Tag: Juju Watkins

JuJu Watkins, USC women’s basketball will play at Iowa in 2025 Big Ten season

USC at Iowa is a headline-making game on the 2025 Big Ten women’s basketball schedule.

Big Ten women’s basketball schedule details are beginning to emerge for the expanded 18-team conference in 2025. JuJu Watkins and USC did not get to play Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the Final Four, but next season, JuJu and the Trojans are heading to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes. It’s a headline game on the Big Ten schedule release, something every women’s basketball fan will circle and mark down. USC women’s basketball did not go as far as Iowa did in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Trojans reached the Elite Eight, while Iowa made the national championship game. Next season, USC and Iowa will be two of the leading contenders for the Big Ten championship and the Final Four.

USC made the biggest transfer portal splash by landing Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen and then getting Oregon State’s Talia von Oelhoffen, but Iowa did well in the portal as well. Hawkeye coach Lisa Bluder was able to bring Villanova star Lucy Olsen to Iowa City, a move which should keep Iowa in the top tier of the Big Ten. We will bring you more Big Ten women’s basketball schedule notes as they become available.

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JuJu Watkins follows Caitlin Clark as the face of women’s college basketball

JuJu Watkins has a lot to process as she moves from her first season to her second one.

In this episode of Podcast P, NBA star Paul George is joined by JuJu Watkins, the USC guard and 2024 National Freshman of the Year. With Caitlin Clark moving to the WNBA and the Indiana Fever, Watkins is in position to become the face of women’s college basketball alongside Paige Bueckers of UConn.

Paul George talked with JuJu about her first NCAA Tournament experience with the USC Trojans and her amazing 51-point game against Stanford, and how she wants to improve her game. Also, Paul George gave JuJu some advice on how to juggle life on and off the court and how to develop her pace during a game. There’s a lot for JuJu to learn, but there’s also a lot of help arriving at USC in the form of the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2024. JuJu is going to make her teammates better, and her teammates are going to make JuJu better. All of this will elevate JuJu’s profile in the women’s game next season.

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USC, Big Ten are poised to collect significant revenue from future Women’s NCAA Tournaments

USC moves into Year 2 of the JuJu Watkins era with revenue on the table in March Madness.

The Women’s NCAA Tournament featured two of the most-watched sporting events of the year. The Friday semifinal between Iowa and UConn was a huge television hit. The Sunday final between Iowa and South Carolina is expected to pull in big numbers. Information on that will be released on Monday, April 8. With the big television figures, the dollars for ESPN are growing. This is why the Women’s NCAA Tournament has arrived at a point where win units and distributed revenues should now be part of the picture for women’s basketball programs and for NCAA member schools.

We have written about this before, citing research from analyst Alex Simon of the San Jose Mercury News:

“A men’s unit in 2022 was $338,211 – around 0.2% of the BPF. If we use the same scale, a women’s basketball unit for 2022 would be worth $43,655.

“For the sake of simplicity, we will not add the 3 percent increase to each season. But even taking that one unit and multiplying it by six seasons, a unit’s full worth is $261,930.

“Remember the numbers up top, about how well the Pac-12 did in the 2021 women’s tournament? That performance would have been good for 18 units.

“So the hypothetical total for the Pac-12 in 2021 would be $4,714,740. Divide that up among the schools evenly and each athletic department would get $392,895. It’s not in the millions. But it’s a whole lot more than zero.”

Guess what? Those win units should be part of next year’s Women’s NCAA Tournaments. Howard Megdal of The Next Hoops has the story.

It’s an exciting time in women’s college basketball. USC and other prominent programs are in position to capitalize on future successes in March Madness.

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Caitlin Clark’s college career ends, setting the stage for JuJu Watkins in 2025

Caitlin Clark’s towering and magnificent college career has ended. JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers take center stage next season.

The 2024 women’s college basketball season, a remarkable theater of events which catapulted USC into the national spotlight, is over. South Carolina is the unbeaten national champion after beating Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Sunday in Cleveland. Clark played her last college game, which leaves JuJu Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers as the two foremost stars of the sport heading into the 2025 season.

Hawkeyes Wire had more on Clark’s second consecutive national championship game appearance at Iowa:

“The Iowa Hawkeyes fought. And they fought hard until the very end. Unfortunately, sometimes that falls just short, but isn’t something to be ashamed of. This team gave it everything they had for this fanbase and for themselves.

“Sometimes you run into a team that is dominant and one of the best of all-time. That happened today as the Iowa Hawkeyes fell to to the South Carolina Gamecocks in title game by a score of 87-75. The Gamecocks capped off a perfect season to go to 38-0 and stamp their place among the game’s best teams ever. The entire afternoon they continued to prove they are big, can shoot, play defense, and do just about everything at an extremely high level.”

Caitlin Clark is a transcendent athlete in so many ways. South Carolina, though, was the ultimate transcendent team, going wire to wire without losing a single game this season.

As the Paige turns to 2025, Paige Bueckers of UConn and JuJu Watkins of USC will stand atop the list of a galaxy of stars in women’s college basketball. It’s a great time for a growing sport, with USC in the center of the conversation. We can’t wait to see what JuJu will do starting in November.

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Cheryl Miller paved the way for Caitlin Clark and others

Cheryl Miller discussed her pioneering career in a great conversation with Dan Patrick. Watch and learn.

Cheryl Miller is, quite simply, a trailblazer in women’s basketball. She was the first two-time national champion in the era of the Women’s NCAA Tournament, which began in 1982. USC won national titles in 1983 and 1984 to become the first two-time winner of the event. Miller and her USC teammates made history. What they also did was plant the seeds for more growth at USC. Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson became part of this story in the 1990s. USC made the Elite Eight in 1994, and the Trojans had not been back in the 30 years since then. JuJu Watkins finally led the Women of Troy to the round of eight in this year’s edition of March Madness, but the Trojans were stopped one win short of the Final Four by UConn and Paige Bueckers. UConn lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four on Friday night.

JuJu. Paige. Caitlin. Cheryl Miller was the first super-duperstar in the Women’s NCAA Tournament era 40 years ago. Miller talked about her life and her pioneering career in an extended conversation with Dan Patrick. It’s well worth watching and listening to.

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Lisa Leslie discusses her bond with Kobe Bryant, JuJu Watkins’ ceiling

Lisa Leslie talked about JuJu Watkins and a lot more with Draymond Green.

Former USC Trojan legend Lisa Leslie watched JuJu Watkins and USC make the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994, when Leslie starred for the Women of Troy. Leslie recently joined ‘The Draymond Green Show’ to discuss a number of topics. Among them: how defense is like a relationship, growing up in Compton (California), how to grow the WNBA, and talking shop with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

Leslie also reflected on the Los Angeles Sparks not wanting her to talk to the team in a specific situation; JuJu Watkins’ incredible freshman season at USC; being a star in Los Angeles at the same time as Shaq and Kobe; and Caitlin Clark of Iowa. There’s plenty to consider in this show, a timely listen as the women’s college basketball season comes to an end with Clark and Iowa facing unbeaten South Carolina for the national title on Sunday. Follow Hawkeyes Wire for more coverage of that game.

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As Caitlin Clark prepares for last college game, JuJu Watkins waits

Caitlin Clark plays her last college game for Iowa on Sunday. JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers will take the baton.

Who was the best women’s basketball player of 2024? JuJu Watkins has some people who are in her corner, but for most, it was either Paige Bueckers of UConn or Caitlin Clark of Iowa. Friday at the Final Four, Clark had the final say with a 71-69 win over Connecticut and Bueckers. Clark’s Iowa team faces unbeaten South Carolina on Sunday for the national championship. It’s one last game in which Clark owns the stage in women’s college basketball. JuJu Watkins hopes to be in that position next year.

Hawkeyes Wire commented on Clark’s second half against a tough UConn team which defeated USC and JuJu days earlier:

“The Huskies took turns face-guarding and denying Clark the basketball. It was a page out of West Virginia’s physicality playbook. And it worked.

“Clark found her offensive game in the second half, though. No, it wasn’t a typical offensive explosion from Clark. But, Clark delivered just enough, scoring 15 points after halftime with a trio of made 3-pointers to propel Iowa’s comeback.

“As Clark goes, Iowa goes. The Hawkeyes needed to see her find the bottom of the bucket in the second half and Clark did just that.”

Next year, JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers will be the two foremost superstars in March Madness. USC hopes to make that final ascent to the top of the hill.

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Paige Bueckers, UConn lose to Iowa after beating JuJu Watkins and USC

Paige Bueckers beat JuJu but couldn’t solve Iowa in a memorable week for women’s basketball.

Paige Bueckers and UConn were too much for JuJu Watkins and USC in the Elite Eight. However, the Huskies’ run ended in the Final Four national semifinals against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Hawkeyes Wire offered a reaction to Iowa’s epic comeback victory over Bueckers and UConn:

“The Iowa Hawkeyes aren’t done dancing. Down double figures in the first half, Iowa (34-4, 15-3 Big Ten) came charging back to down UConn (33-6, 18-0 Big East) in a Final Four thriller, 71-69.

“Led by a strong second half from senior star Caitlin Clark and a standout performance from sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke, Iowa is back in the national championship game. The Hawkeyes will face South Carolina (37-0, 16-0 SEC) on Sunday afternoon.”

It was fascinating to see Bueckers play JuJu Watkins and Caitlin Clark in the same week, a feast for college basketball fans. USC has a lot to study and evaluate so that it can take the next steps in its evolution next season.

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Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named Wooden Award finalist

She had an incredible season, no?

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] racked up one record and honor after another during her freshman season at Notre Dame. Now, she’s going about as far as she can go as far as awards in women’s basketball. She has been announced as one of five finalists for the Wooden Award, which is given to the best player in the country.

Even though the winner will be announced Monday, merely being a finalist means Hidalgo will be invited to the ceremony April 12 in Los Angeles regardless if she wins the award or not. She also is one of 10 Wooden Award All-Americans.

In 35 games this season, Hidalgo became one of the country’s top scorers with 33.9 points a game. She also led the country in steals at 4.6 a game, and she averaged 5.5 assists a game. All that and more made her a First Team All-American and First Team All-ACC selection as well as the top rookie and defensive player in the ACC.

Hidalgo faces some incredibly stiff competition for this award. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is the clear favorite to win it for the second straight year, but Hidalgo also is up against 2021 winner Paige Bueckers of UConn, fellow freshman phenom JuJu Watkins of USC and Stanford’s Cameron Brink. Still, the fact that she can be in the conversation with these players is a good indicator that she’ll keep the South Bend faithful coming to Purcell Pavilion for the next few years.

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Paige Bueckers classily consoling JuJu Watkins after UConn’s win is what March Madness is all about

This is truly what March Madness is all about. All class here from Paige Bueckers.

It’s the end of the road for USC freshman guard JuJu Watkins … this year.

Because we just witnessed a record-breaking, unreal season despite falling short in women’s March Madness after the loss to UConn. She had a 51-point performance this year, proving that the Caitlin Clark comparisons aren’t far off.

After USC lost in the Elite Eight matchup on Monday, her UConn counterpart Paige Bueckers came up to her and consoled the tearful Watkins, and that’s when March Madness is at its best — opponents showing love and encouragement to each other.

Here’s the moment captured by ESPN’s cameras for the world to see: