USC JuJu Watkins Oct 10, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) poses during Pac-12 women’s basketball media day at Park MGM Las Vegas Conference Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
By Chris Novak on

Southern Cal may be famous for football, but the university’s basketball programs are booming. While the men grabbed headlines after recruiting Bronny James, the women’s program touts a celebrated freshman, too. 18-year-old JuJu Watkins made her anticipated debut on the hardwood on Monday. The USC star did not disappoint.

Watkins dazzled in an 83-74 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. She scored 32 points, dished out five assists, and pulled down six rebounds in 31 minutes. She shot an outstanding 11-for-18 from the floor in her college debut and showed nerves of steel at the free throw line, where she went 9-for-10.

Watkins’ sharpness paved the way for USC to get the victory in Las Vegas. T-Mobile Arena hosted several games on Monday as the 2023-24 men’s and women’s college basketball season tips off.

USC figures to be a team to watch out west this season, and a lot of that has to do with Watkins. The 18-year-old LA native attended the famed Sierra Canyon School and ranked as the top recruit in the 2023 recruiting class. She participated in the McDonald’s All-American Game and was also named Gatorade National Player of the Year, and California’s Ms. Basketball.

She committed to USC over powers like South Carolina and Stanford, as well as a host of others. Oh, and she has an NIL deal with Nike.

Needless to say, the USC star freshman had everybody talking after her performance.

[The Comeback]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022

View all posts by Chris Novak