JoJo Watkins says she did goal Which she keeps in the back of her mind.
This goal is to break the NCAA all time Scoring recordcurrently held by Caitlin Clark. It's a realistic goal for her statistically.
“Naturally, it's always been in the back of my mind,” Watkins told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “The goal is to continue production at this level, and to do so as efficiently as possible.”
Watkins played the 50th game of her college career Wednesday night in a 79-74 win over Maryland, bringing her career point total to 1,318 through her first 50 games. Clark scored 1,328 points over the first 50 games of her college career. Watkins was outscoring Clark after a 40-point game against California Baptist on December 3, but slowed down over the next eight games compared to the same period in Clark's second season.
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However, Watkins has the advantage of potentially playing more games in her career with the expanded Big 10 than Clark did, and perhaps more postseason games.
However, even with that competitive pace, Watkins just “wishes” she can play like Clark, who is the absolute best 3-point shooter.
“I wish I could play like her,” Watkins said.
JuJu Watkins, center, is defended by Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen during the second half of an NCAA women's basketball game at XL Center on December 21, 2024 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
Watkins also has multiple opportunities to do what Clark was never able to do in college — win a national championship game. This first opportunity may come as early as next March. Watkins led her team to a 15-1 start and a top-four national ranking. They just have to get past Big Sister City, as No. 1 contender UCLA is undefeated, with two games to play against Watkins late in the season.
Clarke's direct involvement may or may not play a role in whether Watkins ends up doing any of that. At some point this season, or at any point in the future, Watkins has the option to ask Clark a question.
“I met her once,” Watkins says. “She offered her phone number and said, 'If I have any questions, she'll answer them.'
“It's probably just kind of a nascent thing” when you reach out to her, Watkins added.
JuJu Watkins of the USC Trojans waits to enter the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Jersey Mike's Arena on January 5, 2025 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (G.Fiumi/Getty Images)
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There's a lot you can ask for when that time comes. It may not have anything to do with playing basketball. At just 19 years old, Watkins has become a subcultural icon.
She has a devout and visible following in her native Southern California community, and has taken the reins as the most popular player in the college game, nationally, in the wake of Clark's departure for the pros.
On her first road trip to the East Coast as a Big Ten Conference player for USC's inaugural season, Watkins stopped in New Jersey to lead a 50-point victory over a Rutgers team plagued by a dysfunctional, mysterious bench. Star player. However, almost the entire crowd stayed throughout the game to watch Watkins.
And on Thursday in Maryland, she scored 21 points before bowing out of the game, beating an undefeated top-10 team in front of a devout crowd of many of her own fans, while a national audience watched on Fox Sports.
“The interest hasn't always been there, so just seeing the eyes on it and people respecting the sport more, and young girls getting into the sport more, it's a dream come true,” Watkins said, crediting Clark with the attention.
Before playing in front of huge crowds thousands of miles from home, Watkins' dream faced plenty of tough moments along the way.
Controversial NBA star Draymond Green made Watkins vomit during a crushing workout in high school
Watkins remembers all the tough moments. One particularly jarring moment came during the coronavirus quarantine in 2020. Watkins was just a sophomore in high school and admitted she may have been out of shape due to lifestyle restrictions during the pandemic.
“I was out of shape, I was completely out of shape,” Watkins said.
So, Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green came up to offer him a workout.
“I'll never forget it,” Watkins said of the experience.
Watkins said Green's workout had her dribbling up and down the court and shooting the ball over and over until she vomited.
“I'm done,” Watkins said, adding that she didn't talk to him until after practice. “I don't even think I can speak frankly.”
Green talked about this exercise with Watkins during an episode of his podcast in February.
Draymond Green and JoJo Watkins at the 2024 ESPY Awards held at the Dolby Theater on July 11, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
“It's not a typical NBA workout,” Green said.
“She goes to shoot some spots and then she moves on to the next one as we go and she came to our practice and the first day you could tell her skill was there and all the things, but she was struggling to get through the practice a little bit and you know I'm pushing her and saying, 'Come on, Joe,' I get it, come on.
Green said he saw other athletes refuse to return the next day after the first session, but Watkins returned for more punishment.
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“I've had NBA players come to my practices, throw up, and not come back, you know. I've seen all different types, and come back the next day, and I'm like, 'The young lady has a future in this game,'” he said.
What happened next?
Sierra Canyon guard JoJo Watkins, above, and La Jolla Country Day guard Jada Williams compete for a loose ball during a high school basketball game between Sierra Canyon and La Jolla Country Day at The Chosen-1 Invitational at Galen Center on Jan. 7, 2023. In Los Angeles. (Brian Rothmueller/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
Watkins went on to have a strong sophomore season amid the pandemic, winning Sports Illustrated Kids' SportsKid of the Year for 2020. Her reputation is really starting to spread. She then won Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and became the highest-rated college recruit in 2022.
She shocked the nation when she turned down an offer to play for Dawn Staley's team at South Carolina, instead staying home in Los Angeles to play for USC.
Then came what she calls the most difficult experience of her life.
“Adjusting from high school to college, getting used to the strict schedule of everything, it was just a big adjustment for me. It was a big change,” she said. “It gave me a new perspective on life.”
Watkins didn't go into many details about what this amendment would look like. However, the numbers indicate that she was able to adapt in time to start her first season. She was on track to immediately break Clarke's record with her historic rookie year and has stayed on track ever since.
Watkins is the descendant of a prominent labor rights leader — generations later, she wants to see players like her get more out of the game
The period of growth for women's basketball is also a period of effort for players like Watkins. She fully understands the importance of players maintaining leverage as they negotiate their dues, rights and privileges from the WNBA and NCAA.
“It is very important to stand up for our rights, especially in this area as women,” she said. “This is where real change comes, being able to express our opinion and change things that don't seem right to us.”
In 2024, WNBA players will have access to charter flights for the first time. Now, the WNBPA is bringing the league back to the negotiating table. The union voted to withdraw from the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in October, and the league could see a work stoppage if a new agreement is not reached by the end of the 2025 season.
Southern California guard JuJu Watkins signs autographs after an NCAA women's basketball game against Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The next CBA the union negotiates will determine how many rights and benefits Watkins will receive as a player when she enters the WNBA in 2027 or later. So, she encourages Etihad to get as much money as possible, especially after waiting for charter flights.
“Charter flights are long overdue,” Watkins said. “This is what these women deserve. They work hard, and the least they can get is to rent their toys.”
Watkins' passion for this is rooted in her family history. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, organized and founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965. He organized it just months before the infamous “Watts Rebellion,” also known as the “Watts Uprising” and the “Watts Riots.” This incident saw thousands of residents of the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles riot due to anger over issues including employment discrimination and poverty.
After the riots, Ted organized young people to clean up vacant lots, plant grass and flowers and turn them into small gardens, according to the British Daily Mail. WLCAC website.
The Ted Watkins Committee has grown to prominence as a community self-help agency helping thousands of residents obtain employment and basic services. He was involved in building a financial institution and hospital in Watts, as well as developing low-income and youth housing programs.
“My great-grandfather is a huge part of our family and a role model for me just to look up to in my hometown of Watts and just for a lot of people,” JoJo said.
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However, it also recognizes the importance of growing the sport as a whole to ensure it can provide as much as possible for these players.
The WNBA has never been more profitable in a single season in its history.
Clark's arrival in 2024 seems like the league's best chance to change that for the first time. Clark's arrival and the new wave of followers and media attention it brought to the game sparked controversy and criticism from WNBA veterans and former players.
Watkins, who now sees the spoils of all the attention Clark has brought to the college game, does as well Ready to embrace it everyone.
“I don't think anyone has changed the course of the sport that much,” Watkins said of Clark.
As Watkins looks to break Clarke's all-time record, she hopes many new women's basketball fans, even those who give her “headaches” and “don't know what to talk about sometimes,” will come out to cheer her on. . But Watkins will also embrace those fans and attention if they “hate her.”
“I love the supporters and I love the haters too.”
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