It’s time for the JuJu Watkins vs Caitlin Clark fan wars to end before they get worse

Over the weekend on our Trojans Wire social media timeline, we had a number of replies and comments in our mentions about how bad a player JuJu Watkins is compared to Caitlin Clark. Yes, JuJu Watkins missed 26 shots on Sunday against Oregon State. She didn’t play a great game. Saying JuJu needs to be better is logical and, moreover, correct. However, criticism of JuJu then went way overboard, as though appreciating good basketball was less of a goal than it was to simply tear down JuJu Watkins as part of a “JuJu Watkins vs Caitlin Clark” framing of the issue.

Not convinced this is true? We’ll show you, and we’ll get into a discussion of why comparisons of JuJu Watkins and Caitlin Clark should not lead to any fan wars. We have to nip this problem in the bud before it gets worse … and before USC and Iowa potentially face each other in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Let’s develop the conversation below:

I DON'T HATE JUJU WATKINS ... SAYS THE CAITLIN CLARK FAN WHO THEN TWEETED THIS:

No person would tweet something as disparaging as this if he didn’t actually hate a player. If you don’t hate a player, you wouldn’t ever feel the need to stoop this low.

This guy — as you will see from a five-minute scroll of his social media feed — is a diehard Caitlin Clark fan who feels the need to defend his heroine’s honor by relentlessly undercutting JuJu Watkins. Some of his tweets are factual, putting forth Clark’s superior stats, but he is steadfastly unwilling to give Watkins any credit.

Let’s give you just a few more examples to emphasize and clarify the point:

BE HERSELF? YOU KNOW THIS?

So a Caitlin Clark fan is telling JuJu to be herself … as though he knows what JuJu’s true self is? There is also the obvious implication here that JuJu is somehow trying to be like Caitlin Clark, as though that has any role or place in how JuJu is playing basketball. This is where honest appraisals of players turn into fan wars and an attempt to cut down a player. Assigning less-than-noble motives to a freshman athlete who has not said anything remotely controversial about Caitlin Clark is profoundly irresponsible and wrong.

This is what it looks like when a fan is just trying to stir the pot and antagonize.

"AWFUL"

This is where the Caitlin Clark fan outs himself as someone who has absolutely no appreciation for JuJu Watkins and how she has elevated USC basketball in one season.

A 41.7 shooting percentage is not great, but it’s certainly not “awful.” If this fan had watched USC last year, before JuJu arrived, USC as a team struggled to shoot above 37 percent, let alone 40, in a large number of its games. The Trojans had plenty of games in which they shot below 35, even 33, percent. We would often say that if the Trojans could just shoot in the upper 30s, that would improve their chances of winning. JuJu’s shooting isn’t elite, but it’s still a lot better than what USC has had. Real basketball fans, smart basketball fans, know this.

There’s a difference between expressing honest disagreement and being completely uncharitable. This fan goes out of his way to be uncharitable to JuJu, out of a warped and misguided sense of needing to defend Caitlin Clark’s honor. There’s no need, my man. No one needs to go overboard like this. Clark’s excellence should speak for itself. Trashing JuJu is totally unnecessary.

Let’s leave this fan behind and now continue with our conversation:

JUJU WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH CAITLIN CLARK COMPARISONS

JuJu Watkins has taken the high road on any Caitlin Clark discussion. This is why Clark superfans talking down JuJu is so bizarre. JuJu has not only failed to intensify any sense of rivalry; she has specifically wanted to turn down the temperature in the room and avoid conflict. Why people want to hammer JuJu is just puzzling. JuJu is not a polarizing person or presence. She has been an exemplary public figure and representative of USC.

SHERYL SWOOPES DISSED CAITLIN CLARK

All-time women’s basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes made critical comments about Caitlin Clark weeks ago. This was a true public controversy, unlike anything involving JuJu Watkins. Clearly, this put Clark fans on the defensive, such that they feel they need to guard against anyone talking up JuJu as the best player in women’s college basketball. Just as clearly, this need to “protect” Clark from pro-JuJu talking points is an overreaction. It does help explain the fan wars here, however.

JUJU IS TEAM-FIRST

Rayah Marshall loves playing with JuJu. All of JuJu’s teammates love playing with her. This is where the “who would want to play with JuJu?” comment from a Clark superfan is exposed as the trollish nonsense it actually is.

IF JUJU WASN'T A HUGELY TRANSFORMATIONAL PLAYER, WE WOULDN'T SEE STORIES LIKE THIS:

JUJU'S DEFENSE MATTERS, TOO

TRUE BASKETBALL FANS

Is Caitlin Clark a better shooter and scorer than JuJu? Unquestionably. Is she a better player? Unquestionably. Yet, none of this has anything to do with another unquestionable reality: JuJu Watkins has significantly improved USC basketball. One thing a lot of fans miss is that defense counts as much as offense. Clark superfans who focus on shooting, assists, and offensive efficiency fail to mention defense as something Watkins does really, really well. If we’re really being true basketball fans who appreciate all aspects of play, not just some, JuJu deserves credit on defense.

DRAYMOND GREEN AND JUJU

Never forget that while electric shooters such as Steph Curry and Caitlin Clark sell tickets, Draymond Green helped build the Warrior dynasty with his defense. Green is a classic example of a player who can dominate a game without scoring points. JuJu Watkins can score 51 against Stanford one night, but then she can turn around and — despite hitting only 6 of 32 shots — still affect a game with her defense, limiting Oregon State to just 50 points in a huge road win for USC. JuJu is extremely special in that she can be like Steph one night, then like Draymond the next. How many players can say that? Defense is part of the conversation, too.

BOTTOM LINE: YOU CAN APPRECIATE GREAT PLAYERS WITHOUT TEARING THEM DOWN

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire