JuJu Watkins isn't Caitlin Clark but she's not too far behind

Dec 30, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) is defended by UCLA Bruins forward Lina Sontag (21) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: IMAGN-734935 ORIG FILE ID: 20231230_szo_aj4_0389.JPG

Caitlin Clark is the hottest player in women’s college basketball, but there is another player who you should know. Her name is JuJu Watkins.

Watkins is special. The phenom has been playing like a bonafide star since her debut in November against Ohio State, where she dropped a smooth 32 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

She recently landed on the mid-season top-25 list for women for the John R. Wooden Award because she is the engine that makes USC go. No other player in the country has the usage rate she does at 41.2% (Caitlin Clark is close behind with 40.4%) and carries the weight of the team quite like Watkins.

Amazingly, she also is averaging 26.1 points, which is second in the nation only to — you guessed it — Caitlin Clark, who averages 31 points. WOW.

Our girl JuJu was on @SportsCenter last night!

You can watch her full segment here ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/UWA0o4sS4w

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) December 27, 2023

Watkins is casually re-writing record books in ways that no other Pac-12 Freshman has done and earning national attention along the way. But, with the stardom comes a lot of pressure — pressure that has made USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb consider connecting with Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder to understand how she handles Clark’s stardom.

Per Beth Harris of the Portland Press Herald, Gottlieb understands that USC might be entering unchartered territory and will need to adjust to JuJu’s growth:

“I think we’re headed for some unprecedented things,” Gottlieb said. “She handles all of this with such grace. We try to do a good job of allowing her to be her, which is different and special, but also shielding her from some extra stuff. We’re constantly kind of updating that plan as we go.”

This article originally appeared on For The Win: JuJu Watkins isn’t Caitlin Clark but she’s not too far behind