JuJu Watkins stared blankly towards the court docket, the frustration evident on her face. It’s uncommon something penetrates the preternatural calm with which Watkins performs, however it was clear the celebrity sophomore was urgent, within the throes of her worst droop but at USC.
Now, as a Fox digital camera zoomed in on her and coach Lindsay Gottlieb, her gaze and frustration have been on full show.
Vanessa Nygaard acknowledged that uncommon little bit of frustration, bottled up inside. And she or he additionally knew, in Watkins’ case, there was nothing to fret about.
Nygaard was the coach at Windward Excessive when Watkins was a freshman, first discovering herself in highschool hoops. Even then, Nygaard says, Watkins was so naturally composed, so uncommonly put collectively for an adolescent, that the coach Nygaard really urged her to let loose the frustration infrequently.
“But she always remained so coachable, so engaged,” Nygaard says. “JuJu was always so motivated to win that she never let stuff get to her. She’d bottle it up and keep going. That was part of the fuel that made her really special.”
Watkins as soon as once more has been the engine of a rare season at USC, because the Trojans strategy March with their sights set on a Closing 4 run. As their celebrity has sputtered over a irritating four-game stretch, the supporting forged has stuffed in seamlessly round her — simply as Gottlieb envisioned — setting apart their very own irritating begins to seek out roles within the absence of Watkins’ traditional mastery.
That turning level, as level guard Talia von Oelhoffen termed it, couldn’t come at a extra crucial time for No. 6 USC, with top-ranked UCLA awaiting the Trojans on Thursday in one of many most-anticipated matchups of the school basketball calendar. Beating the undefeated Bruins, one of many deepest and most proficient groups within the sport, at all times was going to require greater than Watkins merely prepared the Trojans to victory.
However make no mistake, USC goes to want extra from its star sophomore if it has any hope of unseating UCLA atop the Large Ten.
“We’re a really good team but we need everybody performing at their highest level to get wherever we want to go,” Gottlieb mentioned. “That’s always the goal. People are going to have off days. We’re a team. We’ve got a lot of people who have each other’s backs.”
That a lot was clear Saturday as USC rolled a top-10 Ohio State staff with out Watkins at her greatest.
It took time for all of the Trojans’ puzzle items, irrespective of how proficient, to suit. The method of placing them collectively hasn’t at all times been seamless.
“You have a lot of people that are used to probably playing bigger roles than we all have played this year,” von Oelhoffen mentioned.
A standout switch from Oregon State, von Oelhoffen fought via her personal frustration as she adjusted to a brand new function. She apprehensive that she was disappearing into it and shedding herself.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that I’ve struggled,” she mentioned.
After USC misplaced to Iowa this month, von Oelhoffen went to Gottlieb to speak about it. She opened up in a staff assembly. She didn’t need to look again on her final season with any regrets.
“We’ve had some team conversations and just a lot of dialogue within the team over the last couple weeks,” von Oelhoffen mentioned. “I think that’s helped us and brought us closer.”
Kiki Iriafen knew, like von Oelhoffen, that she must make sacrifices when she transferred from Stanford. However even for a blue-chip prospect within the upcoming WNBA draft like Iriafen, it nonetheless took some adjusting to seek out the place she match.
At one level final month, she too sat down with Gottlieb to hash out how she was feeling. Now, Iriafen says, she’s “more settled in.”
“I’m playing much more carefree than I did earlier in the season,” she mentioned.
For Watkins, although, the strain appears to have ratcheted up in latest video games. She began 0 for 11 within the win over Ohio State and 0 for 10 in a win over Minnesota, one shot after one other refusing to fall. Over her final 4 video games, Watkins is capturing simply 31% from the ground and 16% from three-point vary.
Nobody at USC is doubting that Watkins will pull herself out of this droop quickly sufficient — “She’s always going to be ready,” Gottlieb mentioned this week — because the star sophomore nonetheless is fifth in Division I in scoring at 23.9 factors per sport.
However as Gottlieb factors out, the eye drawn by Watkins additionally has opened up extra alternatives for her teammates. Iriafen, for one, has two double-doubles over these 4 video games. And as March attracts nearer, those self same teammates need Watkins to know she’s not on this alone.
“She has us and not all the pressure is on her,” von Oelhoffen mentioned. “I’m sure it can feel like the weight of the world.”
“She doesn’t have to come in every night and try to carry a team,” Iriafen added. “I want it to be like, ‘We want you to dominate, and you’re going to dominate. But if you need somebody, I’m right here.’”
