The USC connection is strong.
DeMar DeRozan has learned a thing or two as he enters his 16th season in the NBA. It’s hard to think of a player who has remodeled his game as successfully as DeRozan, going from a high-flying rim attacker early in his career to one of the most skilled midrange scorers of his generation as he entered his 30s.
DeRozan is joining the Sacramento Kings for the 2024-25 season after three excellent years with the Chicago Bulls, but he still hasn’t forgotten where he came from. Way back in 2008, DeRozan enrolled at USC for his only year of college basketball before becoming a top-10 draft pick. The Trojans have a new basketball superstar these days in rising sophomore women’s player JuJu Watkins. Watkins actually scored more points in her freshman season than Caitlin Clark did (920 for Watkins, 799 for Clark), and she will be one of the biggest names in college athletics as school now resumes.
DeRozan and Watkins linked up at USC this week, and the NBA veteran taught the young prodigy a few moves.
One area of DeRozan’s game that has grown so much is his ability to get to the foul line — which is unusual for a player later in their career as they start to lose a bit of their athleticism. He’s done it by being one of the craftiest players in the NBA, and a master at getting to his spots. In this clip, he’s essentially showing Watkins the value of “You reach, I teach.”
When the defender sticks their hand in, they are already cooked.
Watkins’ game has a lot of similarities already to DeRozan’s. Both are big, strong scorers who can overwhelm opponents getting downhill. Watkins scored a lot of her points from midrange last year, and while she was extremely productive, she was a bit inefficient. Watkins’ 51.3 true shooting percentage earmarks her as a volume scorer who needs a lot of shots to get her points. This is just another area of a growth for a talented young player, and she’s lucky to have someone like DeRozan in her corner helping her continue to evolve as a player.
DeRozan and Watkins are both primed for big seasons this year. The USC connection is strong.
