JuJu Watkins entered USC with enormous expectations. She is shattering them.
The unanimous No. 1 overall recruit of the Class of 2023 posted the fourth 30-point game of her college career in an 85-44 win over Cal Poly on Tuesday, finishing the game with 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting (4 of 7 from 3-point range) with four rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks.
With those four games, Watkins passed WNBA Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie for the most 30-point games by a USC freshman in program history. It is at this point we should note Watkins has played six games total in college.
Now averaging 26.8 points per game, the 6-foot-2 Watkins sits behind only reigning Wooden Award winner Caitlin Clark (29.6 points per game) for the national scoring lead. In three weeks of play, she has won the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Week award three times, and is obviously now on track for a fourth straight.
With Watkins’ boost, the 6-0 Trojans are currently ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, the program’s best ranking in 29 years. The last time they were this high was 1994, which was Leslie’s senior year.
Watkins, a Los Angeles native and Sierra Canyon alum who stayed home, opened her career with 32 points in an 83-74 win over then-No. 7 Ohio State. It will be a while before she gets her next big stage, with four games against unranked nonconference teams in the next month, but the payoff will be big on Dec. 30, when USC faces No. 2 UCLA, followed by games against No. 12 Utah and No. 7 Colorado.
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
