USC Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Wants JuJu Watkins to Own a WNBA Team Someday

The Trojans boss has high hopes for the young superstar.

JuJu Watkins and Lindsay Gottlieb during No. 3 USC's 73–55 win over Kansas in the second round of the NCAA women's tournament on March 25, 2024. / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Ex-Iowa guard Caitlin Clark is long gone from women's college basketball, having taken her talents to the WNBA's Indiana Fever. Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers is nearing the finish line.

It would appear a power vacuum is in the offing, but there is little question who is up next in the college hoops world.

USC guard JuJu Watkins has picked up right where she left off this season, following up a 27-point-per-game freshman year with a 22-point-per-game sophomore campaign so far. A loss to Notre Dame Saturday smarted, but the Trojans remain a national title contender.

As Watkins' stock rises, her coach—Lindsay Gottlieb—is looking ahead to the star's far future. In a piece published Wednesday afternoon, Gottlieb told Luca Evans of The Orange County Register that she wanted Watkins to own a WNBA team someday.

"I want her to own something one day," the coach said. "Not just play in the WNBA. Own a team."

New: JuJu Watkins' brand, her team defines, is "culture."

Her NIL empire is expanding. TV networks fought for her games. And Lindsay Gottlieb wants it all for the USC star.

"I want her to own something one day. Not just play in the WNBA. Own a team."https://t.co/iHzUA4JnHA

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) November 27, 2024

Usually, a college coach blessed with mentoring a star such as Watkins looks ahead to the star's playing career first. However, the proliferation of NIL money—and the exposure being given to Watkins, as Evans pointed out, by the Big Ten's TV partners—have changed the equation.

Such are the talents of Watkins that Gottlieb can afford to put the cart before the horse—and have this kind of statement look eminently reasonable.

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