Women's college basketball is not lacking stars, with Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Flau'jae Johnson present after the departures of stalwarts Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The battle to be the face of college basketball for the 2024-2025 season is already on.
Recently, the ESPN and Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions docuseries "Full Court Press" starring WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso and UCLA Bruins star Kiki Rice has captured the imagination of college hoops fans.
The series delved into the behind-the-scenes footage from last season's explosive women's basketball season, including private moments from the lives of the three protagonists.
According to "Front Office Sports," a sequel of the four-part docuseries is in the works. The three protagonists being considered are UConn's Paige Bueckers, LSU's Flau'jae Johnson and USC's JuJu Watkins.
Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Flau'jae Johnson the defacto faces of college basketball
Of the three speculated protagonists, Paige Bueckers is one of the most recognizable faces. She won the Naismith National Player of the Year in 2021 during her freshman season and has been in the basketball limelight since her high school days.
Flau'jae Johnson became one part of the most recognizable duos in college basketball alongside Angel Reese, as they led the LSU Tigers to an unlikely national championship win last year.
JuJu Watkins, meanwhile, is the newest entrant into the basketball scene leading the USC Trojans to dizzying heights as a freshman and being declared the heir to Caitlin Clark's throne.
Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins have history together, having met in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA tournament, where the former won to advance to the Final Four.
Their two teams, the UConn Huskies and the USC Trojans face off against each other on Dec. 21 in Connecticut in a newly announced home-and-home series between the two teams.
During a recent interview with "Awful Announcing," the director of Full Court Press Kristen Lappas admitted that they were lucky to start filming on the project during a historic season for women's college basketball.
“It was a magical season, it was a magical project, and people just kind of accepted us,” Lappas said. “And we all feel like we caught lightning in a bottle, and the athletes are really appreciative.”
Luckily for Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions and the ESPN crew, all three teams USC, UConn and LSU belonging to the speculated protagonists JuJu Watkins, Paige Bueckers and Flau'jae Johnson are on the up.
If next year proves to be half as historic as this season, they will have caught lightning in a bottle twice with the most recognizable faces in women's college basketball.
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