
Analyzing JuJu Watkins’ ever-expanding trophy case of national
JuJu Watkins didn’t get the possibility to step into the nationwide spotlight she had earned this March, going down with a torn ACL in USC’s second-round NCAA competition game and having to enjoy in your home as the Trojans lost to UConn in the Elite 8, however Watkins’ stature atop the sport was currently cemented.As evidenced
by the multitude of leading nationwide awards that have gathered for the Trojans’ sophomore star.To recount, Watkins was named the Naismith Prize winner as well as the John R. Wooden Award recipient and the AP National Gamer of the Year, all solidifying her as the leading player in ladies’s college basketball.
She was likewise the Huge 10 Gamer of the Year, gathered first-team All-American honors and won Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year award and the Dawn Staley Award, as she ranked 4th nationally in scoring at 23.9 points per game along with 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 helps, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.Watkins is the
3rd USC ladies’s basketball player to win the Naismith award, joining Cheryl Miller (a three-time Naismith Prize recipient) and Lisa Leslie. Watkins is likewise the 10th player to win the award at both the high school and college level. She is the first Trojan to win the Wood Award and AP player of the year honors.In the USC record books, Watkins ranks No. 9 all-time in profession scoring with 1,709 points– having ended up being the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 profession points in program history previously this season– and with the second-most 30-point games by a Trojan. With 38 points and 30 points vs. USC rival UCLA this season, Watkins now has 21 profession 30-point games– four shy of Cheryl Miller’s career record of 25. Speaking after USC’s Elite Eight loss to UConn on Monday night,
coach Lindsay Gottlieb lamented that Watkins wasn’t able to finish what she began with her group this year.” I believe when I simply take a little time, I’ll still be so just crushed for JuJu and the game
since that just wasn’t expected to take place like that, but I believe that her resurgence is going to be legendary,”she stated.