“I’m sure it sucked to just sit there”: Hoops analyst comments on JuJu Watkins and USC team staying back to witness Caitlin Clark’s jersey retirement

JuJu Watkins and the No. 4 USC Trojans faced an upset on Sunday, losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 76-69 on Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement night. The loss snapped the program's 15-game winning streak, handing them just the second loss of the season.

While discussing the key moments of the game, Zora Stephenson from the "Got Next" podcast highlighted how the losing team kept the sporting spirit alive. While speaking to Meghan McKeown, the WNBA insider commended the Trojans' decision to stay in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena to honor Clark's special night.

"Just in as added nugget, you talked about how it was Caitlin's retirement and we'll get to that - USC stayed to watch it," Stephenson said. (at 19:19)."That was really classy and I'm sure it sucked to just sit there after losing a game you felt like you should have won."

JuJu Watkins' team will feel the impact of the loss in its upcoming AP rankings. However, coach Lindsay Gottlieb shared that the team had decided before stepping into the game that they would stay to see Caitlin Clark's #22 being pulled into the rafters.

"This day isn’t lost on us from a non-basketball game piece of it," she said "I’m really impressed with the atmosphere here, the love for women’s basketball, the appreciation for what Caitlin’s done.

"We had decided prior to the outcome of the game that we were going to stay out there and be a part of that, to honor her and where women’s basketball is."

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Caitlin Clark helped Lindsay Gottlieb manage JuJu Watkins better

Even though Lindsay Gottlieb gave JuJu Watkins enough opportunities to shine last year, she reached out to Caitlin Clark to help Watkins reach her potential. She revealed this in an interview with NBC Sports in October 2024.

"Our administration has reached out to Iowa quite a bit and said ‘Okay tell us what we need to know, some of the things that Caitlin dealt with,'" Gottlieb said (at 2:20).

"I reached out to Caitlin and said 'How can I help JuJu with this?,' I feel like it's my job to make sure that I'm using all the resources."

Lindsay Gottlieb further revealed that Clark not only agreed to help JuJu Watkins but shared her personal contact details with that coach to be of more use.