JuJu Watkins' 'special' reaction to winning Naismith Player of the Year
Yesterday at 08:34 PM
The USC Trojans began the 2024-25 season with national championship aspirations, but those hopes suffered a major blow when JuJu Watkins went down with a season-ending injury. Watkins was arguably the best player in the country before she went down, but her efforts did not go in vain. JuJu Watkins took home Naismith Awards honors by winning Women’s College Player of the Year.
Following the announcement of JuJu Watkins’ honors, she spoke about winning the award via the Naismith Awards social media page.
“I’m at a loss for words right now. What an incredible honor,” Watkins said. “I want to sincerely thank Naismith for this amazing recognition. This is truly special and I feel so blessed to be selected amongst some of the best in the game. I wanna thank my teammates, coaches and the staff at ‘SC for making this all possible. To my family, friends, the fans, your love and support means the world to me. This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait for what’s ahead. So thank you so much again, and fight on!”
Without Watkins in the lineup, the Trojans still made it to the Elite Eight, defeating Mississippi State and Kansas State with their star sidelined. But they couldn’t overcome her absence as they fell to UConn. But given Watkins’ body of work the entire season, it’s an very well-deserving award.
Watkins appeared in 33 games this season, at a little over 33 minutes per game. She averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocked shots with splits of 42.6 percent shooting from the field, 32.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 82 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
During her two seasons at USC so far, Watkins has managed to set both school and NCAA records. Last season as a freshman, Watkins helped lead the Trojans to the Elite Eight where they also fell to UConn. These past two seasons were the farthest the Trojans have made it in the NCAA Tournament since 1994.
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