Bad JuJu: Sports media’s lack of coverage for JuJu Watkins is inexplicable

Anything Caitlin Clark can do, JuJu Watkins can do, too. So where is the love for the sophomore sensation from USC?

Stephen A. Smith asked as much on a segment of First Take earlier this week. When asked about Watkins’s performance against UCLA last weekend, Smith succinctly responded: “She’s spectacular. And when are we going to talk about her the same way we’re talking about Caitlin Clark?”

It’s a great question, and one that sports media has yet to answer. Even in a sport as talent-laden as women’s basketball, JuJu Watkins is nonetheless a standout. So what’s with the lack of coverage surrounding her outstanding sophomore season?

Sophomore slump? JuJu Watkins doesn’t know her

It doesn’t take much observational skill to notice Watkins’s star power. As a sophomore, she’s averaging over 24 points, nearly seven rebounds, and two blocks per game in one of the toughest women’s basketball conferences in the NCAA. She was just named the Big Ten Player of the Year and could very well win the Naismith Award as well.

Not only that, but JuJu Watkins seems to shine brightest when the pressure is on. Of course, there was last weekend’s stellar 30 point performance against a then-no. 2 UCLA squad to dominate the Bruins at home. Earlier this season when UCLA was ranked first in the country, Watkins dropped a 38 point, 11 rebound double-double, which included her shooting 6-9 from the three point line. In fact, the only game against a ranked team in which she’s scored under 20 points was a 17-point, ten-rebound double-double against Ohio State on February 8th. Whether Watkins is facing a hometown rival or a competitor across the country, she shows up to play every single game.

Watkins was putting up impressive numbers well before her sophomore year. In her freshman postseason, she was nothing short of phenomenal, heating up at exactly the right time in the season. Watkins’s lowest-scoring game in last year’s NCAA Tournament was a 23 point performance against Texas A&M Corpus Cristi in the opening round. Watkins then went on to score 28, 30, and 29 points against Kansas, Baylor, and UConn respectively (and tallied double-doubles in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight). To say that Watkins performs under pressure is an understatement – she excels no matter how bright the spotlight shines.

As a result of her remarkable consistency and formidable skill, it’s only taken Watkins 38 career games to rack up 1,000 points. Notably, that’s 20 games shorter than it took USC’s leading scorer, Cheryl Miller to reach the impressive stat. It’s also two fewer games than it took the NCAA’s current leading scorer, Caitlin Clark, to reach that milestone. 

Which brings us back to First Take. In an industry that has (seemingly) finally woken up to the talent and potential of women’s sports, where is all the love for JuJu Watkins? Coming off of last season’s coverage surrounding Clark, the lack of similar hype surrounding Watkins is a real head scratcher. 

Money moves on and off the court

It’s certainly not because Watkins’s brand lacks charisma or earning potential. This season, Watkins has been featured in numerous big-time ad campaigns from United Airlines to State Farm. She has a Funko Pop doll in her image, teamed up with LeBron James for a Nike commercial (in addition to the historic sneaker deal she signed with Nike and her appearance in a powerful Super Bowl Nike ad), and joined a Gatorade campaign alongside Jayson Tatum, Paige Bueckers, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

In other words, as a sophomore, Watkins is just as much of a star both on and off the court as Caitlin Clark was in college, but inexplicably without the accompanying hype.

Watkins and USC were given a national showcase game in December against fellow superstar Paige Bueckers and UConn. The contest was in primetime with an NFL lead-in and drew massive ratings. Yet the follow up since that moment, and the daily conversation following Watkins, has been totally lacking.

Caitlin Clark vs JuJu Watkins isn’t a competition – it’s a call to do better

To be clear, comparing Watkins to Clark isn’t about pitting two successful women against each other. Women in the public eye get enough of that treatment already. But the discrepancy in coverage between the two is both stark and telling. Clark deserved her flowers last season, and Watkins is more than poised to reach the same heights Clark did – and Watkins might even exceed Clark’s success if USC can win a national championship before Watkins’s career ends. The conversation isn’t even about Watkins’s endless potential – her present talent and general appeal are obvious.

It’s equally obvious that sports media still has a lot of work to do when it comes to giving phenomenal female athletes like JuJu Watkins the visibility they deserve. And it’s not just Watkins that the industry is slighting. Women’s basketball is teeming with talent, whether it’s double-double queen Aneesah Morrow, comeback kid Hailey Van Lith, or freshman sharpshooter Mikayla Blakes, just to name a few.

Last year, sports media proved that the industry was capable of providing quality coverage to talented athletes via its coverage of Caitlin Clark. This season shows that the industry lacks consistency – and insufficient coverage does the sport of women’s basketball no favors. 

There’s no shortage of talent and starpower in women’s hoops, but in the post-Clark women’s college basketball era, there is still a glaring shortage of coverage of such talent. It’s time that sports media stop treating women’s basketball like a passing trend, and commit to quality, consistent coverage of the sport and the women that make it great – especially JuJu Watkins.