With the NCAA March Madness women’s college basketball championship tournament kicking off next week, JuJu Watkins of the USC Trojans has been busy. So busy, in fact she hasn’t been able to take up a veteran star player on her offer for some pre-tournament advice.
USC Trojan’s coach Lindsay Gottlieb revealed during a recent podcast appearance that college basketball star turned WNBA star Catlin Clark offered to “help [Watkins] navigate” her growing college basketball success.
Speaking about Clark’s offer, the 19-year-old sophomore told People magazine that while Clark’s support “means a lot,” she hasn’t reached out yet.
“I haven’t yet reached out,” the USC Trojan guard said, adding, “I mean, just to know that I have that support, it means a lot.”
It’s no shade or disrespect, though. The rising college basketball star, who just managed to make history by surpassing Clark for most points scored during the first two seasons of her college career, has genuinely been focused on the game. She’s also been balancing school, life, and some pretty major brand deals with Nike, NYX cosmetics, and Degree deodorant.
Her team may not have beat their rivals, the UCLA Bruins, in the Big Ten Conference Tournament championship, but the Trojans are still expected to be a No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament kicking off on Wednesday, March 19, and are even been favored to win.
Watkins went on to tell People how much of a “big fan” she is of Clark. From her view, Clark has been “killing it” during her first season in the WNBA playing for the Indiana Fever.
“I’m always proud and cheering her on,” she added.
“She’s just a super dope person, and for her to do that, that means a lot,” she says of Clark’s offer. “But I haven’t reached out yet.”
Watkins added that despite being poised to break even more NCAA records, her team “definitely comes first and everything else after.”
