Tag: Juju Watkins

JuJu Watkins signs extension of major shoe deal before new college basketball season

JuJu Watkins signed an extension of her Nike shoe deal just before a season in which USC women’s basketball is expected to make the Women’s Final Four.

JuJu Watkins of USC women’s basketball is taking the baton from Caitlin Clark as the foremost star in women’s college hoops for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. It is therefore not surprising that Watkins — very much in demand as a public figure and as a basketball star — is very commercially attractive. Accordingly, JuJu Watkins reportedly signed an extension of her shoe deal with Nike on Tuesday. This raises her profile one month before the USC women embark on a season rich with possibility and defined by huge expectations.

JuJu Watkins is a superstar in her own right, but USC — or any team — making the Women’s Final Four and competing in April for a national championship depends on multiple stars lifting a roster. The South Carolina team which won the 2024 national championship was much more than just Kamilla Cardoso. The LSU team which beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa for the 2023 national title was a lot more than just Angel Reese. The 2024 USC women’s basketball team had JuJu and some really good role players, but it didn’t have that second superstar to move the needle more against elite teams. UConn was able to limit USC’s offense in the Elite Eight. The Trojans needed a few extra pieces to make themselves a Final Four favorite. Lindsay Gottlieb did that by bringing in Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen and Oregon State transfer Talia Von Oelhoffen. USC should have the starting five needed to win big this season. The key to the season is less about the starters and more about the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class evolving over the season, to the extent that it can provide substantial and productive bench minutes, particularly in February and March.

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JuJu Watkins is building sneaker collection in basketball offseason

JuJu Watkins is a basketball shoe connoisseur.

USC Trojans superstar women’s basketball player Juju Watkins got a chance to show off her sneaker collection and shop with Cool Kicks this month.

As a freshman, Watkins led USC to their best season in years, winning the Pac-12 Tournament championship before falling one victory short of a Final Four appearance. She’s riding the wave of increased interest in women’s sports, especially basketball.

“The women in the sport are incredible and just to see the rise of the game, it’s so inspiring,” she said. “It’s definitely a collective effort. I wouldn’t say I hold any sole responsibility. Just make sure I’m doing my part.”

JuJu Watkins has superstar-caliber help on the new USC women’s basketball roster for the coming season. Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen and Oregon State’s Talia von Oelhoffen transferred to Troy to build a strong roster for coach Lindsay Gottlieb. The nation’s top-ranked recruiting class will provide bench depth and give USC the tools needed to remain one of the top teams in women’s college basketball.

Check out more with Juju and Cool Kicks below.

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Juju Watkins is building a ‘college superteam,’ says Sue Bird

Sue Bird knows what’s up at USC.

Making memories in the French Riviera, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird go on the air from Sport Beach in Cannes, France. The two decorated American athletes talk all things women’s sports and share the stage with USC star hooper Juju Watkins.

They talk about the growth of the game, what it means to be in the spotlight, and how USC women’s basketball is building a college super team at Southern California. Sue Bird knows what’s going on in Los Angeles, with coach Lindsay Gottlieb surrounding JuJu with elite talent. Kiki Iriafen has come in from Stanford, and Talia Von Oelhoffen has moved south from the Pacific Northwest and Oregon State. The two Pac-12 stars who played against JuJu last season are now teammates of USC’s team leader. Having three players with so much upside is great in itself, but the Trojans also bring back Rayah Marshall for rim protection and rebounding, plus the nation’s top-ranked incoming recruiting class. There is so much to love about USC. Sue Bird can see what’s unfolding:

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Juju Watkins offers thoughts on WNBA Rookie of the Year race

JuJu Watkins is closely watching the 2024 WNBA season.

USC Trojans superstar women’s basketball player JuJu Watkins recently told GQ Sports that Angel Reese is her pick for the award in mid-July. During an interview with GQ Sports that was posted on TikTok, JuJu Watkins said, “As of right now, I got Angel,” when asked who she believes is the WNBA Rookie of the Year to this point. “I got Angel. She’s been killing it.”

However, it has to be said that Watkins’ comments occurred before Clark defeated the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday and then posted a whopping 19 assists on Wednesday against the Dallas Wings. Clark added 24 points in what was a spectacular performance. If anyone asked JuJu about her opinion on the WNBA Rookie of the Year today — July 19 — she might have a different answer. Clark certainly turned some heads and earned new votes with her past week of basketball just before the WNBA All-Star Game and the Olympic break, which will carry through the second week of August. The league is off for the next three and a half weeks.

The good news for Catlin Clark and the rest of the rookie class is that after a period of extended rest, every top rookie will be able to attack the last 15 games of the WNBA season with increased energy.

Reese has made an outstanding case to be this season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year. She’s earned an All-Star nod and is the first rookie to win the WNBA Player of the Week Award since Aaliyah Boston in 2023.

Chicago’s forward has been dialed in with a WNBA-record 14 consecutive double-doubles. She is averaging 14 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game and was named to the WNBA All-Star Game in her first season.

Who will earn the coveted rookie award by season’s end? Stay tuned.

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Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame to face JuJu Watkins, USC in home-and-home

You won’t want to miss these two First Team All-Americans battle it out.

Women’s basketball fans will be in for a real treat over the next two seasons. Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and USC’s JuJu Watkins both were First Team All-Americans as freshmen during the 2023-24 season. Given that and the schools’ football history together, there was an appetite to see these two face off in college. Fortunately, we’ll have that chance.

The Irish and Trojans have announced a home-and-home for the next two seasons. The first game will be played Nov. 23 in Los Angeles, hopefully before the football team’s Shamrock Series game at Yankee Stadium kicks off. The Trojans will come to South Bend the following season.

This isn’t only about the two phenoms though. Both the Irish and Trojans are expected to contend for the national championship this coming season, and everyone with even a slight interest in women’s basketball should be excited for this first game especially. We’ll see where the teams are by the second game, but for the moment, this is a series worth getting hyped for.

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USC superstar JuJu Watkins wins ESPY Award for best breakthrough athlete

JuJu adds an ESPY Award to her growing collection of honors.

USC won at the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday evening. USC women’s basketball superstar JuJu Watkins won the ESPY for best breakthrough athlete.

What more can be said about JuJu Watkins’ freshman season with USC women’s basketball? The numbers were impressive, but the impact tells the true and complete story about JuJu’s brilliance. USC was a No. 8 seed in the 2023 Women’s NCAA Tournament, a solid team but nowhere near a national championship or Final Four contender. JuJu came in as a freshman and instantly elevated the Trojans by several orders of magnitude. USC finished second in the cutthroat Pac-12, won the Pac-12 Conference Tournament, earned a No. 1 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, and reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994. That’s an extraordinary level of impact, made even bigger when one realizes that JuJu was playing with a collection of transfers brought in by Lindsay Gottlieb as one-year roster additions. JuJu is now being accompanied by the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the country for the 2024-2025 season. USC is a frontline Final Four contender, and the expectations for the program are now “Final Four at minimum.” USC expects to be a national title contender on an annual basis with JuJu and Gottlieb leading the way.

We congratulate JuJu Watkins on her richly-deserved ESPY Award.

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JuJu Watkins inadvertently recreated the famous Adele meme at the Sparks game and fans loved it

Tired: Adele courtside. WIRED: JuJu Watkins courtside.

USC star JuJu Watkins unintentionally recreated a viral meme of Adele sitting courtside at an NBA game, and we cannot stop giggling.

JuJu has been attending Los Angeles Sparks games over the past several weeks, so it was not surprising to see her attend a Tuesday matchup with the Minnesota Lynx.

During the third quarter, she was sitting courtside, looking around as if she was so uninterested in what was happening on the court and as if there weren’t cameras around filming her. In a new video, she scans the arena and even looks up at the scoreboard, virtually unbothered by anything.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9Oh5JCR0AB/?igsh=MXJobjV2cmE5YnQydg%3D%3D

Hoops fans quickly noticed that she seemingly recreated a viral moment of Adele sitting courtside that previously became an instant meme.

But it appears that JuJu had no idea she was being filmed, making this moment a thousand times funnier and totally ironic.

Feature image courtesy of WNBA League Pass.

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USC basketball star JuJu Watkins nominated for 2024 ESPY Award

JuJu Watkins is up for an ESPY Award. See who else was nominated in her category.

Hosted by Serena Williams, The 2024 ESPYS will broadcast live on Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m. Eastern time, 5 p.m. Pacific on ABC from Los Angeles. The star-studded ceremony will relive the highlights of the past year in sports, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars, including JuJu Watkins of USC, who has been nominated for an ESPY Award.

Top celebrities from sports and entertainment will gather to recognize nominees and honor winners in categories such as “Best Athlete, Men’s Sports,” “Best Athlete, Women’s Sports,” “Best Breakthrough Athlete,” “Best Record Breaking Performance,” “Best Championship Performance,” and “Best Comeback Athlete.”

JuJu Watkins was nominated for “Best Breakthrough Athlete” heading into the ESPY Awards ceremony. Other nominees are LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant, Houston Texans quarterback C.J Stroud, and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.

After joining the Trojans as the No. 1 recruit in her class, Watkins led the Trojans with 34.6 minutes, 27.1 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She finished second on the team with 1.6 blocks per game and shot 40.1% from the floor, 31.9% from 3-point range and 85.2% from the free-throw line, leading the Trojans to an Elite Eight appearance.

Fans are able to vote for their choices. The fan vote helps decide the winners.

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USC, UConn women’s basketball set up made-for-TV showdown

JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers met on April 1 of this year. They will meet again in December on national TV.

USC and UConn met in the Elite Eight at the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament. These two women’s basketball powers are among the favorites to reach the 2025 Women’s Final Four. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and UConn coach Geno Auriemma want their teams to be tested and challenged, so it should come as no surprise that the two coaches set up a made-for-TV college basketball showcase.

JuJu Watkins of USC and Paige Bueckers of UConn are expected to be the two foremost stars in women’s college basketball next season. If USC and UConn live up to their potential, JuJu and Paige could meet at the Final Four. Because of this game in the regular season, a Final Four clash would be a rematch.

USC has an upgraded roster this women’s basketball season. Kiki Iriafen and Talia von Oelhoffen have significantly improved the quality of the Trojans’ projected starting five. USC also has the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the country for the 2024 cycle. UConn should be better next season if only because the Huskies were hammered by injuries this past season and should have a lot more depth than they did in 2024.

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Juju Watkins discusses growth of women’s basketball, USC’s future

JuJu Watkins is part of the story of the growth of women’s sports, basketball in particular.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Chestnut sat down with USC freshman All-American JuJu Watkins in a wide-ranging conversation. JuJu Watkins talked about her game, the growth of women’s basketball, the rise of women’s sports on a broader level, and her predictions for USC next season.

Watkins was the top recruit in her high school class. Unsurprisingly, she burst onto the scene with the Trojans as a freshman. JuJu posted huge numbers in her first collegiate season: 27.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 40.1 FG%.

JuJu Watkins has put USC women’s basketball back on the map. She led the Women of Troy to the Elite Eight of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament, where they ended up falling short against UConn. USC reached both the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight for the first time in school history since 1994. The Trojans went to places they hadn’t reached in 30 years. USC was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986. The Trojans hosted NCAA Tournament games at the Galen Center for the first time in school history.

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