“I did have my hair in a bun”: USC’s Kiki Iriafen shares how a fan mistook her for JuJu Watkins

As the upcoming women’s basketball season approaches, Southern California’s Kiki Iriafen is ready to bring game plans alongside JuJu Watkins. The athlete is her former Pac-12 opponent turned USC teammate. Iriafen transferred from Stanford to USC as a major offseason, and now both players are part of the Big Ten.

Iriafen received the Katrina McClain Award last season. Now, as she gears up for her senior season. Both she and Watkins have been named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team.

Recently, Iriafen spoke with "No Cap Space WBB" about her excitement for the season and shared her experience of getting mistaken for Watkins.

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“I went to Cabo yesterday, and this guy was like, ‘oh my goodness, like, you’re JuJu Watkins!’ I was like, sorry, no, I mean, I’ll take it though, I’ll take the compliment, but I was like, sorry.”

She laughed and added, “I did have my hair in a bun.”

Kiki Iriafen shared how much she adores JuJu Watkins's well-grounded nature toward others

Earlier this season, Iriafen averaged 19.4 points and 11 rebounds per game, earning an AP All-America honorable mention. She delivered standout performances, including a 41-point game against Iowa State and a 20-rebound outing against Arizona State.

Meanwhile, Watkins, her new teammate, is building a freshman season that saw her averaging 27.1 points per game, which ranks her second in Division I. She set a record by scoring 920 points, the highest ever for a freshman.

Later in the interview, Iriafen shared how humble Watkins is as a person.

“Globally, she’s a superstar,” she said. “I think she’s great, like, I think she’s a great basketball player, but she’s honestly an even better person."

Not only that, but she also said, "She’s super humble and very down to earth, like, if you weren’t in the basketball space, you wouldn’t even know that she’s like this big-time person, because she carries herself just so, like, normal and very humble. She doesn’t throw anything into your face.”

This down-to-earth nature of her has not gone unnoticed by Iriafen while talking about Watkins during the interview.

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“She always brings her team into things,” Iriafen said. “Any deal that she gets, she’s always like, ‘how can I include my team in certain things?’ I think she’s just an amazing person.”

USC holds a third-place position in the preseason AP Top 25 rankings—just behind South Carolina and UConn. With her stats, Iriafen’s influence will be central to USC’s progress. Back in Los Angeles, Iriafen is focused on making an impact at USC.

This season, Iriafen and Watkins are preparing along with their team to face Miss Ole in Paris.

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