On the year, she's averaging 28 points on .432/.348/.855 shooting splits, seven rebounds, 3.5 dimes, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocks a night. She is going to break a lot of records before she's done at USC.
JuJu making a run at Cheryl
- Thread starter uscvball
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On the year, she's averaging 28 points on .432/.348/.855 shooting splits, seven rebounds, 3.5 dimes, 2.7 steals and 1.6 blocks a night. She is going to break a lot of records before she's done at USC.
Look at her last 5 games.. just amazing. She actually out scored Oregon at halftime 24-21, then took her foot off the gas.
What a talent. For sure 1st team AA as a Freshman, dat's rare. But, is JuJu one and done? Hope she stays one more year. With next year's A+, #1 nation freshmen class, the team is gonna be scary good.
JuJu is a complete player, great scorer, rebounds, assist, defends well. When she is dbl team, she finds da open man. JW will make a great Pro and addition to the national team...
I like Kayla Padilla, PG, she makes the team go. KP is such a scrappy player, finds da open man for asst, so quick, very good defender and great outside shooter (3 pts 44% wow). Also, the team does not lose a beat when the reserves come in, they blend in and score pts. Shaka
to Great coaching...
Side note. Heck, if only Alissa Pili did not transfer, shoot da team would be a NC contender and most likely make the Final 4. Why did Pili transfered, she was da starting C?
JuJu is a complete player, great scorer, rebounds, assist, defends well. When she is dbl team, she finds da open man. JW will make a great Pro and addition to the national team...
I like Kayla Padilla, PG, she makes the team go. KP is such a scrappy player, finds da open man for asst, so quick, very good defender and great outside shooter (3 pts 44% wow). Also, the team does not lose a beat when the reserves come in, they blend in and score pts. Shaka
to Great coaching...Side note. Heck, if only Alissa Pili did not transfer, shoot da team would be a NC contender and most likely make the Final 4. Why did Pili transfered, she was da starting C?
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A lot of way too early prognostications about whether Clark is the GOAT for women. Give her some time in the WNBA for that declaration but at this point, one could argue she is the GOAT for college although a good argument could also be made for Cheryl and perhaps JuJu at some point.
What I don't get are the people who continue to take shots at Clark. What is the point? Why can't she be the best ever in college and why are folks looking for reasons to diminish what she's done?
Sheryl Swopes on the Gilbert Arenas podcast claimed, "Clark had already used a COVID-19 extra year of eligibility, therefore implying that the Iowa star benefited from playing "extra" games during her pursuit of the record." And also claimed, "she was 25 years old and competing against college basketball players who were closer to the age of 20 and was attempting an average of 40 shots each game."
None of those are true. Clark has played for 4 years, same as Plum who held the record. Clark turned 22 last month. And she takes an average of just over 22 shots per game.
Last year Dawn Staley...."Seconds after Clark's shot heard around the country found nothing but net, Staley posted on X, "Heckava shot but give the game ball to the ref for the shooting foul call ????????????." Staley has struggled to flat out give Clark credit without also making sure the share her own players are in the spotlight.
ESPN's Jay Williams..."I think the way she plays, the pizzazz, is, she's probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen. I am unwilling ... to say that she is great yet. I'm not saying that she's not at a high, high, high level, but for it to go to the states of immortality in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship."
The list of great players without a college championship is a long one.
What I don't get are the people who continue to take shots at Clark. What is the point? Why can't she be the best ever in college and why are folks looking for reasons to diminish what she's done?
Sheryl Swopes on the Gilbert Arenas podcast claimed, "Clark had already used a COVID-19 extra year of eligibility, therefore implying that the Iowa star benefited from playing "extra" games during her pursuit of the record." And also claimed, "she was 25 years old and competing against college basketball players who were closer to the age of 20 and was attempting an average of 40 shots each game."
None of those are true. Clark has played for 4 years, same as Plum who held the record. Clark turned 22 last month. And she takes an average of just over 22 shots per game.
Last year Dawn Staley...."Seconds after Clark's shot heard around the country found nothing but net, Staley posted on X, "Heckava shot but give the game ball to the ref for the shooting foul call ????????????." Staley has struggled to flat out give Clark credit without also making sure the share her own players are in the spotlight.
ESPN's Jay Williams..."I think the way she plays, the pizzazz, is, she's probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen. I am unwilling ... to say that she is great yet. I'm not saying that she's not at a high, high, high level, but for it to go to the states of immortality in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship."
The list of great players without a college championship is a long one.
From espn..
“Watkins scored 42 points in an 87-81 victory over 11th-ranked Colorado on Friday night for the Trojans' seventh win in a row. She broke Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller's school record for most 30-point games in a season with her 11th and it was the most points scored by a woman in a game at Galen Center..”
“Watkins scored 42 points in an 87-81 victory over 11th-ranked Colorado on Friday night for the Trojans' seventh win in a row. She broke Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller's school record for most 30-point games in a season with her 11th and it was the most points scored by a woman in a game at Galen Center..”
NOTABLE:
- With 42 points tonight, FR JuJu Watkins recorded her 11th game this season with 30 or more points scored, setting a new USC record for single-season 30-plus performances.
- Watkins' 42 points is the most points ever scored by a USC basketball player (male or female) at Galen Center.
- Watkins' 42 points is the most ever scored by a player against Colorado.
- Watkins' 18-of-18 effort from the free-throw line was her 10th perfect outing and set a new USC record for single-game FT% (also ties the best FT effort by any NCAA women's player this season).
- Watkins has led USC in scoring in 23 of the 24 games she's played as a Trojan.
- With 42 points tonight, FR JuJu Watkins recorded her 11th game this season with 30 or more points scored, setting a new USC record for single-season 30-plus performances.
- Watkins' 42 points is the most points ever scored by a USC basketball player (male or female) at Galen Center.
- Watkins' 42 points is the most ever scored by a player against Colorado.
- Watkins' 18-of-18 effort from the free-throw line was her 10th perfect outing and set a new USC record for single-game FT% (also ties the best FT effort by any NCAA women's player this season).
- Watkins has led USC in scoring in 23 of the 24 games she's played as a Trojan.
"....her love of family was part of the reason she decided to go to USC when she graduated high school. It’s also why she ended up leaving.
Pili, a five-star recruit in the class of 2019, joined her brother, Brandon, a defensive lineman at USC. When she got homesick, which happened often, Brandon was there to comfort her. But during her junior year, something happened that not even an older brother could fix.
Alissa lost two of her aunts, and then a cousin, back-to-back-to-back. She’d never dealt with death in her family, let alone three at once.
She learned generosity from her aunts, Susana Maiava and Felila Tuai – the latter was even trying to persuade Billy to let her buy Alissa a car – and how to find joy in the smallest of moments. She remembers that even running errands with them was a blast.
“They’re huge pieces of our family and they did so much for us,” Alissa said. “Just having to deal with not having them around, that was tough.”
Saying goodbye to her cousin, Sosefina Aukusitino, was hard in a different way. They were close in age, and more like sisters than cousins.
“We were inseparable,” Alissa said. “It was just different than losing my aunts because of the relationship that we had. It’s something that I don’t know if I will ever get over, to be honest.”
The people around her thought Alissa was stoic in her grief. On the outside she was stone-faced, but on the inside, she was in turmoil.
Alissa couldn’t grieve at USC. She needed to be in Alaska.
So after a conversation with the USC coaching staff, Alissa went home. She surrounded herself with the people that knew her cousin and aunts in the same way she did. The ones who understood that her ability to hide emotions didn't mean they weren’t there.
She also needed time. She still does.
“It never goes away,” Alissa said. “Time makes it more bearable … I guess.”
She didn’t intend to leave USC for good, but tragedy forced Alissa to evaluate her life. And as she thought about life and loss, Alissa realized she’d changed since coming to USC, and not all of those changes had been for the better.
She’d become complacent in her talent, Alissa admits, and stopped putting in the work necessary to maintain it. She’d also stopped being kind to herself. When Alissa made a mistake, she’d beat herself up.
Grief wasn’t the only thing Alissa had to battle, but it did lead her to understand what she needed: a fresh start.
“It taught me not to take anything for granted,” Alissa said. “I don’t want to have any regrets.”
As always, thanxs Veebs for your reply and inside info. I did not know all dat family tragedy, no wonder she left the program. But, why not return back to USC?
Dang, she dropped 37 pts on USC. Was dat about having a little bad blood & showing up USC? Shoot, it would have been great if Alissa were playing for USC. Anyway, wishing her all da Best.
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Dang, she dropped 37 pts on USC. Was dat about having a little bad blood & showing up USC? Shoot, it would have been great if Alissa were playing for USC. Anyway, wishing her all da Best.
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She was picked 8th tonight by the Minnesota Lynx.
Thanxs Veebs, Alissa will do well in da Pro's, she was unstoppable in college. Saw your post and another boardmember discussing WNBA rookie pay, shoot they really do not make (base salary) dat much the 1st 4 years. Annual avg $52K to $64K. Even Catlin's #1 pick base pay annual avg $84.5K for 4 years. The WNBA rookie pay = average main stream job market pay.
Yeah, I know after 4 years they will make much more + the real money are in endorsements. WNBA season + training camp is about 5 months. What do they do off season? Do they hold a 2nd job?
Heck, Roger Federer annual gross pay was about $95 million, $8 m via tournaments, $87 m in endorsements. But, when you subtract taxes & expenses his net pay = 47% of $95 m or about net $45 m.
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Just learned, most WNBA players work side gigs during the off season.
Key part to article: "Most of the league's stars opt to compete overseas with a second team to collect a second, often larger, salary. Others choose to take on media or coaching gigs, work on businesses away from the court, or earn additional income from the WNBA or their franchises through league and team marketing agreements during the offseason.
But boasting several different streams of income to supplement their WNBA salaries can make managing their money far from straightforward."
Click da full article below.
www.businessinsider.com
Yay, good for them. These side gigs + their WNBA pay helps a lot and turns into a pretty good income. If they are able to land endorsement deals dat's great, but only a small % will land E deals. Shakavery good da league provides health/medical, paid maternity leave and retirement plan benefits.
I love watching WNBA games, it's good stuff.
Key part to article: "Most of the league's stars opt to compete overseas with a second team to collect a second, often larger, salary. Others choose to take on media or coaching gigs, work on businesses away from the court, or earn additional income from the WNBA or their franchises through league and team marketing agreements during the offseason.
But boasting several different streams of income to supplement their WNBA salaries can make managing their money far from straightforward."
Click da full article below.
WNBA salaries max out nearly $865K less than the NBA's lowest contracts. Players lean on side jobs and savvy financial strategies to fill the gap.
WNBA stars are learning to make the most of their money with financial strategies to manage extra income from side jobs playing overseas or coaching.
www.businessinsider.com
Yay, good for them. These side gigs + their WNBA pay helps a lot and turns into a pretty good income. If they are able to land endorsement deals dat's great, but only a small % will land E deals. Shaka
very good da league provides health/medical, paid maternity leave and retirement plan benefits.I love watching WNBA games, it's good stuff.
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