"It's barbeque chicken": After Michigan win, JuJu Watkins pokes fun at her first quarter strategy before 'cooking' on offense

JuJu Watkins' offensive skills are second to none in the NCAA. She is on track to beat Caitlin Clark's all-time scoring record of 3,951 points. Watkins and the No. 4-ranked USC Trojans faced the No. 23-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Sunday and won 78-58. The sophomore guard led the way with 31 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

In the postgame press conference, a reporter asked Watkins how she became decisive with her moves in the second quarter and if she made any adjustments to her game.

"Right, yeah, I mean it's what I train," Watkins said. "I think that's always the goal to simplify the game, and you know play smart. But I think for me, it was just adjusting to the team we're playing. It's always going to take an adjustment I think.

"Most of the time I use that first quarter to kind of survey what the defense is doing and try to read the defense to the best of my ability. And then once I get a hang of it, it's 'barbecue chicken.'"

Barbecue chicken in basketball slang refers to a situation where a defender finds it difficult to keep up with the offensive player. It also gives meaning to the slang term "cooking" where an offensive player scores almost at will.

JuJu Watkins' trajectory to NCAA elite status: Caitlin Clark records and more

The start of JuJu Watkins' NCAA career was nothing short of spectacular. Earlier this season, she passed Caitlin Clark as the fastest Power 4 player to reach 1,000 career points. Moreover, she also beat Clark's record and became the fastest to record 15 30+ point games. With Sunday's 31-point performance, she has edged closer to Caitlin Clark in most 30+ point games in the first two seasons.

On Dec. 21, Watkins put on a show against the No. 7-ranked UConn Huskies. She matched up against the projected No. 1 pick of the 2025 WNBA draft, Paige Bueckers, and was a big contributor to the Trojans' 72-70 win.

JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers in action as UConn faces USC (NCAA Womens Basketball: Southern California at Connecticut - Source: Imagn)

While UConn fought back in the second half and brought the game close, it was not enough to overcome Watkins' masterclass. She stuffed the stat sheet and finished with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists.

She ended last week as the Big 10 Player of the Week for the second time this season. She has the rest of the campaign to notch seven more 30+ point games to pass Caitlin Clark's record.

LeBron James was right when he said that JuJu Watkin is the next big thing in women's basketball.