Stephen A. Smith Dismisses UConn's Paige Bueckers Hype to Praise USC's JuJu Watkins

Stephen A. Smith only wants to hear about JuJu Watkins ahead of this year's NCAA Tournament.

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN First Take set at the CFP Fan Central at the George World Congress Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

There's no question that the two biggest stars in the 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament are UConn Huskies icon Paige Bueckers and USC Trojans sophomore superstar JuJu Watkins.

Given that UConn and USC are in the same region of the bracket, there's a solid chance Watkins and Bueckers will have a rematch from their December 21, 2024 showdown in the tournament's Elite Eight round.

This potential matchup has prompted a lot of discussion about both Bueckers and Watkins in recent days. This was exemplified during a March 18 episode of ESPN's First Take, where Chiney Ogwumike said, "This has been a breakout season for JuJu Watkins, but this tournament, I feel like is built for Paige Bueckers."

Ogwumike went on to discuss the extremely efficient season Bueckers has produced to this point while also noting how great of a coach UConn Huskies' Geno Auriemma is. However, Stephen A. Smith had had enough of this Bueckers praise by the time he spoke.

"Paige Bueckers is a baller, she can play. I like her a lot. But I don't want to hear about anybody other than JuJu Watkins. I'm not gonna lie," Smith said. "As a freshman, this young lady averaged 27 and a half points, 8 rebounds, 2 and a half blocks in the [2024] NCAA Tournament... We talked about Caitlin Clark and raved all day, every day about this girl last year. And she deserved it. Well, what does JuJu Watkins deserve? She's a show. This girl is spectacular.

"I don't want to hear anything about anybody else before I hear about JuJu Watkins," he added.

Smith is clearly all-in on Watkins during this year's tournament.