USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb noticed a stranger approaching. She thought she might have spilled something and thought he would give her a heads up. Instead, he stopped near the table and paused for a moment.
“Hello, coach.” he said “I thought it was you. I have something to ask… ”
She waited.
“Is JuJu really 6’2”? he asked.
Gottlieb laughed. she answered. Yes, JuJu Watkins is 6 feet 2 tall. He then joked that it depends on how much Watkins’ iconic bun counts. A big guard from the greater Big Ten was an attractive prospect for this LA sports fan. Even in the summer, he was eagerly anticipating a season in which he would be able to watch USC, a team that appeared only three times on a national network last season before the postseason advanced to the Elite Eight, nine times on ESPN, FOX, FS1 and NBC. Big Ten Tournament.
He thanked Gottlieb, wished her luck, and went on his way.
This exchange felt oddly familiar to Gottlieb. Not only is she not the head coach at USC, but the program she took over in 2021 was a basement dweller in the Pac-12. Instead, it reminded her of her experience during her two seasons as a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant, where insatiable NBA fans wanted to analyze every potential matchup and moment.
“Those of us who have followed the game for a long time know that there have been great players before and we know the great stories, but now we are seeing the whole world catching up and paying attention. That’s really cool,” Gottlieb said. “Then when you add to this this kind of position that I get to play, we’re one of those programs that has one of our star players that’s getting a ton of attention. It’s a big responsibility. It’s a great opportunity.
“The fact that we are on the cusp of this moment is not lost on any of us.”
UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who travels more than 2,500 miles across the country, agrees. For nearly four decades, some of the greatest stars to play the game have come through the Huskies’ gym. But the fanfare did not match what he saw on the men’s side.
until now.
In early October, UConn announced that it had sold out season ticket packages for the first time since the 2004-05 season after Diana Taurasi won a national championship as a senior.
That didn’t happen during the days of Maya Moore or Breanna Stewart, and it didn’t happen after winning 111 straight games or winning four straight national titles. So far, this isn’t Paige Bueckers’ final season at Storrs.
“There are people who have never had opinions now who have opinions or want to know things they never wanted to know, but who are now familiar with names and events they would never have thought twice about in the past. “The die-hard fans are eagerly waiting for the season to start,” Auriemma said. “But the casual fan watched, took a sip, and now they’re excited.”
It is an undeniable fact that interest in women’s basketball is increasing. All the numbers back this up. Last season’s NCAA Tournament set viewership records, including the title game, which drew 18.9 million viewers (beating the men’s title game, which drew nearly 4 million, which most fans thought would never happen). Iowa star Caitlin Clark’s incredible flair and ability to create logo 3s garnered millions of dollars in attention, but fans also enjoyed other players, teams and games. Even excluding Iowa’s NCAA Tournament games, last year’s ESPN viewership was up 43% during March Madness.
Clark’s winless streak and that of LSU’s Angel Reese continued into the WNBA. Indiana Fever attendance and viewership soared. So did Reese’s Chicago Sky. Again, these new WNBA fans stayed for other tremendous talent.
Paige Bueckers’ Huskies beat JuJu Watkins’ Trojans in the Elite Eight, but both players recorded 20-point double-doubles. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Stars drive sports and leagues. They lure casual observers and convert them into stubborn people. After Clark and Reese left for the WNBA, there will be no disappointment among the college basketball stars carrying the sport’s weight, but attention will be focused on two things.
Anchoring the two coasts, two conferences and two national title contenders are USC’s Watkins and UConn’s Bueckers. They play for programs that are iconic and globally recognized in their own way. Both are elite (potential generation) and have the ball in their hands better than anyone else.
Watkins is this year’s freshman looking to resurrect the Trojans after a lifetime of irrelevance. She’s a kid from a hometown that produced stars like Kevin Hart, Saweetie, LeBron James and John Wall during home games last season. The smoothness and effortless quality of her game makes it seem like she’s never rushed the floor, whether she’s doing a pull-up from 3 or attacking the basket (or hitting a shot anywhere in between).
Kevin Hart was in attendance to watch JuJu Watkins and the USC women’s basketball team ✌️#ncaaw #Go for it pic.twitter.com/31PLjQDknN
— WNBA God Game (@wnbagotgame) December 20, 2023
Bueckers, who won national Player of the Year honors as a freshman four years ago, is entering his final season at UConn. Despite her proud heritage, few high school athletes heralded coming into Storrs better than her. But in her fifth year, a national championship eluded Bueckers, with UConn winning 11 times. She’s a wide guard with enough inside knowledge to still be named an All-American after playing just four games last season. He is a confident player who registered his nickname “Paige Buckets” as a trademark even before his sophomore season.
The play, storylines and celebrities of Watkins and Bueckers, as well as USC and UConn’s December meeting (a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight) are all reasons people, including new fans, will be paying attention to women’s basketball this season.
But unlike previous players with the same attributes, they are competing during a time of unprecedented change.
Investigations that revealed significant disparities between NCAA men’s and women’s basketball have forced the NCAA to invest more in the women’s NCAA Tournament. As interest grew, Women’s NCAA Tournament media partner ESPN paid big money last year for media rights to broadcast the event. Because of their NILs, players like Bueckers and Watkins are recognizable even outside of the women’s basketball world, with affiliations with major companies like Nike and Gatorade. Watkins was spotted at the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival, threw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in June, and won the ESPY Most Breakthrough Player Award. Bueckers attended the US Open, where Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff shouted her out, sat front row at New York Fashion Week, and appeared on the JumboTron at a Los Angeles Rams game.
“We have no boundaries, so we see everything: talent, coaching, fan support, viewership.” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “This is probably the biggest move in the history of our game and it couldn’t happen at a more perfect time. … Many people are interested. We met that moment.”
To continue to experience those moments, women’s basketball needs the next generation of stars. You need a team with a compelling storyline (Staley’s Gamecocks are a perfect example of a reigning champion coming back from an undefeated season). We also need individuals like Watkins and Bueckers whose stories and journeys this season will be as compelling as their play. floor.
“It’s great that we have them because it would be a shame not to be able to carry on the star power from last year and add to it this season,” Auriemma said. “We have to showcase these guys and these teams and play well. We have to provide an opportunity for all the new people who are going to watch something to be excited about it so they want to come back.”
If Bueckers and Watkins do as their coaches believe, there will certainly be reason for new fans to stay interested and look for their next favorite players even after Bueckers and Watkins turn pro.
Auriemma and Gottlieb, who have been involved in the game for decades, know that this moment is no different. It’s long overdue. What comes next (or, really, who comes next) will be what moves the sport forward.
(Image: Mitch Robinson / work out; Hot photos of Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins: G Fiume / Getty Images; Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
