USC Women's Basketball: How New Trojans Additions Will Open Up JuJu Watkins' Offense

The All-American standout is getting some major reinforcements.

Mar 30, 2024; Portland, OR, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) steps back. / Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

USC Trojans freshman superstar JuJu Watkins, hot off an All-American season in which she was honored with the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award (given to the nation's best shooting guard), in addition to being named to the All-Pac-12 Team, the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, and being honored as the USBWA National Freshman of the Year.

But she fell short of her ultimate goal, despite this rash of individual accolades: win it all. USC finished with a stellar 29-6 record and an 80-73 Elite Eight defeat at the hands of the University of Connecticut Huskies in the Big Dance.

But she's getting help.

Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire is convinced that, thanks to the influx of incoming transfers Kiki Iriafen and Talia Von Oelhoffen (plus three five-star matriculating prospects), the 6-foot wing appears poised to enjoy the kind of offensive freedom she didn't quite get in 2023-24.

"Last season, as we all saw, JuJu Watkins had to do so many things herself," writes. "Yes, McKenzie Forbes was a terrific Robin to JuJu’s Batman [on offense], but that didn’t happen every single game. JuJu encountered some grind-it-out defensive games in which she felt she needed to take a lot of shots in order for USC to score. Now, with the reinforcements provided by Iriafen and Von Oelhoffen, JuJu shouldn’t have to think she has to do it all on offense. She can pick her spots a little more. Better than that, she won’t have to face nearly as many double-teams or junk defenses with Iriafen and TVO on the floor. It’s going to relieve so much pressure from her. If Lindsay Gottlieb hadn’t gotten Iriafen and TVO in the portal, we certainly wouldn’t be referring to USC as a superteam. Because of these two additions, however, USC has a bunch of star-level players who will all be in a better position to thrive because defenses simply won’t be able to focus on just one of them."

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