JuJu Watkins, USC is chasing the women's basketball title with a loaded team

LOS ANGELES – When the clock hit zero at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., last March, Southern California head coach Lindsay Gottlieb knew things wouldn’t be the same.

Yes, the Trojan horses fell to Connecticut, the season was over and they fell one step short of their first trip to the Final Four since 1986. But the moment her team walked into the locker room, Gottlieb knew the bar had officially been raised.

USC women’s basketball was back and ready to once again become one of the power schools in the sport.

“The bar is high now and we want to be one of the best teams in the country,” Gottlieb said.

It’s been quite a rise for USC as Gottlieb enters her fourth season at the helm. The team showed progress in its first two seasons, going from 12-16 in its first year to 21-10 and clinching its NCAA berth in nine years in 2023.

Yet few saw how far the Trojans would go last season. Gottlieb signed the high school in the country – a local prodigy JuJu Watkinsbut USC was picked to finish sixth in a loaded Pac-12. Instead, they won 29 games — the most since 1985-86 — won the Pac-12 Conference Tournament for the first time in a decade and were the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Without Watkins, none of this would have been possible. She scored 32 points in her first game – a school record for a freshman’s debut – in an upset win over Ohio State. She scored a school record 51 points against Stanford, had 14 games in which she scored at least 30 points, set the national record for scoring by a freshman with 920 points and her 27.1 points per game, she was second in the country behind Caitlin Clark.

Juju Watkins lives up to her high expectations

It may have only been one season, but the high expectations Watkins started her career with are already coming true.

“When I decided to commit, it was to bring back that winning legacy and the excitement around USC women’s basketball and LA basketball in general,” Watkins said. “It was really exciting to see how everything came together.”

After the stellar season, it’s easy to see why Watkins is a preseason All-American, the Big Ten coach for the 2024-25 season and a favorite to win the National Player of the Year award.

Gottlieb joked that the biggest challenge she has when it comes to Watkins is figuring out what she wants her star to get her for Christmas, since she also dominates the name, image and likeness game. Watkins has deals with companies like Gatorade, AT&T and reportedly signed a multi-year contract extension with Nike that’s one of the richest shoe deals in women’s basketball.

With so much attention and the play to back it up, Watkins is certainly a contender to become the biggest star in the sport now that Clark has moved on to the WNBA.

“She will certainly be one of the prominent faces of the women’s college game this year,” ESPN analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo said. “There’s a lot to be excited about in women’s basketball, and I think JuJu is definitely one of the players that people are really excited to see.”

Watkins said she spent much of the offseason working on her left hand, and Gottlieb added that she has become more of a vocal leader for the team as she continues to manipulate the defense.

And yes, she is still working on her score. When the team gets a break during practice, you’ll often see Watkins still on the court making shots.

“Nothing she does surprises me anymore,” Gottlieb said of Watkins. “JuJu makes it easy because she puts this team, she puts basketball, she puts me, she puts USC ahead of anything individual, really.

“She is a 19-year-old who is only focused on winning and helping me and this team build toward excellence.”

USC expects to benefit from the influx of talent

Besides Watkins, only one starter returns in Rayah Marshall, but Gottlieb did fill out the roster. She brought in Kiki Iriafen, the Pac-12 Most Improved Player last season at Stanford, and two-time Pac-12 team member Talia von Oelhoffen from Oregon State as part of one of the nation’s top transfer portals. Gottlieb said these are crucial additions because they not only bring in a veteran to lead alongside Watkins, but also because they come from successful teams.

On the high school recruiting side, Gottlieb added six players ESPN’s Top 100 Recruitshighlighted by five-star recruits Kennedy Smith, Kayleigh Heckel and Avery Howell. Gottlieb hopes a mix of new and experienced is the perfect recipe for success.

“We have a number of pieces. I think versatility will be for us,” said Gottlieb. “We are younger than people think. I play some freshmen in important roles, and at the same time we have some really good veterans.

Iriafen and von Oelhoffen fit well with Watkins. Iriafen said Watkins “brings excellence around him” and they always look for each other on the field.

“There are so many great players around me, so I play off them a little bit too,” she said. “You can expect everyone to go out and get a bucket. You are not dependent on two or three people.”

A potential new star could be Smith. She played at Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga and played against Watkins in high school, and now she’s playing a role similar to her current teammate. Gottlieb and Watkins spoke highly of Smith, expecting her to get significant playing time. The word that comes up when you talk about her?

“Dawg,” Watkins said.

USC embraces the ‘target on our back’

All major teams in every sport have created the expectation of becoming champions by the end of the season. However, it is rare for them to speak about it publicly, usually opting for the ‘take it one game at a time’ approach.

But that’s not the case with these Trojans.

From the coaching staff to the players, they know the expectation is to win the school’s first national championship since 1984, and they are not shy in their quest for glory.

“There’s just a sense of urgency to go beyond where we went last year,” Watkins said.

USC starts the season at number 3 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Pollthe favorite to win the Big Ten in the league’s first season, earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA women’s tournament and reach the Final Four.

Many eyes will be watching the USC march. Not only do they open the college basketball season in Paris against Mississippi on Monday with an ESPN televised game, more than half of the schedule will be broadcast nationally. That’s in addition to the various NIL deals players have secured.

So with the spotlight shining brightly in Los Angeles, the Trojans welcome the challenge.

“Our stage has been raised for all of us. We have not avoided any expectations. We understand that this comes with a great responsibility,” said Gottlieb. “Everything is a big stage and we have to be ready for it. There is definitely a target on our back.”