USC Trojans star Juju Watkins has been on a tear in her first two college seasons, averaging 27.1 points per game as a freshman and 24.6 this season. She made big waves when she surpassed the number of points Caitlin Clark scored in her first two seasons and closed in on Kelsey Mitchell’s record.
So, fans started to theorize if Watkins would be the player to break Caitlin Clark’s NCAA scoring record. Over four seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Clark scored a total of 3,951 points, surpassing Kelsey Plum’s previous record of 3,527 points.
Clark was healthy during her college career, evading injuries for four years, and averaged at least 34 minutes per game each season. On top of that, Iowa went to the NCAA championship in Clark’s last two seasons, meaning that Clark played as many games as she possibly could. Of course, averaging 31.6 points as a senior also helped Clark break the scoring record.
Scoring that much is a tall task. If Watkins had averaged around 28 points per game consistently and didn’t miss any games, she could have had a chance. Now, that looks quite different.
Juju Watkins will miss significant time with a torn ACL
Juju Watkins had to leave USC’s game against Mississippi State with a knee injury we now know is a torn ACL. Her team still got the win, led by Kiki Iriafen, but the news are devastating for Watkins, her teammates, and basketball fans. USC will likely struggle without Watkins for the rest of the NCAA Tournament. Watkins will also have to miss significant time after the tournament and deal with a difficult recovery process.
Recovering from an ACL tear usually takes around nine to twelve months. So, even if she recovers quickly, Watkins will miss significant time during her junior season. While that should not impact Watkins’ future as a top WNBA draft pick and a professional basketball player much, it does mean that her chances of breaking Clark’s scoring record are severely diminished.
With her second season officially over, Watkins currently sits at a total of 1,706 points scored. That means she is still 2,245 points short of tying Clark’s record. Scoring that much after an ACL tear that will cost her precious time in her junior season is almost impossible.
So, Clark’s record is likely safe for now, but the cost is something no one would have wished for. Watkins is one of the brightest young stars in women’s basketball, and seeing her suffer a serious injury was horrific.