College basketball star JuJu Watkins has hailed USC Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb , describing her as the “greatest coach” she could ask for.

The sophomore star has produced a stunning follow-up campaign after an impressive freshman season for the Trojans, with Watkins recently having surpassed WNBA star Caitlin Clark for the most points scored by a player across their first two collegiate seasons.

While USC fell to rivals UCLA 72-67 in the Big Ten championship game, the Trojans guard put up 29 points, which moved her past Clark, who scored 1,662 points during her first two seasons with Iowa. It is not the first time Watkins has starred against the Bruins either this season, with the USC guard having previously dropped 38 and 30-point performances on UCLA.

Watkins’ 29 saw her reach 1,684 collegiate points, putting her second on the two-season list behind only Kelsey Mitchell, who holds the record with 1,762. However, with March Madness inbound , Watkins could surpass Mitchell during the NCAA Tournament.

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She also has the chance to break Clark’s record for the most points scored by a collegiate basketball player, both men’s or women’s, in NCAA history. The Indiana Fever guard broke the record during her historic senior season back in 2023-24 with 3,951.

Recently, Watkins appeared on an episode of March Madness’s ‘Next Generation’, where she hailed the impact Gottlieb has had upon her game over the last two seasons. “She’s the greatest coach I could ask for,” Watkins said, who will be eligible to enter the WNBA draft come 2027.

“She pushes me to be great. She understands my vision and the standard that I hold myself to, so we really connect with each other, and grateful to have her.”

And the feeling is mutual between Watkins and Gottlieb. “She is just a humble, competitive superstar,” Gottlieb said. “We were fortunate that someone with that talent has the demeanor that she does.”

“I’d say off the court, took a lot of courage for her to come here. It’s not that often in women’s basketball that someone at that level goes to a program that’s not already in the top five, and she did that, and she’s elevated us here.”

Gottlieb added: “To see her handle the pressure and the spotlight with the grace that she does, she’s brought attention to our team.

“And yet, she’s a terrific teammate that’s really a competitor. Just wants to win, just wants to get better. So I think people who only see the highlights on the court kind of miss the important piece that is her magnitude.