball player (born 1990)

Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after. Ogwumike spent 12 seasons with the Sparks and was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year. She was named to The W25, the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.

Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a private, coeducational university-preparatory day school located in Los Angeles, California. Sierra Canyon enrolls students in preschool through grade 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onyeka Okongwu</span> American basketball player (born 2000)

Onyeka Okongwu is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabrina Ionescu</span> American basketball player (born 1997)

Sabrina Elaine Ionescu is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks and is considered one of the greatest collegiate players of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronny James</span> American basketball player (born 2004)

LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League, on assignment from the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans. A consensus four-star recruit, James was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in high school in 2023. He played one season of college basketball for the USC Trojans before being selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft. He is the eldest child and teammate of professional basketball player LeBron James Sr., making them the NBA's first active father-son duo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Mobley</span> American basketball player (born 2001)

Evan Mobley is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected third overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2021 NBA draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziaire Williams</span> American basketball player (born 2001)

Ziaire Williams Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaiah Mobley</span> American basketball player (born 1999)

Eric Isaiah Mobley is an American professional basketball player for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the USC Trojans. He attended Rancho Christian School in Temecula, California, where he was a five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American. He was named first-team All-Pac-12 as a junior with USC.

Ruth Cecilia Hebard is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. While at West Valley High School in Fairbanks, Alaska, Hebard was a three-time Gatorade State Player of the Year from 2013 to 2015, and two-time USA Today Alaska Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016.

Amari Bailey is an American professional basketball player for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League. In high school, he was selected as a McDonald's All-American and California Mr. Basketball. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, earning all-freshman honors in the Pac-12 Conference in his only season. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Brink</span> American basketball player (born 2001)

Cameron Lee Brink is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Stanford. She attended Mountainside High School and Southridge High School, both in her hometown of Beaverton, Oregon, where she was a McDonald's All-American and ranked the number three player in her class by ESPN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexie Hull</span> American basketball player (born 1999)

Lexie Lauren Hull is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, with whom she was a three-time All-Pac-12 selection, won the national championship as a junior and received the Senior CLASS Award and Elite 90 Award in her senior season. Hull attended Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Washington, where she helped her team win two state titles and was rated a five-star recruit by ESPN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiki Rice</span> American basketball player

Kira Carroll "Kiki" Rice is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. She played for Sidwell Friends School at the high school level, where she was one of the top recruits in her class and earned national player of the year honors as a senior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Betts</span> American basketball player

Lauren Marie Betts is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. She played for Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado, where she was ranked as the number one recruit in her class by ESPN. Betts started her college career at Stanford before transferring to UCLA after one season.

The 2023–24 USC Trojans women's basketball team represented the University of Southern California during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Trojans played their home games at the Galen Center and were members of the Pac-12 Conference. This was the last year the team played in the Pac-12 as they are slated to join the Big Ten Conference. The squad was led by third-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. The Trojans finished as 2024 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament champions and made it to the Elite 8. They finished the season with a No. 5 AP ranking and a No. 6 ranking in the Coaches' poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charisma Osborne</span> American basketball player (born 2001)

Charisma Osborne is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. She was drafted by the Mercury in the 2024 WNBA draft. She played college basketball at UCLA.

Hannah Hidalgo is an American college basketball player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Okikiola "Kiki" Iriafen is a Nigerian-American college basketball player for the USC Trojans, which will join the Big Ten Conference after the 2023–24 school year. She previously played for the Stanford Cardinal.

McKenzie Forbes is an American professional basketball player for the Waverley Falcons of the NBL1 South. She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2024 WNBA draft. She played college basketball at California, Harvard, and USC.

Jerzy Robinson is an American basketball player who attends Sierra Canyon. She is considered the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026.

References

  1. 1 2 Sondheimer, Eric (February 15, 2020). "Windward freshman Juju Watkins could be a 'game changer'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Drumwright, Steve (June 15, 2021). "Juju Watkins Represents her Country and Community with Pride". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (March 28, 2020). "The Times' girls' basketball player of the year: Juju Watkins". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ Bechtel, Mark (November 20, 2020). "Juju Watkins is the 2020 SportsKid of the Year". Sports Illustrated Kids . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (July 24, 2021). "Top girls' basketball player Juju Watkins leaves Windward for Sierra Canyon". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ Fattal, Tarek (March 10, 2022). "Sierra Canyon's Juju Watkins named Gatorade's California girls basketball player of the year". Los Angeles Daily News . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Abend, Harold (April 20, 2022). "Ms. Basketball 2022: Jumping for Juju". CalHiSports. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ Fattal, Tarek (April 6, 2022). "Daily News 2022 Player of the Year: Sierra Canyon's Juju Watkins a bona fide basketball trailblazer". Los Angeles Daily News . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (March 20, 2022). "Girls' basketball player of the year: Juju Watkins of Sierra Canyon". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ Evans, Luca (March 19, 2023). "Girls' basketball player of the year: Sierra Canyon's Juju Watkins". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  11. ↑ Evans, Luca (January 31, 2023). "Juju Watkins scores career-high 60 points for Sierra Canyon". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ Fattal, Tarek (April 8, 2023). "Daily News All-Area Girls Basketball: Sierra Canyon's Juju Watkins repeats as the Player of the Year". Los Angeles Daily News . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  13. ↑ "USC's Juju Watkins Named Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year". USC Athletics. March 13, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  14. ↑ Evans, Luca (March 28, 2023). "Juju Watkins stars in McDonald's All-American Game; Bronny James, Jared McCain impress". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  15. ↑ Gibson, Charlotte (November 15, 2022). "No. 1 women's basketball recruit Juju Watkins commits to USC". ESPN . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ "JuJu Watkins' 32-Point Debut Helps No. 21 USC Women's Basketball Upset No. 7 Ohio State". USC Athletics. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  17. ↑ "JuJu Watkins has 31 points, last 7 of game, No. 8 USC women edge Penn State 71-70 in Bahamas". Associated Press. November 22, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  18. ↑ "JuJu Watkins Records Third Straight 30-Point Game As No. 6 USC Tops San Diego 89-58". USC Athletics. December 3, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  19. ↑ "JuJu Watkins, No. 9 USC send No. 2 UCLA to first loss in rematch". ESPN. Associated Press. January 14, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  20. ↑ Philippou, Alexa (February 3, 2024). "USC's JuJu Watkins explodes for 51, keys upset of Stanford". ESPN . Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  21. ↑ "JuJu Watkins Scores USC-Record 51 points To Help No. 15 USC Women's Basketball Upset No. 4 Stanford 67-58". USC Athletics. February 2, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  22. ↑ Evans, Luca (February 23, 2024). "JuJu Watkins' legend grows with 42-point game as USC women top Colorado". Los Angeles Daily News . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  23. ↑ "No. 7 USC Women's Basketball Erupts For 87-81 Win Over No. 11 Colorado At Galen Center". USC Athletics. February 23, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  24. ↑ Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (February 25, 2024). "Another JuJu Watkins record can't save No. 7 USC from loss to No. 18 Utah". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  25. ↑ "2023-24 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Media Awards announced". Pac-12 Conference. March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  26. ↑ "2023-24 Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva". Pac-12 Conference. March 5, 2024. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  27. ↑ Philippou, Alexa (March 9, 2024). "JuJu Watkins scores 33, sends USC to Pac-12 final with 2-OT win". ESPN . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  28. ↑ Philippou, Alexa (March 10, 2024). "USC takes Pac-12 title despite rare off night for JuJu Watkins". ESPN . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  29. ↑ Pelton, Kevin (April 2, 2024). "JuJu Watkins' historic season for USC ends in Elite Eight loss". ESPN . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  30. 1 2 Geitheim, Eva (July 1, 2024). "USC Women's Basketball: JuJu Watkins Nominated for ESPY". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  31. ↑ "USBWA Unveils 2023-24 Women's All-America Team". United States Basketball Writers Association. March 19, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  32. ↑ "The Associated Press 2023-24 women's college basketball All-America teams". Associated Press. March 20, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Caitlin Clark wins second Wade Trophy, headlines 2024 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America team". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. April 4, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  34. ↑ "USC, JuJu Watkins Headline Big Ten Preseason Honors". Big Ten Conference. September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  35. ↑ Williams, Aaron (March 16, 2022). "High school girls basketball: JuJu Watkins' star power has another season to shine". MaxPreps . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  36. ↑ Gibson, Charlotte (November 9, 2022). "No. 1 basketball recruit Juju Watkins puts game before fame". ESPN . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  37. ↑ Newman, Logan (February 11, 2022). "Klutch signs Sierra Canyon star Juju Watkins as first female athlete client". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  38. ↑ Zagoria, Adam (October 10, 2022). "Nike Signs Bronny James, D.J. Wagner, Caitlin Clark, Haley Jones, JuJu Watkins To NIL Deals". Forbes . Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  39. ↑ Charania, Shams (October 8, 2024). "Sources: USC's JuJu Watkins, Nike reach lucrative extension". ESPN . Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  40. ↑ "Gatorade Signs College Hoops Star JuJu Watkins to Multiyear Deal". Bloomberg.com. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  41. ↑ Shaw, Susan M. (April 2, 2024). "After NerdWallet Deal, USC Women's Basketball Star JuJu Watkins Plans For NIL Success". Forbes . Retrieved October 13, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.