Women’s college basketball Freshmen Tracker: Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes makes history with 55-point barrage

Mikayla Blakes is the gift that keeps on giving. The Vanderbilt freshman is putting up astronomical numbers, breaking her own records in the process.

For this week’s women’s college basketball Freshmen Tracker, we give Blakes her well-deserved flowers. We also highlight a dominant performance from Sarah Strong that helped lift UConn to a historic victory over South Carolina.

Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

It’s rare in any sport that a record is broken twice in one year by the same player. But Mikayla Blakes’ performance on Sunday speaks to how special her freshman season has been.

In January, Blakes initially set the SEC’s freshman single-game scoring record at 53 points in Vanderbilt’s win over the Florida Gators. However, Blakes bested herself this weekend by scoring 55 points in the Commodores’ 98-88 overtime win over Auburn.

Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes sets NCAA freshman scoring record with 55 points in overtime win over Auburn
Isabel Gonzalez
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes sets NCAA freshman scoring record with 55 points in overtime win over Auburn
This 55-point outing wasn’t just an SEC milestone, either. It’s the most points scored by a freshman in NCAA history, eclipsing the 54 Elena Delle Donne scored as a redshirt freshman at Delaware in a 2010 loss to James Madison.

Blakes, who is averaging close to 22 points per game, is also the first Division I women’s basketball player to register multiple 50-point games in a season since Rachel Banham (Minnesota) and Jasmine Nwajei (Wagner) did it twice during the 2015-16 season.

Vanderbilt will play No. 16 Oklahoma on Thursday

Sarah Strong, UConn

Sarah Strong and No. 7 UConn snapped No. 4 South Carolina’s 71-home game winning streak on Sunday in dominant fashion.

The Huskies put together a 87-58 win over the Gamecocks thanks, in part, to Strong’s 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. These numbers mirror Strong’s season averages as she’s the second-leading scorer for this top-10 UConn team.

No. 7 UConn will play Seton Hall on Wednesday

Tajianna Roberts, Louisville

Louisville is a top-five team in the ACC because of a star freshman who has been consistent all season. Tajianna Roberts is the Cardinals’ best playmaker as she leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.4 points a game. This was on full display during Louisville’s 83-69 win over No. 23 Florida State.

Roberts scored a team-high 17 points against the Seminoles, grabbing 10 rebounds, handing out two assists and poking away two steals in the process. Sunday’s win over Florida State gives Louisville its second win over a ranked opponent in February.

Notre Dame replaces UCLA as No. 1; UConn, USC enter top five

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2019. They replaced UCLA after the Bruins suffered their first loss of the season against USC.

Texas was another candidate to move to the top spot after overcoming a slow start and knocking off LSU on Sunday. That was the Longhorns’ third consecutive win over a top-10 opponent. They moved up to No. 2 while receiving eight first-place votes. UCLA still received six first-place votes this week but dropped to No. 3.

The Bruins almost suffered a second loss when facing Michigan State on Sunday while leading scorer Lauren Betts sat out with a foot injury. However, a 3-pointer by Timea Gardiner with 44 seconds remaining gave the Bruins the lead and a narrow 75-69 win.

USC improved to No. 4 after taking down UCLA thanks to a historically dominant two-way performance from JuJu Watkins. The Trojans were less assertive against Washington on Sunday, but still managed to get a 69-64 win.

USC shocks top-ranked UCLA: JuJu Watkins delivers signature performance as Trojans rise to first in Big Ten
Isabel Gonzalez
USC shocks top-ranked UCLA: JuJu Watkins delivers signature performance as Trojans rise to first in Big Ten
UConn also had an exciting week with a dominant win against South Carolina. The Huskies’ 87-58 victory snapped the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak, while proving Geno Auriemma’s team is a dangerous one when locked in.

UConn is No. 5 this week while South Carolina dropped to No. 6. LSU, Ohio State, North Carolina and TCU round out the top 10.

Texas climbs to No. 1 as UCLA’s loss to USC drops Bruins to fourth

Texas has taken the No. 1 spot in the CBS Sports women’s college basketball Power Rankings after three consecutive wins against top-10 opponents. The Longhorns upset South Carolina on Feb. 9, then took care of Kentucky and finally LSU on Sunday.

Yes, Notre Dame beat Texas 80-70 on Dec. 5, but it was an overtime loss that took place over two months ago. The Fighting Irish could definitely be No. 1 this week, but the Longhorns have a lightly better resume and some very strong recent wins.

USC star JuJu Watkins was going through a sophomore slump but bounced back just in time to help the Trojans hand UCLA its first loss of the season. The Bruins are one spot behind the Trojans at No. 4, but they will have a chance to get revenge when they meet again on March 1.

UConn moved to No. 5 after stunning South Carolina 87-58 and snapping the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak in the process. The Huskies are trending in the right direction before March by showing they can be the aggressors. Also, Azzi Fudd has been playing some of her best basketball of the season.

How Azzi Fudd helped UConn destroy South Carolina, and what it means for her WNBA Draft prospects
Jack Maloney
How Azzi Fudd helped UConn destroy South Carolina, and what it means for her WNBA Draft prospects
South Carolina only dropped two spots to No. 6 because despite a rough outing against the Huskies, the Gamecocks have put away several other ranked opponents.

Here are the latest CBS Sports women’s college basketball Power Rankings.

Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles are Notre Dame’s headliners, but here’s the X-factor for No. 1 Fighting Irish

While the backcourt is a huge reason why Notre Dame has been one of the nation’s elite teams this season, forward Liatu King has quietly proven she could be the X-factor as March Madness approaches.

The Irish have the No. 4 scoring offense in Division I, which isn’t surprising because of how Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles run the offense. However, Notre Dame is also No. 5 in rebounds per game and No. 3 in defensive boards.

“I didn’t even know that,” said King, Notre Dame’s leading rebounder.

King completed her undergrad at Pittsburgh, but she could be putting her name in the Notre Dame history books as a grad student. The program rebounding records for a single season are 10.3 per game and 390 total. King has 255 rebounds so far while averaging 10.6 per contest.

The 6-foot forward isn’t not one-dimensional either. She is currently one of three players in the nation averaging at least 11 points, 10 rebounds and two steals per game.

King is a strong midrange shooter that ranks 26th nationally in field goal percentage at 55.7%. Not a bad place to be, but she is trying to expand her range for when she gets to the next level.

“Like a foot or two inside the 3-point line,” King said. “Just being conscious of where I am on the floor and just extending my range. I can shoot it, I work on it in practice. My coaches trust me to do it — it’s more so actually doing it during game time.”

Those are aspects that show up on the box score, but King contributes a lot more than that.

“I think my role honestly is to do a lot of the things that don’t come up on the stat sheet,” King said. “And I’m OK with that … I take pride in that.”

King’s efforts definitely don’t go unnoticed by her teammates. Hidalgo describes her as a “dog.”

“But it’s a calm dog,” Hidalgo said. “She’s very chill, she’s very relaxed. It’s a personality that nobody else has on our team. She just brings this calming presence about her. Also that leader kind of mindset, she leads in her own way.”

Hidalgo herself has gotten the “dog” compliment from elite athletes such as Dwayne Wade, so she knows what she is talking about. The word is not taken lightly in the basketball world, but King has earned it.

Dwyane Wade praises Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo after watching her duel with Paige Bueckers, UConn
Isabel Gonzalez
Dwyane Wade praises Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo after watching her duel with Paige Bueckers, UConn
“It means you got that chip on your shoulder and you’re playing harder,” Hidalgo said. “… I think it’s doing the dirty work — diving on the floor, taking charges, getting them to turn the ball over, stuff like that. Hustle plays. That’s what really makes somebody a dog.

“Tu, she’s undersized, so when she is going there and she’s jumping over girls that are over 6-foot 4, 6-foot-3, it really is a testament of that dog she has in her.”

Although King does the dirty work for Notre Dame, she does have highlight-worthy plays as well.

“Ask (coach Niele Ivey) about the tip, the alley-oop that Tu got in the Louisville game,” Hidalgo said.

The play she is referring to happened late in the first quarter against the Cardinals on Feb. 2. Notre Dame had gone almost four minutes without a field goal, but King ended the drought by catching an inbound pass from Miles midair and converting a one-handed bucket as the clock was running out.

“Tu is just so solid. She is so poised and she has incredible athleticism,” Ivey said. “… Never too high, never too low. She has experience, but also poise and composure. At any point, she can just get a huge defensive rebound or a huge offensive rebound. She adds a lot of value to our team because of her athleticism and her versatility, we lean a lot on that.”

This season the Irish have embraced the motto “pick your poison” because there are several players who can hurt opponents in different ways, King included. Hidalgo is second in the nation in scoring and steals with 24.9 points and 4.04 steals per contest. Miles averages 16.7 points while being sixth in the country in assists with 6.2 per game.

Sonia Citron is usually the third player who gets talked about because she scores in double figures while defending some of the top players in the nation, including USC’s JuJu Watkins. Meanwhile, freshman Kate Koval is in the top 40 nationally in blocks.

The contributions of those players and others on the roster helped the team rise to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2019. The Irish are currently riding an 18-game winning streak, and with just four regular-season games remaining, Ivey is feeling good about her squad.

“We have arguably the best backcourt in the nation, but I feel like we have so much balance on this team,” Ivey said. “Everybody is so locked in, everybody is committed to the goal. Thats what I appreciate the most out of everybody.”

Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey leads stacked list

This women’s college basketball season has featured a ton of parity, so the race for Coach of the Year is still ongoing as March approaches.

Niele Ivey has Notre Dame as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, Vic Schaefer has Texas as the top program in the CBS Sports Power Rankings.

Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles are Notre Dame’s headliners, but here’s the X-factor for No. 1 Fighting Irish
Isabel Gonzalez
Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles are Notre Dame’s headliners, but here’s the X-factor for No. 1 Fighting Irish
Geno Auriemma recently showed UConn can still keep up with elite teams with a dominant win over reigning national champion South Carolina. However, Dawn Staley has had the toughest strength of schedule in Division I, and despite some hiccups, her Gamecocks are still very much a force to be reckoned with.

Los Angeles brought the heat to the Big Ten conference with Cori Close’s UCLA and Lindsay Gottlieb’s USC. Meanwhile, coaches like Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks and Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell are making noise in their first year with their respective programs.

There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, but here is where the Coach of the Year race stands as we inch closer to March.

5. Geno Auriemma, UConn
   Geno Auriemma has been setting the standard for decades and became the all-time winningest coach in college basketball earlier this season. Injuries have limited the Huskies the past few years, but Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd are finally playing more games together. The Huskies also improved with the addition of Sarah Strong, one of the top candidates to win Freshman of the Year.

And yet, the Huskies had some moments this season in which they seemed to be lacking the “it” factor — until the South Carolina win. Auriemma was constantly making adjustments to make sure the Gamecocks never got comfortable, and even guided his team to win the rebounding battle despite the Gamecocks having the size advantage. UConn finally played like the aggressor and did what was necessary to snap the Gamecocks’ 71-home game winning streak.

The Huskies showed they have what it takes to make another deep run in March. They are strong on both sides of the court with the best scoring margin in the nation and also the best assist/turnover ratio.

4. Cori Close, UCLA
   UCLA missed the 2022 NCAA Tournament but has been on the rise since. They are fresh off back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, and this season has already been one for the books. The Bruins were the last undefeated team in the nation with a 23-0 record, their best start in program history, before falling to USC on Feb. 13.

The Bruins were also No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for 12 consecutive weeks, setting a new record for any Big Ten women’s basketball program.

Cori Close’s team is led by junior center Lauren Betts, who is averaging 19.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest. However, UCLA has multiple contributors with seven players averaging over seven points, and six putting up at least three rebonds per contest. Betts is a key piece of the team, but the Bruins showed they can win without her when a foot injury kept her from playing in Sunday’s win over No. 22 Michigan State.

3. Dawn Staley, South Carolina
   Dawn Staley’s teams are always difficult to scout against because she makes sure her players spread the responsibilities. Six active players are averaging over seven points per game points per game, while Joyce Edwards, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao average double figures in scoring. No one averages more than 25 minutes per game, and South Carolina’s bench leads the nation with 41.6 points per contest.

The Gamecocks have suffered three losses this season and two of them came in February. However, Staley’s team has the toughest strength of schedule this season, and has handled it well with an impressive 9-3 record against AP Top 25 opponents. Those three losses were against UCLA, Texas and UConn, all top-10 opponents.

As Staley put it after the loss to UConn, her team just needs to get back to their identity.

2. Vic Schaefer, Texas
   No other team is on a more impressive streak than the Longhorns. This month, Vic Schaefer’s group became the first program to win three straight games against AP Top 10 opponents since Rutgers in 2004-05, collecting victories over South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU. The SEC is a tough conference and this is the Longhorns’ debut season in it, but they have climbed to the top of the standings with just three regular-season games remaining.

The Longhorns can win physical battles but are also mentally strong, especially when things don’t go their way. As Madison Booker put it, her team got “out-toughed” in the loss to South Carolina in January. However, Schaefer helped his team make the right adjustments and get revenge over the Gamecocks this month.

The same can be said about the game against LSU. The Longhorns shot just 18.9% in the first half but bounced back in the second by finding better offensive looks and turning up the heat defensively.

Madison Booker and Taylor Jones lead Texas with averages of 16.2 and 12.5 points, respectively, while also averaging almost seven rebounds apiece. Rori Harmon helps the offense with 9.5 points and 6.1 assists per contest, eighth best in the nation.

1. Niele Ivey, Notre Dame
   The Fighting Irish are No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019. Notre Dame is known for its star guards Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles, who play a key role in the team owning the No. 4 scoring offense in the nation.

However, Niele Ivey encourages versatility and has other valuable pieces such as Sonia Citron and Liatu King. This is a team that has struggled with injuries, but the return of Maddy Westbeld and Liza Karlen added depth to the roster.

Their defense is sometimes underrated, but the Irish have caused major problems for stars like USC’s JuJu Watkins. Notre Dame has also quietly become the No. 5 team in the nation in rebounds per game.

Despite falling to TCU and Utah in November, the Fighting Irish showed their win against USC was not a fluke. Ivey’s team is currently on an 18-game winning streak with strong victories over teams like Texas and UConn.

Can the Ivy League receive three NCAA Tournament bids?

Last season, the Ivy League sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament. Princeton won its fifth straight Ivy League conference tournament to earn an automatic bid, while Columbia earned an at-large bid, facing Vanderbilt in the First Four.

It was Columbia’s first-ever March Madness appearance and the second time (2016) the Ivy League sent multiple schools to the NCAA Tournament.

But could the league do one better this time around and have three teams Dancing?

Right now, I have Harvard as a No. 10 seed and both Columbia and Princeton as No. 11 seeds. These schools all rank in the top 50 of the NET rankings and will help shape the bubble conversation down the stretch.

For mid-major at-large hopefuls, avoiding bad losses is imperative. The Ivy League trio is showing how it’s done. In conference play, these three teams are all undefeated against the rest of the conference.

Contrast that with the Atlantic 10, the other mid-major conference where multiple teams have realistic at-large hopes. While Richmond continues to look strong, George Mason and St. Joseph’s have each taken a bad loss in the last few days, making Sunday’s matchup between the schools effectively an elimination game.

Harvard is 1-2 against the rest of the trio (Columbia is 2-1, Princeton is 1-1), but is in arguably the best shape with just one other loss and quality road wins over Indiana (Quad-1) and St. John’s (Quad-2).

If the Crimson can run the Ivy League table (including a home win vs Princeton on Feb. 28), they’ll enter their conference tournament in good shape.

Columbia has wins over strong mid-majors in Florida Gulf Coast and Ball State and doesn’t have a loss outside of Quads 1-2, but missed a few big opportunities such as a one-point defeat at Villanova that leave it firmly on the bubble.

Princeton has the most Quad-2 (three) and Quad-3 (four) wins of the bunch, but doesn’t have a Quad-1 win and has the only Quad-4 loss of the group (at Duquesne).

While two bids from the Ivy League seems more likely than three, that dream is still alive. Harvard, Columbia and Princeton are all having great seasons. They’ve also been aided by a bubble that is lacking in quality wins, to say the least.

We’ll see who can make it to the finish line.

No. 1 seeds

UCLA (25-1, 13-1 Big Ten): NET 5, SOS 15
After dropping their first game of the season to USC in the Battle of L.A., the Bruins responded with a pair of ranked wins against Michigan State and Illinois.

While Texas arguably has the better overall resume, UCLA is the nation’s only one-loss team and is more than deserving of the top overall seed with nine Quad-1 victories.

*Texas (26-2, 12-1 SEC): NET 3, SOS 2
Vic Schaefer just received a three-year contract extension, taking him through the 2029-30 season, and for good reason. Texas has turned into a battering ram, becoming the first team in 20 years to beat a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll in three straight regular-season games.

With three unranked teams remaining on the conference schedule, the hardest part is over for the Longhorns to enter the SEC Tournament as a projected No. 1 seed.

*Notre Dame (24-2, 15-0 ACC): NET 4, SOS 12
The Irish continue to embarrass opponents. After leading Duke by two points at halftime, Notre Dame opened the third quarter on a 17-1 run to put the game out of reach.

Ranking women’s college basketball’s Coach of the Year candidates: Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey leads stacked list
Isabel Gonzalez
Ranking women’s college basketball’s Coach of the Year candidates: Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey leads stacked list
They followed it up by smashing Miami 82-42 as the Hurricanes finished 0-16 from behind the arc. Notre Dame’s last win by fewer than 15 points came on Jan. 12.

South Carolina (24-3, 12-1 SEC): NET 2, SOS 1
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is — South Carolina is not supposed to lose by 29 points. Especially at home. But that’s exactly what happened, as UConn snapped the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak in stunning fashion Sunday.

South Carolina is now outside of the AP top five in a midseason poll for the first time in four years. However, the team’s overall body of work is still strong enough to warrant the final No. 1 seed.

Wolfpack stun top-ranked Irish in double OT to snap 19-game winning streak

No. 13 NC State upset No. 1 Notre Dame 104-95 in double overtime Sunday, emerging victorious from a thrilling back-and-forth affair that featured 21 lead changes and several heroic moments. It’s NC State’s first win over a No. 1 team since Feb. 1, 2021, when it beat Louisville, and snapped a 19-game winning streak for Notre Dame.

The host Wolfpack (22-5, 14-2 ACC) got off to a fast start with an early 12-5 lead, but the rest of regulation was played within a two-possession margin, with NC State never leading by more than six and Notre Dame (24-3, 15-1) never leading by more than three.

Late in regulation, it looked like the scales had finally tipped in NC State’s favor, with Madison Hayes hitting two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to put the Wolfpack up 84-81. But Sonia Citron had other plans, nailing a heavily contested 3-pointer to send it to overtime, stunning the Wolfpack and a raucous Reynolds Coliseum crowd.

In the first overtime, it was NC State’s turn to force another session with a clutch bucket. After a Citron layup put the visitors ahead, Aziaha James made a tough pull-up jumper to tie things at 92. On the other end, Olivia Miles missed a desperation 3-pointer, and Maddy Westbeld came down with the offensive rebound and appeared to be fouled. However, the officials ruled the foul happened after time expired, sending the game to a second overtime.

That’s when NC State took over, and did so in style. After consecutive buckets from Tilda Trygger and Zoe Brooks to open things, James sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a behind-the-back move on a fast break leading to a layup.

That move caught the eye of a guard who knows a thing or two about showtime.

Saniya Rivers extended the lead to eight a layup of her own, and NC State eventually got its lead to 10 — the only double-digit lead of the day for either team — before finishing things off in straightforward fashion.

Brooks had a career-high 33 points, buoyed by a perfect 14-for-14 performance at the free-throw line. James added 20 as all five NC State starters scored in double digits, combining for 99 of the team’s 104 points. Notre Dame, which got 26 points from Hannah Hidalgo, 23 from Citron and 22 from Miles, saw its 19-game win streak end and suffered its first conference loss of the season.

With two games left for both teams, Notre Dame still holds a one-game lead over the Wolfpack for the ACC regular-season crown but could see its time atop the rankings come to an end when the new AP poll is released Monday.

Texas takes No. 1, Notre Dame falls after losing double-overtime thriller

Texas has replaced Notre Dame as the No. 1 team in the latest AP Top 25 poll. This is the first time the Longhorns are at the top of the rankings since 2004. Vic Schaefer’s team has won four consecutive games against ranked opponents, including three against top-10 teams.

The Fighting Irish fell to No. 3 after a 104-95 double-overtime loss to the NC State Wolfpack, who moved into the top 10.

This has been a very competitive season, and the parity is clear by the fact that four different teams have been ranked No. 1: South Carolina, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas. This is only the sixth season in which four teams have been ranked No. 1 since the poll began in 1976. If the trend continues, the 2024-25 campaign could be one for the books because there have never been five different programs ranked No. 1 in a single season.

Georgia Tech fell out the rankings after losing 73-70 to Florida State on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Seminoles reentered at No. 24. Illinois also exited after suffering a 10-point loss to USC. Louisville is back in at 25 because of a win over then-No. 11 Duke on Thursday, and then keeping it close in a 79-75 loss to now-No. 8 North Carolina on Sunday.

Texas remains No. 1 after another dominant defensive effort

Texas is the No. 1 team in CBS Sports’ women’s college basketball Power Rankings for a second consecutive week after holding Georgia to just 10 points in the second half of Monday’s 57-26 win.

Vic Schaefer’s team has seen some slow offensive starts recently, but the Longhorns know how to turn up the heat when it matters while dominating opponents with a suffocating defense. That was the same strategy Texas used in the win over LSU earlier this month.

Notre Dame was Texas’ biggest competition for the top spot last week, but the Fighting Irish suffered a tough double-overtime loss to NC State and slipped down to No. 4. Meanwhile, Wes Moore’s Wolfpack moved up to No. 9 with that 104-95 victory.

Notre Dame vs. NC State score: Wolfpack stun top-ranked Irish in double OT to snap 19-game winning streak
Zachary Pereles
Notre Dame vs. NC State score: Wolfpack stun top-ranked Irish in double OT to snap 19-game winning streak
NC State also picked up a 83-68 win over Georgia Tech in the past week. The Yellow Jackets were ranked last Tuesday, but they dropped out now after also losing to Florida State.

Meanwhile, Louisville reentered the Power Rankings with some solid wins in ACC play. The Cardinals upset Duke 70-62 on Thursday, and also kept it close in a 75-79 loss to North Carolina.

USC and UCLA are at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while getting ready for part two of the Battle for Los Angeles. The Trojans won their first meeting on Feb. 13 behind a historic two-way performance from JuJu Watkins. Lauren Betts and the rest of the Bruins will try to get revenge when they meet again this Saturday.

USC star JuJu Watkins is carrying on her family’s legacy of philanthropy in Los Angeles

USC guard JuJu Watkins has lifted a Trojans program that hasn’t seen since this level of success since the ’90s. However, basketball is only one of the ways she is impacting Los Angeles.

When asked to share something interesting about herself, Watkins doesn’t typically start with her shoe collection or iconic hairstyle. Instead, she proudly brings up the work she does in the L.A. area.

“I think there are a lot of layers to me,” Watkins told CBS Sports “I would like to say I’m really active when it comes to community. I have a non-profit that helps fund things in the community. From a philanthropy aspect, I try to be as active as I can.”

USC’s JuJu Watkins enjoying every ‘crazy moment’ amid rise to basketball and business superstardom
Isabel Gonzalez
USC’s JuJu Watkins enjoying every ‘crazy moment’ amid rise to basketball and business superstardom
Watkins said that in October, before the season began, but even with a busy schedule she still makes times to help others. In January, already deep into a tough Big Ten schedule, Watkins showed up to help student athletes affected by the fires in Los Angeles while donating backpacks and hygiene products. That was just one of many selfless acts Watkins has done recently.

Watkins’ popularity has landed her a lot of partnerships with major retail, insurance, food and cosmetic brands, and she makes sure she gets those companies involved in her philanthropic efforts such as the Good JuJu Holiday Giveback.

When she was still at Sierra Canyon School, Watkins was the No.1 player of the 2024 recruiting class. She was being recruited by some of the top programs in the nation, including South Carolina, the team who won the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Watkins could have potentially helped the Gamecocks repeat in 2023, but she chose to stay home and revitalize the Trojans.

“Don’t move, improve,” is a phase that has been in her family since before she was even born.

Almost a year ago, USC shared a video with the unique story of the Watkins family. JuJu’s great grandfather, Ted, was born into poverty in Mississippi in 1912, several decades before desegregation. When he was 13 years old, he refused to step off the sidewalk and into some mud, as he was told to do. A fistfight ensued, and by the end of the day his parents told him he had to leave town or he would be lynched the next day. That’s when he fled Mississippi for Southern Los Angeles. He settled in Watts, which at the time was a predominantly Black neighborhood that was starved for resources.

Ted was determined to make a better life for himself while also lifting up others. He became a civil rights activist and founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965 with the goal of fighting poverty locally.

“We hold the hands of people in need by providing a place to sleep, food to eat, money to earn and love to grow,” reads a statement on the official website. “Over the last 45 years, we have grown to hold more than 30,000 hands per year through the tireless commitment of dedicated staff and volunteers … WLCAC has stood the test of time and is firmly rooted in making life better in Watts, one person at a time.”

The organization is currently run by Tim, JuJu’s grandfather. Ted died years before she was born, but JuJu is still inspired by everything he did and what her family continues to do.

“I have a lot of pride in my last name and my family’s history in L.A.,” Watkins said in the video. “I think it always pushes me to think more than just basketball. I feel like my family, my great grandfather and my grandfather, have done so much for the community that it inspires me to want to take that step and really use my platform for something bigger than just basketball.”