By james art
DOUG FEINBERG Associated Press
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have helped take women’s basketball to new heights over the past two years. While there may be a drop in ratings from last season’s record high, there are plenty of talented players like Paige Bukers, JuJu Watkins, Deya Kelly and Hannah Hidalgo poised to continue their ascent.
“I know we lost some greats in Angel and Kaitlyn, but we gained a lot more. We gained a lot more talent, skill set and marketability,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m glad it happened in a time where I can confirm it, I can share with other people who are just now getting involved.”
Watkins, a native of Los Angeles, attracts attention at home games in Southern California, which routinely sell out and are known to have celebrity crowds.
“I don’t know if there’s been a young African-American superstar in women’s basketball at this age who can have this platform, and I think it’s going to do a lot for the communities both in Los Angeles and around the country,” the coach of USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I wouldn’t bet against her being able to handle anything. At the same time, it’s our job to prepare her for what might happen and make sure she can have joy and be a child.”
USC sought advice from Iowa on how to handle the influx of attention that is on Watkins this year. The USC sophomore said it was special that Caitlin Clark, when they first met, offered to help her if she ever needed advice on how to navigate being the face of women’s basketball.
“She’s great. It shows how good of a person she is outside of basketball,” Watkins said. “To have that kind of mentorship and that relationship with her, it definitely means a lot. She had the biggest impact on women’s basketball and being able to see her journey is truly inspiring.”
Watkins is part of a really talented sophomore class. Three of the five preseason All-Americans are sophomores, the first time that has happened.
“I never thought I’d be the face of anything,” said Hidalgo, who was one of three All-Americans. “I had no expectations going in. I just wanted to come in and play basketball and, of course, win. Just seeing this generation of talent is something unlike any other.”
Bookers and Kelly bridge the gap between the next group and the previous one. They both entered school at the same time as Clark. Bueckers career was sidelined for a while due to injury, while Kelly is part of the last class that could benefit from the year of COVID.
“I think we had one of the best classes, my 2020 class, in a while,” said Kelly, who transferred to Oregon from North Carolina for her senior season. “And obviously with half of them going into the draft last year, you still have a good amount in school. I don’t want people to forget that.”
A decade ago, standout players would only be at a handful of schools, but now they are more spread out across the country, giving more people a chance to witness their glory. It has also helped with more games on television and greater exposure of players by name, image and likeness at an earlier age.
“I just think there’s a lot of stars just waiting to break out,” NC State coach Wes Moore said. “And with the exposure and coverage we’re getting now, there’s going to be a lot of new stars coming out.”
Kelly sees that the sport is in good hands and will continue to thrive even after the rest of her class is gone.
“Everybody at their respective schools is doing a really good job of making a name for themselves,” Kelly said. “And we have, like I said, a lot of big names in college that are still looking to enter the draft this year and will continue to come. So I think women’s basketball is in a super good place.”
AP basketball writer Aaron Beard and AP sports writers Andrew Seligman and John Zenner contributed to this story.