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College basketball fans rejoiced over the news that former Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen has committed to the USC Trojans.
Iriafen, who is coming off a breakout season with the Cardinal, told ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski about her decision to return to his hometown of Los Angeles after three seasons under Tara VanDerveer. Wojnarowski then posted the development on X (formerly Twitter).
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Iriafen's decision to play for USC will strengthen the Lady Trojans' campaign going into the 2024-25 season in time for their transfer to the Big 10. Secondly, the 6-foot-3 forward will form a big-time partnership with reigning Division I top freshman JuJu Watkins, who carried the Lady Trojans to the NCAA Tournament only to lose to UConn in the Elite Eight.
Fans, especially from USC, rejoiced with the big news as they saw another superteam created with the addition of Iriafen to USC. One fan anticipates a crazy rematch between the Huskies and Lady Trojans next season.
"UCONN vs USC going to go so crazy," the fan wrote on X.
"🔥 excited to see kiki & juju," another user added.
"Great addition for #USCWBB @USC_Athletics #NCAAWBB #TransferPortal #KikiIriafen," a fan chimed in.
Other fans understood the impact of the latest addition to USC's campaign next season.
"He'll yeah, if you want to beat the traditional super team from uconn and sc," one user posted.
"Two fine great ballers on one team is must watch tv," a fan wrote.
"This is exciting, Kiki & JuJu will be a nice duo but with incoming freshman Kennedy Smith and Kayleigh Heckel. USC is looking ready for another deep run," another fan added.
Kiki Iriafen set to strengthen USC's 2024-25 roster
Iriafen is expected to bring a much-improved arsenal to USC. The Trojans are looking to improve on their Elite Eight finish last season, and bringing in the Los Angeles native back home is an excellent move for coach Lindsay Gottlieb and her staff.
The six-foot-three forward was one of the top contributors for Stanford in its NCAA Tournament campaign. She played for 36 games with the Cardinal and averaged 19.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 27.7 minutes per game.
Iriafen's addition to the Lady Trojans will help ease the burden off Watkins, who carried the team last season. Her commitment also brings a veteran presence to the team, which will be younger with the arrival of incoming freshmen Kennedy Smith and Kayleigh Heckel next season.
Getting Iriafen would further hype USC as one of the top teams to watch out for next season. However, it remains to be seen if this would generate more wins for the Lady Trojans as they transfer to the Big 10.
Only time will tell if this combination would be lethal or a mistake from the start and USC will have several months to make this dream teamup work.
Will Kiki Iriafen's addition help USC win their third national title? Let us know your views in the comments section.
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