Southern California star guard JuJu Watkins became only the third underclassman to win the Wooden Award, presented to the most outstanding player in women’s basketball, on Saturday.
Watkins, who is also the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year and Associated Press Player of the Year, won the Wooden Award over UCLA’s Lauren Betts, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Texas’ Madison Booker.
“This season was a real growth year for me,” Watkins told ESPN. “I was able to learn so much, just IQ-wise, just growing. Playing with Kiki Iriafen and so many great players around me, it forced me to level up and become a better player and teammate.”
The other underclassmen to win the Wooden Award were Bueckers, who was a freshman when she won in 2022, and UConn’s Maya Moore, who in 2009 won the award as a sophomore.
Watkins, who ranks ninth on USC’s all-time scoring list with 1,709 points, enjoyed a remarkable season before tearing her ACL in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 33 games this season, she averaged 23.9 points – fourth in the country – along with 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks in 33.8 minutes per game.
In USC’s best season since 1983-84, the 6-foot-2 guard led the Trojans to a 31-4 record (17-1 in Big Ten conference) and their regular-season conference championship in 31 years. After losing Watkins, USC reached the Elite Eight for the second straight campaign.
As for Watkins’ recovery from the ACL injury, Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb told ESPN she doesn’t know if the star guard will try to come back or redshirt next season.
“I’m a firm believer in everything happens for a reason,” Watkins said. “I think in my first week (of recovery), I was in complete shock. It’s the first time I’ve dealt with this type of adversity, so I’m really just getting prepared for what’s to come, and ready to just get to work and get to work in rehab so I’m back on the floor with my teammates.”
–Field Level Media
