USC star JuJu Watkins was named the winner of the John R. Wooden Award on Saturday, giving her a sweep of the major National Player of the Year awards.
Watkins earned the award over fellow finalists Paige Bueckers (UConn), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and Madison Booker (Texas).
On the men's side, the Wooden Award went to Duke's Cooper Flagg.
Watkins was previously named the Naismith National Player of the Year and the Associated Press National Player of the Year. Bueckers was named the winner of the Wade Trophy as voted on by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Watkins, a sophomore guard, led USC to a 28-3 regular-season record and No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title in their first season in the conference with a 17-1 record.
Watkins suffered a torn ACL in USC's second-round NCAA tournament game against Mississippi State that ended her season. USC went on to lose to UConn in the Elite Eight with Watkins sidelined.
“Right now, my heart is with my teammates – I wish I could have been out there battling, but I couldn’t be prouder of the fight we’ve fought together," Watkins wrote on Instagram after the UConn game. "Thank you all.”
In 33 games this season, Watkins averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game as a force on both sides of the ball. She was a named first-team All-American after earning those honors as a freshman last season.
Watkins spoke with ESPN on Saturday about her newly claimed hardware.
“This is a ...
