PlayersTV’s Damian Lillard Says USC’s JuJu Watkins Is Like Carmelo Anthony, “Give Her The Ball”

JuJu Watkins and the Lady Trojans fell short of reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1986 as they lost a tough one to the UConn Huskies. Watkins would finish the game leading all scorers with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists. Her teammate McKenzie Forbes chipped in 24 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

During the game Damian Lillard, who is one of the founders of PlayersTV compared USC’s Juju Watkins to another PlayersTV founder, Carmelo Anthony during his time at Syracuse [2022-2023].

Juju like Melo at Syracuse fr… you wana win give her the ball man.

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) April 2, 2024

After the game Watkins shared, that “(UConn) played great defense. Every time I got past the first line, someone was there.”

Meanwhile, Watkins’ counterpart for the Huskies’ Paige Bueckers with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.

“Today was one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever felt in my life,” Bueckers said.

“Now I’m here with my teammates and coaching staff and going to the Final Four,” Bueckers said. “It’s been a very rewarding journey. I’m super, super grateful for it all. The tough times made me who I am. It’s built my faith. It’s built my appreciation for life and gratitude for anything that gets thrown my way.”

After the Huskies beat the Trojans 80-73 they advance to the Final-Four against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. After eliminating the Angel Reese and the rest of the LSU Tigers during her post game interview, Clark shared she wanted to play for UConn. However, UConn’s Brass never reached out her or any member of her family.

“The lack of interest from UConn stung. “Honestly,” she said, “it was more I wanted them to recruit me to say I got recruited. I loved UConn. I think they’re the coolest place on Earth, and I wanted to say I got recruited by them. They called my AAU coach a few times, but they never talked to my family and never talked to me.”