USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb showcases Juju Watkins' commendable work ethic: “ESPY winner last night”
The USC Trojans women's basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb praised JuJu Watkins for her work ethic in an Instagram story. The season was somewhat successful for Gottlieb's team, as she led the Trojans to the PAC-12 championship and the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Last night, the Trojans gained some more silverware in the form of an ESPY award, as JuJu Watkins won the Best Breakthrough Athlete award. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb posted about Watkins win, saying:
"ESPY winner last night. Back to work this morning for Filthy Friday. @jujballin ALWAYS keeps the main thing the main thing. Different"
Watkins defeated LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant (who won this year's All Around National Championship), the Houston Texans quarterback C.J Stroud (who had a impressive break out season) and the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama to win the award.
Her victory came due to her strong freshman year with the Trojans. During the season, Watkin’s scored 27.1 points per game, which was the second highest in the whole of women's college basketball. She also recorded on average 7.3 rebounds a game and 3.3 assists per game.
By the end of the season, Watkins broke the Division I points record for freshmen with a total of 930 and was placed on many teams of the year.
Watkins also won two Freshman of the Year awards, which only capped off what was an impressive debut season for her.
What has Lindsay Gottlieb and other coaches said about JuJu Watkins?
JuJu Watkins is set to become a star for the USC Trojans in the years to come. In May, her head coach Lindsay Gottlieb praised her by telling USA Today:
"She's (JuJu Watkins) a generational talent. I don't think she belongs in a cookie-cutter system, and I don't think she belonged in a cookie-cutter recruiting process.”
If her freshman season is anything to go by, Watkins is a generational talent in the making. However, a former Stanford Cardinals head coach Tara VanDerveerm believes that she can go even further, comparing her to a gamechanger in women's basketball.
"She’s just phenomenal. In a college uniform, she’s a pro… She’s easily someone like Caitlin Clark, that people will want to pay money to come see,” VanDerveerm said (per On3).
Caitlin Clark had a record-breaking college career with the Iowa Hawkeyes and has changed the way people see women's basketball. Now, the sports needs more star players that can light up the court and bring people to the arena's seats. JuJu Watkins could be one of these players.