While this will be Caitlin Clark’s final season in college basketball, it looks like the USC Trojans may have the next superstar scorer that could fill the void left by the sport’s all-time leading scorer.
Women’s college basketball has been on a major upswing in interest and television ratings over the last few years. The talent on the ladies side of the game is as deep as ever and it finally has quite a few marketable stars. However, the game’s top players remain in the shadow of one particular athlete: Caitlin Clark.
Also Read: Latest women’s college basketball top 25 rankings
The Iowa Hawkeyes star has grabbed the attention of the basketball world over the last two seasons by electrifying fans with her world-class offensive gifts. What seemed like a magical 2022-23 season as she led her team to the national championship game has surprisingly been topped by her run to become the all-time leading scorer for both the men and women in college basketball history.
But with the news that she will take her talents to the WNBA after this season, many wonder if Clark has left a mainstream interest void that will be hard to fill. Well, USC Trojans guard Juju Watkins might have something to say about that.
USC Trojans star Juju Watkins can be the next Caitlin Clark
To the surprise of no one, Caitlin Clark currently leads the nation in scoring with 32.3 points per game as we head into the final days of the college basketball season. However, behind her in the 2023-24 scoring list is USC Trojans star Juju Watkins.
What makes Watkins different is that not only is she scoring over 27 points a game for USC, but she is doing it as a freshman. In comparison, it took Clark until her third season in the Big Ten before she averaged over 27.0 per game.
The freshman currently leads her team in scoring — as well as assists (3.4) and steals (2.6) — and is a huge reason why the team is ranked in the top 10 of our recent women’s college basketball rankings. However, she showed that she was only getting better earlier this season when she set a new USC Trojans single-game record when she dropped 51 points in a huge win over Stanford — one of the best teams in the nation.
Watkins’ 51 is still the most points in a game in Division I this season. She has scored 30 or more eight other times this season and posted 42 a couple of weeks ago in another win over a ranked team, this time it was against Colorado.
What makes her potential so impressive is that she is averaging that many points while shooting just over 41% from the field this season. Clark is shooting just over 46%. If the USC star can continue to work on her game, what seemed like an insurmountable record for Clark could be in danger in a few seasons.