JuJu Watkins enjoying summer, dreams of playing in 2028 Olympics in hometown Los Angeles

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JuJu Watkins enjoying summer, dreams of playing in 2028 Olympics in hometown Los Angeles

2024-06-26 18:00 Last Updated At：21:11

NEW YORK (AP) — JuJu Watkins has already thought about how special it would be to play for the U.S. in 2028 at the Olympics in her hometown of Los Angeles.

“That's definitely a long-term goal of mine when I get done with my college career," Watkins said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Definitely something I'm looking forward to and having the chance to do that in my city would definitely be a dream come true.”

For now, Watkins is focused on the present and enjoying her summer before heading into her sophomore year at USC. The first-team AP All-American has had a busy couple of days.

She threw out the first pitch at a Dodgers game on Saturday and then flew across the country to New York to take part in a Meta AI event Tuesday night with Chance the Rapper.

“That was definitely crazy, a dream come true,” she said of the pitch. “Grew up a Dodgers fan and to be able to go on the mound and pitch it was really cool. That was like a halfcourt shot, that was pretty far.”

Watkins, who is cool on the court, admitted that being on the mound was nerve-wracking.

“Definitely a lot of pressure. Top five most nervous moments for me. As long as it didn't bounce I was good,” she said.

She had nothing to worry about as her pitch easily made it to the plate.

Watkins has become a national star in women's basketball. She averaged 27.1 points to help USC to its best season in years as the Trojans reached the Elite Eight. Her games routinely have huge crowds, including many celebrities and have become must-watch events at USC.

She's well recognized in Los Angeles, getting mobbed after attending a Sparks home game by fans wanting pictures and autographs.

“LA is more chill compared to other places for sure. I think it's cool to be recognized in public,” she said. “Sometimes my friends and I all laugh about it because it's funny in a sense but I'm always enjoying it. Sometimes it can be a bit much, but I'm grateful.”

Watkins said that it was special that Caitlin Clark, the first time they met, offered to help her if she every needed advice on how to navigate being the face of women's basketball.

“She's great. Goes to show how good a person she is outside of basketball," Watkins said. "To have that kind of mentorship and that relationship with her, it definitely means a lot. She's had the biggest impact on women's basketball and being able to see her journey is really inspiring.”

Watkins said her generation of women basketball players has really benefitted from social media and sees AI being the next step to help people learn more about their favorites. Meta is launching a new initiative dubbed “Super Fan” this summer that will help fans keep up with their favorite athletes, sports and trends.

“I think initially (social media) gets attention on people, I want to know this about her, how she works out?” Watkins said. “So many questions that arise and Meta AI can be used to provide answers. Facts that aren’t opinion based that we see a lot on social media. We see so many opinions that aren’t based on facts. That’s where Meta AI comes in to educate people. Build that bridge and fill in that gap between fans and athletes.”

https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Switzerland knocks out defending champion Italy and advances to the Euro 2024 quarterfinals

2024-06-30 02:49 Last Updated At：02:51

BERLIN (AP) — Defending champion Italy crashed out of the European Championship after losing to Switzerland 2-0 in the last 16 on Saturday.

Goals in each half from Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas gave the Swiss their first win over their southern neighbor for 31 years and set up a quarterfinal against England or Slovakia in Düsseldorf on July 6.

Italy's elimination means the titleholder has gone out in the last 16 for the third successive Euro after Portugal in 2021 and Spain in 2016.

Switzerland hadn't beaten Italy since 1993, and notched only a ninth win from 62 attempts.

“We showed from the first second that we really wanted to win this game. The spirit is incredible," Switzerland midfielder Fabian Riedler said. "Everyone is happy. Everyone runs for the other one."

His team dominated in terms of possession, shots, attacks and passes.

By the time Italy responded in the second half, the aggressive Swiss defense was able to deal with it. Coach Murat Yakin’s gameplan worked to perfection and he repaid the faith his federation showed him when there were calls for him to go in November.

All Italy counterpart Luciano Spalletti could do was put his hands out in exasperation on the sideline.

Freuler deservedly broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when he set up Vargas’ cross with his first touch and smashed it in with his next.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had earlier denied Breel Embolo in a one-on-one, produced a flying save to deflect Fabian Riedler’s free kick onto the post before the break.

But the second half had barely started before Vargas curled a shot from the edge of the penalty area inside the top right corner.

Italy was immediately more proactive and Switzerland defender Fabian Schär was relieved to see his attempted headed clearance rebound off the post minutes later.

Fans tried to get a Mexican wave going through the Olympiastadion but the Italian fans were not in the mood.

Their team pushed forward in search of a way back only to find none. Gianluca Scamacca went closest when he hit the post but looked offside in any case.

Spalletti spoke of his team’s “ beautiful suits ” before the Spain game, but this time, after substitute Mattia Zaccagni’s last-second equalizer against Croatia, he was unable to pull a rabbit out of Italy’s hat.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024