USC superstar JuJu Watkins has reawakened a sleeping giant and led the Trojans to their first-ever Elite Eight in a generation. The school also won the Pac-12 Tournament title, which they last won under star Cheryl Miller.

USC star JuJu Watkins and NBA star Paul George

Watkins has been responsible for bringing back the crowds to Galen Center, almost tripling attendance as celebrities have flocked to watch the freshman phenom ply her trade.

One of the aspects that has been most stark has been Watkins’ popularity, which has led to fans adopting her famous “JuJu bun” hairstyle, both men and women, as they also cheered for her on the court.

Recently, LA Clippers star Paul George hosted the USC star on his “Podcast P,” and George, worth $90 million per CelebrityNetWorth, commended JuJu Watkins on her influence on fans’ fashion choices.

“There’s a JuJu effect, right? That’s what’s crazy,” George said. “When you look at the bun and that being your signature look, that’s what’s crazy is I think you’re gonna start a whole new generational thing of girls wearing the high bun. Men too.”

JuJu Watkins replied to the question by Paul George about how it made her feel to be so influential.

“It’s cute,” Watkins said. “Men can wear buns too. The bun can be handsome and cute, it’s co-ed. But it’s crazy to think about. It’s like I don’t know, just creating like a new kind of swag, it’s cool. I just think it looks good so I wear it.”

The JuJu Watkins effect

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb has seen the JuJu Watkins effect in real-time, and during a recent news conference, she praised the Trojans star and her cultural appeal.

“Ju’s whole thing is, she’s an exceptional talent, a basketball savant, who is conscious of her wider reach,” Gottlieb said. “She has cross-cultural appeal, and she knows it.”

Fans queue around the block to get tickets to games that Watkins plays in, even during the just-ended March Madness, and celebrities have been attending her games in droves.

Some of the notable stars who have been to JuJu games include actor Jason Sudeikis and musicians Chris Brown and Drake.

The influential Trojans guard explained the feeling of being so influential as a freshman.

“To see the little boys in my jersey, that’s crazy,” she said. “It negates all the sexist points of views and sexist ways of thinking about our game. To know a boy can look up to a girl and not try to take anything away from her game, to not have to compare her to a man but just to love her game, that’s how barriers are broken. That’s how we make the world better.”

With the departures of former LSU star Angel Reese and Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins has a clear path to being the undisputed face of college basketball.

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