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Charlotte GibsonESPN
No. 1 women’s basketball rookie Juju Watkins, who grew up 10 miles (10 miles) away from the USC campus, signed her nationwide letter of intent with the Trojans on Tuesday.
Watkins, who chose USC over finalists South Carolina and Stanford, is a two-time USA Basketball gold medalist, defending California state champion at Sierra Canyon High School, and the state’s current Gatorade Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year. is.
The 17-year-old, who grew up in Watts, has friends with Cynthia Cooper Dyke, Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie When Tina Thompson.
“We didn’t want to rush the process,” Watkins said. “A lot of people in my class had already committed before me, so I was definitely taking my time.
Watkins will join Maria Samuels, a 5-foot-6 guard at Seattle’s Garfield High School, in the 2022-23 recruiting class of coach Lindsay Gottlieb. Samuels is her No. 49 prospect in the 2023 espnW 100.
A versatile 6-2 guard, Watkins averaged 24.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.0 blocks last season at Sierra Canyon to win the state title. Last summer, she started all seven games as a member of the US Basketball Women’s U17 National Team, averaging a team-best 13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals.
Watkins becomes the third top 10 player to sign with USC since espnW began its national rankings in 2007, joining No. 7 Jordan Adams and No. 8 in 2012. Aaliyah Gales 2022.
USC has not won a national championship since winning back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984. Last held was his 1994 conference title and his 2014 conference tournament. Two-time NCAA champion, four-time WNBA champion, former USC coach Cooper Dike. Miller is a two-time NCAA champion, a three-time Naismith Player of the Year, and the program’s all-time leading scorer. Leslie, Naismith Trophy winner, four-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time he’s WNBA champion. Thompson is the first college player to be drafted into the WNBA, his second-leading scorer of all time, and her four-time WNBA champion.
Watkins is now set to join the Trojans’ legendary LA to USC five-starter.
Growing up in Watts, Watkins started playing basketball at the age of 7, even though his parents wanted him to play like tennis. venus williams When Serena WilliamsEvery day, she would practice with her parents, Sari and Robert, either in the backyard or at Watts Gym, named after her great-grandfather Ted Watkins, Sr., a civil rights activist in the 1960s.
Before his senior year of high school, Watkins transferred from Windward, Los Angeles to Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, California, where he joined coach Alicia Komaki’s championship team. It was in the Sierra Canyon that Watkins quickly found success and fame. Despite a school that boasts famous surnames like James and Kardashian, Watkins has become a celebrity in her own right, helping to fill the stands during the 2021-22 women’s basketball season.
In February 2022, she became the first high school athlete to sign with Klutch Sports Group to represent the NIL. This past October, Watkins, along with her Canyon classmate Sierra and her guard in Iowa, Bronnie, her James, signed her NIL Guarantee deal with Nike. Kaitlyn ClarkStamford Guard hayley jones And 2023 top guard DJ Wagner.
“Juju has been in the national spotlight since the seventh grade,” said Komaki. “When she first came to Sierra Canyon, she knew she had a name. She understood it. She understood her responsibility to the game because of who she was. When she plays in college, she will do the same.” The name on the front becomes just as important as the name on the back. “
