High school girls basketball: JuJu Watkins' star power has another season to shine

Those who follow girls high school basketball closely, already know the name JuJu Watkins.

But for the casual fan, the title win by Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) over Archbishop Mitty in the CIF Open Division on Saturday at Golden 1 Center might've been a coming out party for the player who's sure to be a star in college and beyond.

"I think we're all very well aware of how talented JuJu is," Trailblazers coach Alicia Komaki said in her press conference following Sierra Canyon's 85-61 victory.

But the 7,000 in attendance saw first-hand the high basketball IQ of the No. 2 ranked junior, who transferred from Winward (Los Angeles). She was ferocious on the defensive glass, pushed the tempo in transition and either finished in traffic, stopped and hit a jumper or found a teammate for an easy bucket.

During her 24 minutes on the floor Saturday, Watkins caused the crowd to "ooh" and "aah" multiple times with ankle-breaking moves in the open court. Even her turnovers were often a product of her being a few steps ahead of everyone else on the court.

Watkins elevated her status heading into her junior season with an MVP performance at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mexico.

Leading the US to a 6-0 finish and gold medal with a 118-45 win over Canada, Watkins set the tournament record with 28 points in the finals, while averaging a team-high 20 points over the six contests. She also posted 5.2 steals, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest to solidify her MVP status.

"JuJu plays like the No. 1 player in the country," Jada Williams of La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.) and teammate on the U16 squad told USA Basketball. "She's very special off the ball and on the ball."
Coming out partyAt the CIF championships, Watkins was a known quantity to Archbishop Mitty coach Sue Phillips, who led the US U16 team. Phillips knew her Monarchs were facing an uphill battle.

"JuJu, as you know, is incredibly gifted," Phillips said. "We did want to attack her, but it's easier said than done. It just didn't materialize."

Instead, Watkins went 9-of-20 from the field for a game-high 23 points. And while Watkins got hers, she also made her teammates shine through the defensive attention she drew from Mitty as well as her amazing court vision and basketball IQ.

In Sierra Canyon's win on Saturday, Watkins, who one scout has described as a "nightmare matchup," displayed her ability to score from anywhere on the floor.

Less than two minutes into the championship game, Watkins dribbled to the right wing and pulled up from beyond NBA range and calmly stroked a 3-pointer that awoke the Trailblazers' bench and served notice of what was to come.

Later in the first, she grabbed a defensive rebound, one of 14, weaved her way through the Mitty defense before stopping at the elbow and sinking a smooth jumper.

She opened the second quarter with another 3-pointer from Curry range and later in the game stole a ball at midcourt, left a defender in her wake with a nasty crossover and finished at the rim.

"She's so incredibly skilled coupled with athleticism," Phillips said Saturday. "She can score at all three levels."

In addition to her game-high 23 points, Watkins also filled the stat sheet with six assists, six blocks and a game-high three steals.

In the second period, she got the ball on the wing and drew a double team only to thread a pass to cutting post Crystal Wang for an easy layup.

Additionally, she pulled down 19 rebounds, one shy of tying the Open Division record.