Unlike the NBA, which has allowed NCAA athletes to leave college early to turn professional for more than 50 years, the WNBA prohibits anyone in the United States from entering the draft until the year they turn 22 or graduate early.
Until recently, there wasn’t much discussion about whether the WNBA should copy the NBA’s approach. Today, the influx of nationally recognized talent, like USC sophomore star guard JuJu Watkins, has made the debate more intense. Watkins, who can’t join the WNBA until 2027 under current regulations, said before facing UConn on Saturday night that changes needed to be made.
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“I definitely think we should have the option (to leave early),” Watkins said as a guest on the Good game with Sarah Spain podcast. “There’s been so much growth in college basketball that you ask yourself, ‘Why would you want to leave?’ Because you can also have this experience and build your brand here at the university. I would definitely say we should have that option, but I think college is also a way to prepare us for the pros. So, I don’t know. It’s a delicate subject, but I’m for it.
Watkins isn’t the only highly touted prospect who will play in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday.
When the dynamic sophomore guard leads the No. 7 Trojans into battle against Paige Bueckers and the No. 4 UConn Huskies on Fox, it will be the rare occasion when the two hottest stars in women’s college basketball meet. will oppose in the regular season. , which recalls the height of the UConn-Tennessee rivalry throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
The Bueckers can leave for the WNBA after this season – and would probably be the first choice overall– but has the possibility of returning for 2025-2026. She has a history against Watkins.
They faced each other last year Elite Eight Match (UConn won 80-73), and thereafter the two schools quickly scheduled a home series between them, with Saturday’s game at the XL Center in Hartford announcing the arrangement before next season’s game at USC.
“There is something unique and special about a home series because it engages not only the national television audience, but also the fans of the respective schools,” said Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb in a press release in May. “UConn vs. USC, on each coast over the next two seasons, will challenge our players in a great environment. What a great series to be a part of.
The game in Hartford will give the country a glimpse into the future of the WNBA, creating a tradition that the star duo can pass on to the pros.
Bueckers is the presumed top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, seemingly destined for the Dallas Wings unless she opts to return to Storrs for a sixth eligible year. (She gained extra years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a redshirt season after tearing her ACL in 2022.) Without the W’s requirement that players must have graduated from a delay of at least three years or be 22 years old before the draft, Watkins herself could be considered for the first overall pick, as did its impact on summer sports.
The ability to retain elite players for at least three years, and usually four, has apparently helped women’s college soccer produce stars both on campus and across the country. With more eyes In sports now, fans are more willing than ever to pay top dollar to attend games featuring the best of the best.
JuJu vs. Paige is as good as it gets.
According to Victory Live, a secondary ticket market tracking company, the average resale price for the USC/UConn game is $127, the highest ever for a UConn women’s basketball home game. The previous record dates back to February 2023, when the Huskies hosted South Carolina. Resale prices for UConn women’s basketball at the XL Center were already on the rise, averaging $57 so far this season, an increase of $5 from the same time last season. Yet Saturday’s game is more than double – 223%, to be precise – of the current average.
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