You might recall the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament in which USC women’s basketball hosted its first-round game at the Galen Center. USC scored a blowout win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. In the final minutes, with the starters watching from the bench, reserve India Otto hit two shots, one of them a 3-pointer. The crowd went nuts. JuJu Watkins was effusive in her initial reaction and in her postgame comments. Seeing USC teammates celebrate each other, and take such joy in seeing a player come off the end of the bench to score an NCAA Tournament basket, offered a telling glimpse inside a team which was extremely close and cohesive. Players sacrificed for each other, laughed with each other, fought for each other. It’s why USC was so good last season.
As USC prepares for its 2024-2025 women’s basketball season — one in which the Trojans are primary Final Four contenders — India Otto will not lace up her sneakers and play for the Trojans on the court. She will, however, be part of the basketball program’s support staff. She will still be, in essence, a teammate and helper — for JuJu Watkins and for the rest of the roster. She will help Lindsay Gottlieb and Beth Burns and the rest of the assistant coaches in her role as coordinator of player engagement.
In a feature from Boardroom Magazine, India Otto talked about her close friendship with JuJu Watkins and about the things that make JuJu great:
“True friendships form organically, and they aren’t one-sided. We are there for one another. She is my best friend in the whole world and has truly become my sister; blood couldn’t make us any closer. … Seeing the humility that JuJu possesses day in and day out, the maturity, gratitude, poise, and wisdom at such a young age is inspiring. The way she lives life is beautifully done. She also doesn’t suffer fools. She is kind and gracious, but she is aware of what goes on around her.”
Otto continued:
“She is a gym rat. Not because she is supposed to be, but because she loves this game and she is always working to improve. She has that Mamba Mentality for sure,” Otto continued. “She is focused, driven, relentless, and detail-orientated. Most people walk through the world behind the spotlight. JuJu is that unique talent that the spotlight is focused always on her and she handles it with the utmost grace at every moment, all the while lifting her teammates and recognizing the contributions of those around her.
“She would be the first to downplay her own accomplishments to celebrate that of someone else’s. She’s an incredibly special individual, there’s no one like her. She understands that this is a team game, and she wants each of her teammates to be confident in themselves and be the best they can be.”
JuJu Watkins is a supremely skilled basketball player, but her team-first attitude sets her apart from most. This is the attitude which gives USC a great chance to win at a high level this coming season, which starts next week.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: India Otto’s praise for JuJu Watkins shows why USC is poised to succeed
