"It was crazy": USC's JuJu Watkins recalls her experience of attending 2024 Paris Olympics with LSU star Flau'jae Johnson
JuJu Watkins enjoyed one of the best experiences of her life when she attended the 2024 Paris Olympics. On Friday's episode of LSU star Flau'jae Johnson's "Best of Both Worlds podcast," Watkins shared her memorable trip to the French capital.
While Johnson was not able to go to Paris, Watkins watched various sports, including basketball. She spoke highly of the atmosphere and appreciated watching some of the best athletes from around the world enthrall global audiences with their talents.
"It was crazy. Just the environment, I got to see, like, a lot of different sports," said Watkins. "I didn’t get to see basketball, but I saw gymnastics, volleyball and track and it was just crazy.
"You just, like, from the outside looking in, there’s so many different countries in there supporting. So, the energy and the vibes are just amazing and to see the greatest in the world compete, it’s really, it’s just inspiring."
Watkins also admitted she wished she could have watched Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's emphatic performance in the women's 400m hurdles final where she smashed her own world record. However, Watkins watched the women's 100m final where St. Lucia upstart Julien Alfred beat Sha'Carri Richardson to claim gold.
JuJu Watkins produced one of the best freshman seasons in history
Watkins' freshman season was arguably one the best in NCAA women's basketball history. Her average of 27.1 points in 34 games ranked second in the Pac-12 behind only Caitlin Clark who was the top overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
She also averaged 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks en route to winning ESPN's National Freshman of the Year Award and an ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete. She finished runner-up to Clark for ESPN's National Player of the Year Award.
With the Trojans moving to the Big Ten Conference in the 2024-25 season, all eyes will be on Watkins to produce an even stronger sophomore season and fuel the team's ambitions of achieving more success.