JuJu Watkins becomes 4th-fastest to 1,000 point milestone
11/15/2024 07:35 PM
During the 2023-24 college basketball season, former Iowa star Caitlin Clark made history becoming the NCAA's all-time leading scorer. But in a couple of seasons, that record could be broken by USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins who recently reached the 1,000 career points milestone.
During USC's win against Santa Clara on Friday, JuJu Watkins became the fourth fastest player to reach the 1,000 career points mark, as per ESPN. She did so by her 38th career game, eclipsing Caitlin Clark by two games. Clark reached the 1000 point mark by game No. 40.
Watkins is tied with Elena Delle Donne (Delaware) and Kathy Miller (Weber State) in reaching that mark by game No. 38. Watkins and Delle Donne are the only two to reach that mark in the last 40 seasons.
The quickest time frame to reach the 1,000 career points mark is held by Carol Menken (Oregon State), Sandra Hodge (New Orleans) and Maree Jackson (LSU) who all reached that milestone by the 37th game of their college basketball careers.
Last season, Watkins set the record for most points scored in a freshman season. She helped the USC Trojans to national ranking for most of the regular season, and they advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament where they fell to UConn.
JuJu Watkins' the next big college star
On the heels of Caitlin Clark, women's basketball, and women's college basketball in particular, has seen a surge in popularity. But with Clark off to the WNBA having just completed her rookie season with the Indiana Fever, Watkins appears to be the next in line.
The top player in her class, she chose to stay home at USC over offers from South Carolina and Stanford. As a result, she's helped transform the Trojans into a perennial powerhouse and national championship contender.
She burst on the scene last year as a freshman, averaging 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocked shots with splits of 40.1 percent shooting from the field, 31.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Her points per game led the nation.
Through USC's first three games of this season, her efficiency is up at 42.9 percent shooting from the field. She's putting up 21.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.7 steals and 4.0 blocked shots. She's leading the country in blocked shots.
USC has moved to the Big Ten for this season, and added couple of high profile transfers to bolster the team in former Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen and former Oregon State guard Talia von Oelhoffen.
The post JuJu Watkins becomes 4th-fastest to 1,000 point milestone appeared first on ClutchPoints.
