There’s a reason that whichever team wins tonight’s 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery is almost guaranteed to select JuJu Watkins with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft
Robbed of her junior season due to ACL recovery, Watkins still has compiled one of the more complete resumes in women’s college basketball history.
As a freshman, Watkins powered USC back to relevance, taking the Trojans from a No. 21 preseason ranking up to as high as No. 3 in the AP poll and all the way to the Elite Eight. Along the way,
she starred with 30 or more points in 14 games, apexing with a 51-point masterpiece against No. 4-ranked Stanford. She also helped the Trojans take down the Cardinal in the final(ish) Pac-12 Tournament title game, and that was after putting 33 points on cross-town rival UCLA in the semis to help elevate USC to the tourney trophy for the first time in a decade.
Finishing with a season-long scoring average of 27.1 points per game, along with 7.3 boards, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per contest, JuJu swept any and all freshman of the year honors, in addition to earning All-America selections.
With expectations raised for her sophomore campaign, Watkins proved perfectly comfortable performing in the spotlight. She again made 30-plus-point performances seem routine, with seven games scoring 30 or more. Watkins avenged the Trojans’ Elite Eight loss to UConn, invading Storrs and escaping with a two-point win. She also notched another signature win, leading USC over then-No. 1 UCLA in the Galen Center before then beating the Bruins in Pauley Pavilion in the second regular-season matchup between the two LA rivals.
The accolades thus accumulated, as almost every major individual honor belonged to Watkins after she averaged almost 24 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists. 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, all with improved scoring efficiency. Only the aforementioned ACL injury could halt her ascendence into an all-time stratosphere, cutting short her second NCAA Tournament and sidelining her from the sport for over a year.
A national championship, of course, is the missing piece from Watkins’ resume, as Edwin Garcia just emphasized. That accomplishment would take her from an all-timer to a near-immortal.
One other achievement is also absent. A win over South Carolina.
She can check it off in the second battle to be “The Real SC” as Watkins and the No. 3 Trojans visit the No. 1 Gamecocks (1 p.m. ET, ABC).
That South Carolina has become the gold standard of women’s college basketball greatness thanks to their defense makes the challenge facing Watkins all the more compelling, and will make it all the more impressive if she can show that Southern Cal is the realest SC.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley recognizes and respects Watkins’ capabilities, saying after a recent practice, “She puts the time in. She’s always loved the game. She’s been a generational talent.”
Staley further noted that she know that JuJu is “gonna wanna put her imprint on the game.”
The head coach, however, not only will have her squad prepared from Watkins, but also for the other members of the Trojans’ emergent Big 3. Watkins doesn’t have to earn a win over South Carolina alone, as Jazzy Davidson and Saniyah Hall give USC, as Staley said, “a lot of offensive fire power.”
Although USC has yet to play an opponent in their competitive vicinity, the potency of the three is undeniable.
With Watkins topping scouting reports, Davidson and Hall are super-charged secondary options, thus far turning in incredibly efficient outings. Both Davidson and Hall have registered effective field goal percentages north of 70 percent, shooting lights out from all over the floor. Hall also is outpacing Watkins in getting to the line, effectively deploying the physicality that Beckett Harrison recently highlighted.
From the long and twitchy Agot Makeer to the disciplined Tessa Johnson and Jordan Lee to the strong-framed Jerzy Robinson, Staley has the options required to try trouble USC’s talented trio. More time for the Gamecocks’ best rim protector, Ashlyn Watkins, could also solidify South Carolina’s defense.
Yet, the other end of the floor might determine “The Real SC.”
USC’s defense has yet to be tested, while South Carolina’s offense has experienced ups and downs in the early going. After scoring over 100 points on then-No. 20 Maryland in their opener, they totaled just 65 points in their maybe-rivalry win over Clemson on Thursday, an inconsistency reflective of the lack of rhythm among all the Gamecocks’ new and returning pieces.
Give us your thoughts in the comments.
Which SC will claim “The Real SC” crown? Will JuJu add another epic to her volumes of excellence? Or, will South Carolina show their Southern California visitors why they’re the nation’s top-ranked team?
