No. 1 women's basketball recruit Juju Watkins commits to USC

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Watkins grew up 10 miles from the USC campus and signed her letter of intent to play basketball for the USC.

Watkins is a two-time gold medal winner with USA Basketball, a reigning California state champion at Sierra Canyon High School, and the state's reigning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson are just some of the USC basketball legends who grew up in the LA area.

Watkins didn't want to hurry the process. A lot of people in my class had already committed before me. I want to make sure I'm where I want to be.

Watkins and Samuels are both 5-footers from Garfield High School in Seattle. Samuels is one of the top prospects in the next ten years.

Watkins was a key member of the Sierra Canyon team that won the state title. She started all seven games for the USA Basketball Women's U17 National Team last summer and averaged a team-high 13 points, 6.4 rebound, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals.

Watkins becomes the third top 10 recruit to sign with USC since the start of the national rankings in 2007.

The last time USC won a national championship was in 1983 and 1984. It hasn't won a conference title in over two decades. Its alumni include Cooper-Dyke, a two-time NCAA champion, four-time NBA champion and former USC coach; and Miller, a two-time NCAA champion, three-time Naismith Player of the Year.

Watkins is going to be a part of the USC starting five.

Despite her parents' desire for her to play tennis, Watkins started playing basketball at the age of 7. She practiced with her parents in the backyard or at the Watts gym named after her great-grandfather, who was a civil rights activist.

Before her junior year in high school, Watkins transferred from Windward in Los Angeles to Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, California, where she was a member of the champion team. At Sierra Canyon, Watkins made a name for himself. Watkins became a celebrity despite the school's famous last names and helped fill the stands during the basketball season.

She was the first high school athlete to sign with Klutch. In October, Watkins signed an endorsement deal with Nike, along with Sierra Canyon classmates, and others.

Juju has been in the public eye since seventh grade. She understood that she carried a name with her when she first arrived in Sierra Canyon. She understood her responsibilities because of who she is. She will do the same thing when she's in college. The front and back names will be equally important.