IN PHOTOS: USC star JuJu Watkins bags another Freshman of the Year honor following stellar season
The trophy case of JuJu Watkins continues to increase by the day. At the end of a phenomenal regular season, the USC freshman is taking home multiple awards and honors.
Joining the list of accolades was the USBWA National Freshman of the Year Trophy, which she collected on Thursday, April 18th. The USC Women's Basketball page, alongside the USC Athletics team, sent out a post on Instagram highlighting the occasion.
"YEAH JUJU! @jujubballin received her @usbwa1956 Freshman of the Year Trophy yesterday"
The award became the latest in a long line of accomplishments that JuJu Watkins has collected since taking NCAA women's basketball by storm.
The trophy case for JuJu Watkins
A five-star recruit coming out of high school, JuJu Watkins chose USC over other offers and began her outstanding collegiate year with a bank. Her 32 points in her debut game were the most for a USC freshman.
Her freshman season was littered with unbelievable performances, including her 51-point explosion against Stanford, the most in USC history, and the first 50-point game by an NCAA freshman in 13 years.
She solidified her year with the most points by a USC freshman ever before going on to break the NCAA Division I record enjoying a comfortable lead at 920 points, over second place Tina Hutchinson at 898.
Her efforts saw her finish with averages of 27.1 points per game, to go along with 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She was a force defensively as well, adding 2.3 steals each night, with 1.6 blocks allowing her to become a fierce rim protector.
At the end of the season, her trophy case looked impeccable with conference and national honors galore. In total, the trophy case for JuJu Watkins at the collegiate level alone holds the following awards:
- Pac-12 All-Freshman Team
- Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
- USBWA National Freshman of the Year
- Pac-12 All-Defensive team
- All-Pac-12 Team
- First-team All-American - AP, USBWA
- WBCA Coaches' All-American
- Ann Meyers Drysdale Award
JuJu Watkins before USC
JuJu Watkins began training for basketball under a notable assistant coach, currently working with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Handy, who helped her during her time at Windward School in LA.
As a freshman, she led the team to the CIF Southern Section Open Division Title, with 21 points and 9 rebounds to her name. She bettered those numbers as a sophomore, jumping to 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Transferring to Sierra Canyon in her junior year, she was instrumental in the team's run to the Open Division State Title, with averages of 25 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists to her name, as the team went 30-2 on the year.
Earning player of the year honors from LA Times, she came back with her best year as a senior, finishing with 27.3 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists, capping off her year with a 60-point explosion on senior night.
Earning Gatorade National Player of the Year, she repeated as LA Times' Player of the Year, before earning MVP honors at the McDonald's All-American Game.
She was also an integral part of the international circuit for Team USA in the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship, bagging a gold medal thanks to her incredible efforts on both ends of the floor.
Adding 20 points and 5.7 rebounds, her real impact came as a turnover-machine, as she drew 5.2 steals per night, havocing the opposing offense, earning tournament MVP honors in the process.
She returned to the national squad for the 2022 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Hungary, where she again led the team to a gold medal, with averages of 13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals, once again earning MVP honors.