How JuJu Watkins is restoring USC's legacy and writing her own

Sierra Canyon girls basketball head coach Alicia Komaki has many fond memories of JuJu Watkins.

Komaki remembers the competitive fire Watkins brought to each practice and how she always demanded the best out of herself.

They also shared some unforgettable in-game moments together, including a victory over third-ranked Sidwell Friends in which Watkins persevered through a pair of ankle sprains to lift the Trailblazers to No. 1 nationally.

But one of Komaki's favorite Watkins stories didn't take place on the court.

Watkins was in Komaki's office doing homework when news broke that she was one of five student-athletes - alongside Caitlin Clark and Bronny James - to ink a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal with Nike.

Komaki received a notification on her phone about the historic deal and promptly flashed the screen at Watkins, who casually confirmed the news.

"This kid just became the first female high school athlete to sign with Nike and just kind of said, 'Yep, it's true.' And it's not that there wasn't (any) gratitude or she wasn't grateful. That was her," Komaki told theScore.

"It was as simple as just a turn of the head, looked up, and, like, 'yep,' and then head back down and right back to business," Komaki added. "And at that time, business was math homework. So very JuJu."

Watkins' dedication is among the reasons why she was the 2023 Gatorade National Player of the Year and consensus top prospect in her recruiting class.

There was never any doubt about her scoring ability: she averaged 21 and 27 points in her freshman and sophomore high school years respectively.

Watkins built on that foundation when she transferred to Sierra Canyon in 2021 for her last two seasons.

Komaki says she had a "simple conversation" with Watkins about all the different ways the game would come easier to her if she improved in certain areas.

It started with an emphasis on rebounding. Watkins would have chances to push the pace and attack in transition with her combination of power, speed, and athleticism if she secured more defensive boards. Meanwhile, increasing her activity on the offensive glass would provide easier putback opportunities, as opposed to trying to score against double teams or fighting through ball denials in half-court sets.

Watkins' playmaking and defense were areas of focus, too. Teams wouldn't be overly aggressive in their defensive schemes against her if she was sharing the rock and regularly getting her teammates involved. The 6-foot-2 guard's lethal transition game got a boost, too, if she was frequently forcing live-ball turnovers.

All of Watkins' hard work paid off, individually and on the team level. The Trailblazers captured their first California Interscholastic Federation - Southern Section Open Division title in school history during Watkins' senior year. The Los Angeles native set career highs in points (27.5 per game), rebounds (13.7), and assists (3.6), adding 2.5 steals and 1.7 blocks in her final Sierra Canyon campaign.

"It's never really too much of an exciting time to walk into practice, especially after a full day of school, 6 a.m., before or after lunch, or whatever it might be," Komaki said. "I was always incredibly impressed with her practice mentality.

"She always wanted to do her best in practice. She wanted to get better. She wanted her teammates to get better," Komaki added. "She was extremely coachable. She was always locked in. You kind of knew you were gonna get the best version of her at practice."

Watkins went on to USC, where she had one of the greatest campaigns by a first-year player in recent memory. The teenager led the Trojans to a Pac-12 Tournament title and their first Elite Eight berth since 1994. She set the tone on opening night with a 32-point performance against Ohio State, breaking legendary Lisa Leslie's school record for points by a freshman in their debut. Watkins went off for 51 points against No. 4 Stanford three months later to set a new USC single-game scoring mark.

Watkins averaged 27.1 points on 40.1% shooting in last season's NCAA scoring race, trailing only Clark. Her 920 total points were the most tallied by a freshman in Division I women's basketball history, surpassing the previous benchmark that stood for 40 years. She was two points shy of overtaking Tamika Catchings for the NCAA Tournament record for points by a first-year player.

Opposing schools resorted to junk defenses at times because they had few answers for Watkins' offensive arsenal. She's got unlimited shooting range, a size advantage when posting up guards, footwork to manoeuvre around defenders at the rim, and a fearlessness on drives that earned her more trips to the foul line than anyone last season.

Watkins had no problems pulling up in the mid-range or kicking the ball out to teammates on the perimeter when teams took the paint away. Her passing ability gave her chances to attack in isolation. The 19-year-old used step-backs or jab steps to create space from defenders whenever she faced one-on-one coverage. Meanwhile, her defense was no afterthought: Watkins finished third in the Pac-12 in steals (2.3) and sixth in blocks (1.6). She provided timely help defense, got her hands in passing lanes, and was consistently properly positioned.

Watkins became one of five players in Pac-12 history to register at least 750 points, 150 rebounds, and 50 steals in one season. She was a unanimous All-American first-team selection, on the Pac-12 All-Defensive team, and received the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the top shooting guard in women's college basketball. Yet she still has so much room for improvement.

The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year had a tendency to take some ill-advised shots and was occasionally over reliant on her dominant right hand.

Watkins' offseason was also devoted to learning how to manage pace. She worked out with USC alum DeMar DeRozan and picked nine-time All-Star Paul George's brain to get a better understanding of how she can weaponize her own cadence.

"She's always known that's kind of the next level for her: changing tempo, reading defenses, kind of slowing down a little bit, and knowing when to go fast. I think she's always been preached that," Komaki said. "And so it's understanding how much changing the pace will change her game. Once she does get a good handle on that, she's gonna be that much harder to stop."

Watkins' development as a leader will be just as crucial to the third-ranked Trojans' championship bid. She had the benefit of leaning on Ivy League transfers McKenzie Forbes, Kaitlyn Davis, and Kayla Padilla for guidance as a freshman. Now it's on Watkins to provide similar mentorship, with seven freshmen and two key transfers (Kiki Iriafen, Talia von Oelhoffen) joining the fold this season.

It's not something that'll come easy for Watkins, as she's naturally reserved. But Komaki doesn't foresee issues because Watkins has always been a leader by example. Watkins' teammates feed off her play and competitive spirit. They see how much she cares and what she's willing to do to win. Her presence on the floor is calming. When Watkins speaks up, it resonates more because she seldom does.

"People are going to look to you because they trust and believe in you. She leads by who she is - she doesn't have to ever say a word," Komaki said. "She's gonna lead by that (competitive) look in her face, by how she shows up for big games and big moments. (How) she shows up for practice.

"As a teammate, you don't ever not believe in her. You don't ever not believe that she's putting in the work."

With Clark's WNBA success and UConn star Paige Bueckers soon to follow in her footsteps, many see Watkins as the next face of women's college hoops. And that status comes with bigger expectations.

There'll be plenty of eyes on USC as Watkins looks to lead the storied program to glory for the first time since the Women of Troy went back-to-back in the mid-1980s.

Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb surrounded Watkins with more talent ahead of her sophomore year. Iriafen's one of the top rebounders in the country and provides low-post scoring presence. Von Oelhoffen is expected to take some ball-handling duties off Watkins' plate. Five-star recruit Kennedy Smith could make an instant impact and is familiar with Watkins from going head-to-head in high school.

Step back for a minute and it's hard to believe USC's in such position, only two years after a 12-win campaign and 10th-place Pac-12 finish.

Watkins' decision to play about 10 miles from home completely revived the program. USC's rivalry showdown against UCLA last January was its first sellout crowd for a women's basketball game since 2007. Average attendance quadrupled from the previous season, with celebrities regularly attending. Top local recruits like Smith are choosing to stay instead of leaving.

This is what Watkins envisioned when she committed to USC. She wanted to help Gottlieb build a program whose success would extend far beyond her years there. Winning a national championship is the first step towards restoring USC's legacy - and writing her own.

"I think it would mean everything," Komaki said of Watkins leading her hometown school back to the summit. "It's extra of course because she's from L.A., because she did choose to stay home. Because she (chose) a program that wasn't a winning program. She chose all those things.

"It's what she wants. It's what she's working for. That was the vision. That was the plan," Komaki added. "Let's get (Watkins) and then the people will come. Obviously, they've done an incredible job of that and it worked. USC was good enough for JuJu Watkins, so it's gonna be good enough for anybody else in the country."