ROSEMONT, Ill. — With UCLA coming off a national title and Southern Cal going for one of its own with star Juju Watkins returning from injury, there may never have been more attention on women’s basketball in Los Angeles.
The success of the two West Coast schools has been a bigger problem for the rest of the Big Ten than Los Angeles basketball fans. Watkins returns after missing last season with a torn ACL and will join the country’s top recruiting class to try to help USC return to the nation’s elite and extend the rivals’ dominance over their new league. In the two years since USC and UCLA left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, each school has topped the standings once and the Bruins have won the conference tournament twice, going on to the Final Four two years ago and winning the championship last April. UCLA has some holes to fill this season but is still expected to be top-25 caliber.
“Every night, you’re going to face a top-25 opponent in our league. 1 and No. 5 recruits in the country and a pair of impact transfers to a Watkins-Jazzy Davidson backcourt after going 18-14 without the preseason Big Ten player of the year. The Trojans have loaded up the roster to make a run at the their first Final Four in 40 years.
“I know the team is excited. We’re preparing for a great season ahead. I’m ecstatic. It’s incredibly, incredibly challenging. Southern Cal, meanwhile, added the No. Gottlieb resisted when asked if she had built a super team, but didn’t exactly deflect the notion, either. “We’ve just tried to assemble a team that we think can have championship aspirations. We’ve got a lot of excellent players that are all going to play whatever role they’re asked to the best of their ability. If you do that at the highest level, it becomes a super team. I think if you talk to anybody that’s here, we all want to find a way to beat them, but it’s cool that we have them in our league and they are as good as they are.”
“If you intend to come,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Wednesday at Big Ten media days, “you should probably get your tickets early. “Honestly, for me, I’m just excited to be back and whatever comes with that will come,” Watkins said. “Our league is stronger and tougher than it has ever been,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I’ve never called it that,” Gottlieb said. “It’s great for our league,” Purdue coach Katie Gearlds said.
“Obviously, UCLA winning the championship last year, USC as good as they’re going to be this year having Juju back healthy and the star power that they have, it just elevates and lifts our games and gets more eyeballs on us.
