Entertainment
JuJu Watkins’ time is not coming. It’s here. — Andlandscape

America begins one other campaign cycle. That means primaries, an ungodly amount of polls, speeches and ads that might have an impact Source Awards in 1995 they’re like a Bible study. At any given moment, everyone is in search of a talking point and candidates are in search of a vote.
Well, apart from Judea Skies Watkins USC’s freshman guard, higher often known as JuJu. The votes were forged and Watkins was chosen as the following big star of American basketball.
Watkins’ impressive on-court exploits are an enormous reason why the Los Angeles native has exploded onto the sports scene. In this season All-American recipient he was the ESPN National Freshman of the Year and runner-up for National Player of the Year. She was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year by Athletic. She has a set of lucrative NIL deals. USC’s third-place rating is its highest in 38 years, and Watkins led the Trojans in scoring in 27 of 31 games this season, including a 51-point masterpiece on the road against Stanford (a season-high for each men and girls). USC’s scoring records were once held Cheryl Miller AND LisaLeslie They belong to Watkins. In short, she is a walking bucket and is exciting to observe.
“JuJu has a probability to do something we have needed in women’s basketball for an extended time. And meaning going beyond sports and really being on the intersection of girls’s basketball and culture,” she added. LaChina RobinsonWNBA analyst and ESPN host, he said.
“At Lakers games, the first thing you think about is who are all the stars that are on the court and want to watch LeBron or Kobe when he plays or even going back to Magic (Johnson). “It’s a staple in Los Angeles because of everything the city stands for, music, art, entertainment, etc.” Robinson continued. “(JuJu) could create this unique space where women’s basketball can be appreciated by greater than just sports fans. It could take the sport into popular culture and easily right into a larger space than up to now.
If it seems a number of pressure for an 18-year-old from the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, it’s true.
These words can only place additional, unrealistic expectations on her. But like her classmate and friend Bronny James, only Watkins’ expectations of herself matter. Still, there’s nothing flawed with finding excitement in her game and being enthusiastic about what someone along with her talent could mean for much broader social conversations. She is not a savior because women’s basketball does not need saving.
However, where Watkins might take the sport has yet to be properly mapped out. She is a basketball specialist whose goal goes far beyond scoring points. Watkins is young, talented and Black-like R&B singer Donny Hathaway he once preached and Tupac Shakur he rapped.
Her time is not coming. It’s already here.

Kirby Lee/Getty Images
There’s a moment that symbolizes Watkins’ freshman campaign and its historical consequences. In a Feb. 23 game against Colorado’s conference foe, USC, boosted by Watkins’ 42 points, won 87-81. But midway through the second quarter, she cut the fast break short by pulling up just a few feet behind the three-point line and draining it. The crowd erupted and nobody was prouder than Miller, who leaned forward in her seat and commenced clapping. Miller has been a daily at USC games this season, and his return was an emotional reunion a long time within the making.
“For everything you have done for the former players, it has been a very long time since we were embraced and were part of the younger generation growing up, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Miller said in a robust locker room speech after the sport following USC’s victory over cross-town rival UCLA. “You have changed the culture… You have shown in this country that you are bad MFs.”
In a sport like basketball, where eras often clash, an important thing is the mutual respect and love of many generations of Trojans. Still, it’s unimaginable to quantify USC’s resurgence of place in basketball lore. Reviving a dormant program is one thing. Another thing is to resurrect this system as proud as USC is of its history national championships, Final Four appearances and a number of the best talent the sport has ever seen. But being a daughter of the sphere, like Watkins, and helping to take this system to heights not seen in generations is a wholly different responsibility.
“Having (all of USC’s legends come to light) and being celebrated gives us the opportunity to bask in the rich history of USC’s achievements and what dominance has meant to women’s basketball, not just college basketball,” Robinson said. “We can still rejoice these players with the resurgence of USC. For me, this is really essential for the history and development of this sport.
While Watkins stands on the shoulders of the ladies before her, she is also a gateway to the longer term. He is from Watts, a town about 10 miles from the USC campus. Her family is rooted within the basketball scene in Los Angeles and the community at large.
“My great-grandfather founded a foundation in consequence, many resources and a spotlight were directed into the community to profit those in need. I actually look as much as my great-grandfather and grandfather, Ted Watkins.” Watkins said in a 2022 interview. “When I’m on the court, I’m at all times playing for something greater. I performed for my city.
The one thing Los Angeles at all times has is star power. A star, for higher or worse, is an ecosystem. But in a city of megastars, Watkins is greater than only a candle within the sun. Her star power is as vibrant as anyone’s, with stars including rappers 2 Chainz, YG and Saweetie, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, comedian Kevin Hart and former NBA star Marques Johnson sitting on the sphere at their matches. Flea from Red Hot Chili Pepperslong Watkins superfan She was wearing a T-shirt with a magazine cover on it for a Lakers game earlier this month.
“I would say this is the hottest ticket in Los Angeles right now, even with Shohei Ohtanis and LeBron James in the world.” Los Angeles sports reporter Lauren Jones he said about USC women’s basketball games. “He has that caliber of energy. People who shall be at these matches.

Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Beyond the USC Women’s Games on the Galen Center, there is one other essential truth as the brand new hot spot. What makes Watkins a cultural magnet is that he is an offensive machine. Last month, LisaLeslie joined Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green’s podcast in February and discussed Watkins’ play.
“A lot of people come to Los Angeles, but a lot of people aren’t from Los Angeles,” the three-time WNBA MVP he said. “But these guys in Los Angeles have a little bit of a dog in them. She’s from Los Angeles.
Basically, Watkins’ game is good in any environment – identical to that of one other basketball legend.
“I would compare JuJu to the way people talk Diana Taurasi– said Robinson. “Diana was respected on every playground, no matter what. Now she’s much more demonstrative on the court than JuJu, but the way JuJu plays to her abilities – three-level scoring, crossover, pull-up – is certified on every basketball court in the world. That’s why we see it attracting so much attention and support from people who don’t typically visit the women’s basketball space but love basketball. She plays like that.”
Watching Watkins, who has lower than a 12 months left to graduate from highschool, looks like watching a possible generational talent perform. Watkins seems shy, almost embarrassed by the highlight, but not in a way that does not look cute. She doesn’t “play the game the right way,” whatever meaning. She plays to win. And there is no more respected love language in sports.
Watkins’ laid-back attitude and her signature bun are a part of who she is and what could make her one in all the largest basketball stars of her generation – male or female. She excels at being herself in a world where successes and failures are sometimes reduced to 60-second clips. She’s an 18-year-old young black woman trying to seek out her place on the earth. The only difference is that Watkins is doing it in the general public eye. There are actually mistakes on the horizon. No man, even one as incredibly talented as Watkins, is proof against them. But let’s hope that lessons will come from these mistakes. Lessons that might be applied on the court and in life, because the most effective often do.
What this implies for ladies’s basketball and beyond is anyone’s guess. But it’s Watkins who chooses the trail he chooses to follow.
After Watkins dropped 51 points last month through the road game against Stanford, you needed to think there was no way they might let that occur again within the Pac-12 title game on March 10. They took an “everyone but JuJu” approach and ended up on the flawed side of the fiddle and checking out. Watkins scored a season-low nine points as Stanford threw her towards an limitless supply of double and triple teams, but her teammates helped her to a 67-58 victory at Maples Pavilion in Las Vegas.
“When you have a player like JuJu who goes to practices like this every day, all of a sudden you feel empowered as a player around her,” Robinson said. “You come out and perform, especially out of respect for everything JuJu has done to get the team to this point. It’s a beautiful thing.”
If Watkins and USC advance to the Final Four in Cleveland to make their first trip since 1986, they are going to need more of a team effort like this. However, her future is vibrant no matter how the season ends.
“JuJu has the opportunity to create a strong presence in women’s sports on the West Coast,” Jones said. “It sets the groundwork for (USC) to be part of a larger, more national conversation about some of the best programs at the collegiate level.”
Watkins’ dominance throughout the season is one in all the largest stories in college basketball. However, due to the tournament, her matches shall be broadcast when many of the country will finally give you the chance to observe her play live. For those that have yet to experience the tenacity and fantastic thing about her game, March Madness ought to be a nice surprise.
“When I first saw her play, I told myself she can go to the WNBA now,” Robinson said. “In almost twenty years in this sport, I don’t think I’ve ever said those words about anyone.”
Women’s basketball, like many points of American life, was created by Black energy and creativity that gave the sport its style and image. Watkins builds on this story and is able to create her own. The stages will get greater and greater, and the mythical statistics will result in conversations that can happen in sports bars, airports and barbershops across America. The lights will turn out to be brighter and more intense.
Not all moments require scoring, but every moment requires presence. The excellent news is that Watkins is built for each.
Entertainment
Why a’ja Wilson is bigger than just the next release of sneakers – and scape

The recent Sneaker Nike A’one and the accompanying clothing line come for a very long time.
On the pitch, three -time awards and dominance of WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces are undeniable. Her attention to detail in every element of her game is that she flourished from the first skilled profession basket. Now she has set herself to the same success in the sneakers industry.
Early questions arose why the release lasted so long, but Nike left nothing. They spent almost two years in the trenches, ensuring that every aspect of the release was made at the highest level.
Now this expectation pays off.
As the release date approached, and Scape talked to women specializing in sneakers, fashion, sport and culture about their feelings on the signature line, Nike marketing plan and the historical importance of A’ja Wilson’s release.
Nike
The two -time WNBA master cooperated with the footwear designer Nike Ben Nethongome to create a’one for convenience and versatility. The silhouette has the Cushlon 3.0 central sole, which is a stronger base for response and smooth, cushioned landings. The pattern of adhesion on the outer sole allows the rims to make cuts and rotation without devoting precision.
A’ONES technical features are impressive, but personal data give the personality of shoes.
A’ONE finishes pay tribute to the pearl necklace, Grandma Wilson gave her as a toddler. Inspired by a pearl protecting a coat, the design has a robust, breathable upper part, Phylon middle carrier and a lightweight outer sole, which together sway cushion cushioning.

Other personal accents include a sentence from her 2021 essay Tribune And Celtic symbols at the back of the shoe language representing the names of parents, Roscoe and Eva Wilson.
The “Pink A’ura” version is a special color “before heating”, the term uses Nike to explain the color scheme or design theme in signatures and is related to a singular element of the story for the player. Pink A’ura is described as “flushing Leo energy and illuminates the pitch in her favorite color.” Another detail includes “A” of her signature, referring to her role “A1”.

Nike
“I am excited from it, especially knowing the album she has in WNBA and how he likes to combine athletics with fashion. He is probably one of the best-dressed people in WNBA,” he said Ashley HallCreator of the content from Philadelphia and co -host Only table who previously worked with Nike and Fenta. Hall is not going to rim, but she likes the figure and colours, believing that the living pink was “a really good idea on her part and her favorite color.”
The color construction has also caught the attention of the recent Host Seattle Storm Kayce Crescent. “I love that she dropped a pink pair first, because it wasn’t like the colors of her band,” she said. Kirihara was a fashion and sneaker, who hosted the events of NBA and WNBA, before she brought her management Storm.
“It seems to me that this is quite a cult dropping of the first characteristic sneakers in colors, which probably not many people expected,” she said.
Debut colours a’one is not an accident. The former debutant of the 12 months WNBA put her hands on every aspect of the project and was surprised by how often the team put it off during this process. “In fact, they look at me:” What do you desire to sell? You have a pen to your notebook. What do you desire to do? ” – she said . This is the reason why A’ones tell their story so professionally.
“As for the shoes of every athlete, I really want to feel that they are in the shoe,” said Taja “TJ” Keasal, host Sneaker Talks with TJ. She read Wilson’s book and believes that having more intimate knowledge about the Golden Olympic medalist makes the tennisian more unique.
“Her parents were turned on. Certainly her grandmother is turned on. I just love that the shoes attract so many of them, who makes A’ja, a’ja, to the shoe,” she said. “We don’t have to guess. We don’t have to wonder. It is extremely designed by it.”

Nike
Nike marketing plan on this trip before heatingwhich consisted of stores popping up throughout March and April in Las Vegas, Tampa, Florida, and Columbia, Karolina, where she appeared at the University of South Carolina. In each location, Sneakerheads could buy a shoe before a wider retail version. It could appear obvious to revive the family hero to the debut of her characteristic line, but more enthusiasm has been added to release.
Olivia Irick is from South Carolina, who attended a jumping window in her family state. She waited in the queue for 3 hours to get some of the first pairs of A’one, having fun with the event that released a big selection of Sneakerheads and Wilson fans.
“(To see) people camping and lining up around the block, because these shoes were simply something beautiful for (witness), especially (a woman) with their own characteristic shoes,” said Irick. “It was a good time for the city’s culture and sneakers.” Wilson participated in the event, signed posters for youngsters and took pictures with fans.
Irick proudly raised her couple A’ONES during the video interview with Andcape.
“I am not a pink girl, but because of who A’ja is, what she brought to hit the game and South Carolina, I wore this shoe several times,” she said. “I think I’m a pink girl now.”

Nike
Nike “did a good job to hear his athletes and hear the consumer.” Sports reporter and ESPN analyst Monica McNutt said. He believes that the company has not neglected any details when it was time to release.
“Speaking of intentional implementation, Sheryl Swiopes and A’ja Wilson Connection It is not an event – she said. “Sheryl Swoopes was the first woman who got a characteristic shoe for Nike and I feel that the first woman who had a characteristic shoe, dot. And in lots of respects Nike was part of the creation of history and part of culture.”
McNutt said that she didn’t query Nike’s involvement in the former three -time WNBA MVP. He believes that the company has learned from earlier outlets and used them as a chance to develop at a time when women’s basketball continues the incredible growth in the mainstream.

Nike
Nike will release the A’one accompanying clothing line. The line covers Hoodie impersonated by SateenA’Symmetrical one -legged sleeve and a relaxed slide in the same pink shade as a’one. Hoodie sweatshirt honors a mother who didn’t want the superstar to wear masks at the airport.
Like many black women, Kirihara sleeps with silk pillowcases to guard his hair, so with a hood with a sweatshirt with Satk it could appear a small detail to others, but “makes a huge difference.” He thinks he represents more than just something to wear.
“There is a story behind this. And I love it. I think they are drugs because many people want to match things. They want to combine a outfit that is associated with it,” she said.
Tionna DenceceLover, the writer of the texts and content creator, believes that offering Calm Slide is a win for the three -time defensive player of the 12 months WNBA.
“I like the fact that he has a slide,” Denice said. “Some people may not want a sneaker, but they may want a slide. So he gives people options, even if they are not athletes.”
He also loves a hoodie.
“She is such a black girl. It’s so cultural. It’s also for other women. That’s what I loved in the line. Yes, it is a cultural matter, but other women can understand it,” she said.
Irick agreed.
“I regret that they didn’t have it in a jumping window, but I definitely wanted a shoe sweatshirt,” she said. “This is the one I go the most. But I also have a few slides. It has become my way out.”
Keasal also loves so as to add an identical calm slide. “This coordination,” she said. “People may think that this is not such a great contract, but it can (can) increase someone’s confidence.”

Nike
For many, the characteristic A’ja Wilson line means something much apart from hard wood. WNBA built his success at the back of black women. However, before the initial announcement of Wilson’s shoe in May last 12 months, Candace Parker was the last black player of WNBA, who received the sneaker’s line.
It was 15 years ago.
Wilson’s popularity coincides with increased league visibility. A’ONE edition is not only paying arrears; This proves that perseverance pays off.
Denice asked if this independent would have the same impact. She mentioned how WNBA players “once they had to go abroad” to earn money, “which means you had to love it, right?” He feels that the league and the sneakers industry as a complete are waiting for somebody like A’ja Wilson, whose quite a few awards speak for themselves.
“I feel that its basic base of fans and fans in WNBA or people who support basketball (they would be there). Is this a place where it is now five years ago? Probably not. I think that time is everything. This is the perfect time to spend a shoe. It is the perfect time to celebrate WNBA,” she said.
“Now is the perfect time. It’s the perfect time for WNBA, because we see it (we blow up),” she said. “It’s a perfect time for her because her career will come from here.”
Hall agreed.
“I think that thanks to her achievements I think it is very late,” she said. “I really hope he gets the moment he deserves.”
Keasal repeated sentiments.
“I don’t think it can be disappeared or challenge what it means now,” she said. “We see this increase in women’s basketball. You also see that her number one player in the world is also at the forefront. And I think that this means a lot only in terms of representation, because she represents a lot.”
Sneaker Nike A’ONE, a clothing collection and a quiet slide shall be available in chosen retail sellers on May 6.
Entertainment
Ici: Criticism of BBL Erykah Badu and more – Essence

Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images
Beauty might be two things: fashionable or undefined. And sometimes each. Over the past week, the makeup looks for a long time, it exceeded trends together. Meanwhile, a single hair trend cannot even be attached.
For example Red lip This is a alternative of makeup, which turned out to be probably the most timeless appearance of beauty. Just take a look at the Cat and Tracee Ellis Ross. Naja connected it with the overgrown high top Grace Jones and deeply embedded French ends, and Ross selected a rather lighter red nail and a skillful roll.
While the lips have turn into Rouge, the hair became dishonest with trends difficult to define. Solange, seen in wet wet braids this week, creativity directed a birthday session for Ari Lennox. Her uncertain wig went with a pink, junk manicure. To finish the week, Erykah Badu participated within the Billboard Music Awards within the critic of BBL culture. In other words, she shook the overalls expanding the body, the red lip and intentionally messy wing when she received the icon award.
If you missed this, take a look at the 9 best beauty moments from the week.
Entertainment
Kamala Harris “60 minutes” The interview has an emmy nomination regarding the Trump lawsuit

From the dispute about the courtroom to the longed -for Emma nomination, the “60 minutes” interview with Kamala Harris pays fresh attention this week. On Thursday, the segment with the participation of the former vp was nominated for the “outstanding edited interview”.
The same interview was at the center of the ongoing dispute of President Trump with the information network. In November 2024, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS, claiming that the interview was “insidious” and “documented” to make his opponent look good.
“The matter we have on the basis of 60 minutes, CBS and Paramount is a real winner. They deceived and deceived the American nation on levels, never seen before in the political arena,” wrote Trump in Post on social truthHis social media platform. “60 minutes and his corporate parents, so that this would not have a negative influence on her, remove and remove the entire answer of Kamali, each word, and replaced it with a answer, which she later gave a completely different question. 60 minutes committed a gigantic fraud against the American nation, federal electoral commission and a federal communication system.”
Although CBS has transferred transcription, in keeping with the request of the Federal Communication Commission, CBS remains to be in the face of Harris’s intelligence evaluation.
According to reports, the CBS parent company, Paramount Global, allegedly working on reaching a settlement with the Trump administration, despite the undeniable fact that many journalists oppose this concept. In addition, the “60-minute” executive manufacturer, Bill Owens, gave up attributable to corporate restrictions imposed on him after the controversies of Harris’s intelligence.
Unfortunately, CBS is considered one of the many organizations to which Trump’s administration aimed during the first 100 days. On the same day, “60 minutes” was nominated, Trump signed a contract executive order Directing the corporation to public broadcasts to “stop federal funds for NPR and PBS.”

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