LOS ANGELES — Caitlin Clark – the AP’s National Player of the Year – is in what may be her final season at Iowa. She could stay one more year as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as could Angel Reese of national champion LSU.

Regardless of their futures, JuJu Watkins is poised to step in as the next big star of the women’s game.

The Southern California freshman guard is the nation’s second-leading scorer at 26.8 points per game, right behind Clark, who leads with 30.5.

Watkins earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors in each of her first five weeks. She broke Lisa Leslie’s school record for most 30-point games by a freshman, with five in her first seven games.

She’s led the Trojans to a No. 6 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll and a 10-0 record.

Among the celebrities who’ve come out to watch Watkins are LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Candace Parker, 2 Chainz, Vanessa Bryant and actor Storm Reid, a fellow USC student.

Watkin’s presence helped attract 4,712 to the Trojans’ home opener, their biggest crowd since 2010.

“This is why I’m here,” said the 6-foot-2 Watkins, who has more than 340,000 Instagram followers. “Just to feel this energy in LA.”

As the Watkins phenomenon grows, USC Coach Lindsay Gottlieb has considered reaching out to Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder to see how they manage Clark’s stardom.

“I think we’re headed for some unprecedented things,” Gottlieb said. “She handles all of this with such grace. We try to do a good job of allowing her to be her, which is different and special, but also shielding her from some extra stuff. We’re constantly kind of updating that plan as we go.”

Watkins has a catchy nickname (her real name is Judea Skies Watkins) to go with her game. The resident DJ at Galen Center responds to every Watkins basket with “Yeah, JuJu.”

Despite the hype that has enveloped her for years, Watkins sounds entirely convincing when she says, “I didn’t really have that many expectations for myself, just to come in and contribute as much as I can to the team.”

Watkins grew up in the Watts section of South Los Angeles and in choosing USC she’s about 10 miles from home. Her community comes out for her, wearing her No. 12 jersey and cheering her every move.

“She understands her importance in the community,” Gottlieb said. “As good of a player as she is, she’s really even a better human. I know it sounds cliché but it’s the truth. Her village and her circle is really adept at putting her in the best possible situation to be happy and to succeed.”

Once the final buzzer sounds, the team lines up on court while the band strikes up “Fight On” and USC players hold up two fingers on their right hands in a V for victory sign.

They make their way along the courtside seats to greet family and fans.

A smiling Watkins high-fives squealing girls, signs jerseys and circles back to pockets of fans she may have missed as she wends her way around half the court by herself. There’s no minder urging her to curtail the infectious spontaneity. She’s always the last player to head into the tunnel.

“It’s very heartwarming just to feel the energy here, feel all the love,” she said. “It’s amazing, especially that it’s in my hometown. I’m able to see people that I don’t really get to see as often, see family and little kids, it’s really cool.”

Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller won back-to-back national championships at USC in 1983 and ’84. She likes what she sees in Watkins on and off the court.

“Extremely poised, very smooth, very little wasted motion. The sky’s the limit,” Miller said. “I really, really like her temperament and how she’s handled everything. The game isn’t too big for her. She’s very comfortable in her skin.”

Watkins made a splash in the prep ranks, becoming the Gatorade national player of the year as a senior at Sierra Canyon, where she led the Trailblazers to a 31-1 record and the CIF-Southern Section Open Division title while being an honor student. She was MVP at the 2022 FIBA Under-17 World Cup and the 2021 FIBA Americas Under-16 championship, winning gold medals both times.

Watkins committed to USC in November 2022 when the Trojans were coming off a 12-16 record in Gottlieb’s first season. As the No. 1 recruit in the national class of 2023, she could have gone to an established powerhouse.

“Definitely one of the best choices of my life and I’ve only been here a couple months,” Watkins said.

Gottlieb is in her third year of rebuilding the program at a school best known for its football national championships.

“I wouldn’t say it’s been that seamless,” Watkins said of transitioning to college. “I think it’s due to all the hard work in the gym this past summer. I had to make a lot of adjustments approaching this season and I still am adjusting. It’s a testament to how hard my teammates push me and how hard coach pushes me.”

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