Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe pick JuJu Watkins as women's star who will shine entering Final Four
Ahead of two massive Elite 8 games in the NCAA Women’s Tournament Monday evening, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe shared on First Take which player they think will shine the brightest.
Caitlin Clark may seem the obvious choice, but for that reason, Smith and Sharpe agreed on a different star player they believe will breakout on the national stage with a win tonight.
“I’m thinking JuJu Watkins,” declared Stephen A. Smith, touting the USC rookie’s terrific play in the tourney so far.
“This girl, a freshman, averaging 27 and seven in the tournament. A freshman dropped 30 against Baylor the other night. Did you see the skills on this sister? Have you seen it?”
Smith continued, saying Watkins play demands that she be mentioned alongside the other big names and brands of the NCAA Tournament.
“Because guess what? She’s forced us to put her name in the spotlight with LSU, with South Carolina, with Caitlin Clark and Iowa. The girl has said nothing other than speaking with her game. JuJu, that’s who I’m looking at as the star who shines bright.”
Sharpe agreed wholeheartedly, explaining that Watkins’ skillset is mature well beyond her age.
“She has levels to her game. She can get to the rim and finish, she got a mid-range, she can shoot the 3, she can handle the ball, she can pull up. She has no deficiencies offensively in her game.”
Shannon Sharpe is especially interested to see who on UConn takes on the job of defending Watlkins, who he thinks will go right at the Huskies’ own superstar.
“It’s going to be interesting to see the assignment who takes JuJu one on one. Because I believe JuJu will take the assignment to go at Paige Bueckers, because she knows in order for them to win you have to neutralize the best player. It’s a team game, but within the game, ‘I have to play better than Paige, because I am the catalyst for my team.’ But I believe it’s going to be JuJu.”
Watkins has been a machine in tournament play, scoring 23 points in the opener, then 28 and 30 in the Round of 32 and Sweet 16. She keeps on topping the previous performance, which can only mean a likely 30+ point output from Watkins in what will she’ll hope is a win for her team.
We all know who Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe will be pulling for tonight.