USC Provides Glimpse of What Could Make JuJu Watkins Truly Unstoppable
USC Trojans freshman sensation JuJu Watkins carried the Women of Troy to the Elite Eight of the 2023-24 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Although they faltered once there, being defeated by a Paige Bueckers-led UConn Huskies squad, 80-73.
One thing that kept USC from overcoming UConn last season was their lack of offensive scoring outside of Watkins. Her 27.1 points per game was second in the NCAA, only behind Iowa Hawkeyes icon Caitlin Clark. But the USC player with the second most points after Watkins averaged just 14.3 per game.
If USC was to become true national championship contenders, they needed to add another bona fide offensive threat to their roster.
And that's exactly what they did.
Former Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen transferred to USC after legendary Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer retired after the 2023-24 season.
Iriafen burst onto the scene last year, averaging 19.4 points alongside current Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink. Now Iriafen has also arrived in Los Angeles, and is looking to lead USC to a National Championship alongside Watkins.
The USC women's basketball social media team posted an X video of Watkins and Iriafen working about together on Friday.
The dynamic duo can be seen honing their pick-and-roll offense with each other.
Coming Soon 🎬✌️@Jujubballin x @kikiiriafen pic.twitter.com/zJNXeCb612
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) August 30, 2024
There's zero chance that USC women's basketball will repeat as Pac-12 champions this season; albeit only because they're no longer in the Pac-12.
The Women of Troy are entering their first season in the Big Ten Conference, which means they'll be playing teams like the Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan State Spartans, Michigan Wolverines, and Ohio State Buckeyes in addition to familiar foes like the UCLA Bruins, Oregon Ducks, and Washington Huskies.
This elite conference will be tough for USC to conquer. But with Watkins and Iriafen on their roster, it's certainly possible.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.