Will JuJu Watkins break the NCAA all-time scoring record?

By Geoffrey Latayan

Many were amazed with how Iowa basketball legend Caitlin Clark shot her way into the NCAA record books.

She broke the NCAA Division I all-time scoring record encompassing both genders by scoring 35 points in a 93-83 win against Ohio State on March 3, 2024.

Clark ended her four-year collegiate career with the Hawkeyes with 3,951 points, 284 points more than the previous Division I record holder “Pistol” Pete Maravich.

In this day and age where one-and-done players are fad and team play is a premium at every collegiate basketball school in the US, will there be anyone who can surpass Clark’s standard?

Enter USC guard JuJu Watkins

Well, there is one formidable challenger and she is Judea Skies “JuJu” Watkins. 

The 6ft 2ins guard out of Sierra Canyon High School (the same school that LeBron James’ sons, Bronny and Bryce, attended) went on a scoring tear in her first season with the Women of Troy.

She tallied 920 total points in 34 games of the 2023-24 season, which included her appearance in the NCAA Tournament where she led USC reach the Elite Eight. 

In comparison, Clark dropped 799 in her first season at Iowa in 2020-21.

Watkins returned this season for Southern California, who strengthened its line-up by adding Talia Von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen from the transfer portal. 

The purpose of adding Iriafen and Von Oelhoffen is to find an effective teammate that would help Watkins reach the Final Four and hand the Women of Troy their third women’s NCAA title and first since 1984.

This season, she outpaced Caitlin Clark by reaching 1,000 points on her 38th game against Santa Clara in November last year. Clark reached 1,000 on her 40th game.

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How can JuJu Watkins surpass Caitlin Clark’s record?

JuJu Watkins is on pace to break the revered scoring mark and she can break it if she stays healthy and plays all of her games in USC. 

Since women’s NCAA players aren’t allowed to abruptly end their collegiate careers to enter the WNBA via early entry, Watkins has a distinct chance of surpassing Clark barring any major injuries.

Another is she constantly averages in the upper 28 points per game or more which is possible for her considering her work rate. 

However, having a transfer star like Iriafen in the team would affect her production too because she will ask for the ball to score.

She currently averages 24.2 points per game which is below the record-breaking pace but there are still more than 10 games to go for USC. 

In two of her last four games Watkins didn’t breach the 20-point mark but the explosive scorer is bound for a 40-point night anytime and is willing to score as many points as possible to give USC the title.

Besides, she has two years more to try approach the all-time Division I points mark so Watkins will be chilling it out for now.

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