JuJu Watkins should get Caitlin Clark treatment from her hometown, college hoops analyst hopes: “Her stardom deserves that”

JuJu Watkins captured national attention with her production for the USC Trojans last season. One college basketball analyst believes fans should recognize her as the face of college basketball this year.

In a recent episode of the "Got Next with Meghan and Zora" show Monday, hosts Meghan McKouwn and Zora Stephenson reacted to the results of the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery and previewed the matchup between USC and Notre Dame.

Stephenson provided her insight into USC's season with Watkins leading the way. Having witnessed Caitlin Clark draw the amount of attention she did during her last two years at Iowa, she anticipates a similar level of excitement when it comes to Watkins in Los Angeles.

"It'll be good to see them in person too, and see the atmosphere out there that Juju has started to accumulate. Obviously, we covered Caitlin Clark so much last season, and the atmosphere in Iowa," she said.

"And I really, really hope that the LA Community rallies around its hometown player like Iowa did, because her stardom deserves that, her skill set deserves that."

JuJu Watkins surpassed Caitlin Clark's milestone in recent game

Speaking of Clark, Watkins did surpass her in a statistical milestone following a game on Nov. 15.

Scoring 22 points in an 81-50 win against Santa Clara, Watkins reached 1,000 career points in 38 games. She achieved the mark in two less games than Clark.

“I'm not taking anything for granted. Very blessed to be in this position. This is great, something to build off and continue to work on,” said Watkins.

Watkins' high-level scoring has prompted some to compare her to the former college star and current Indiana Fever guard. However, the USC star does not want to focus too much on that debate.

“She’s a great player, but I don’t really monitor that at all,” Watkins said.

Watkins is averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.8 steals, and three blocks per game after four games. No. 3 USC will look to improve to 5-0 when it hosts No. 6 Notre Dame at the Galen Center on Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. ET.