Duke's Cooper Flagg and USC's JuJu Watkins win John R. Wooden Awards as nation's top college players
USC guard JuJu Watkins (12) plays against Purdue during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind., Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
LOS ANGELES — Cooper Flagg of Duke and USC's JuJu Watkins are adding more hardware to their trophy cases.
Flagg, a freshman forward, was named the John R. Wooden Award winner as the nation's top men's player, beating Auburn's Johni Broome by 178 votes on Saturday. He is Duke's eighth Wooden winner, the most of any school.
Flagg averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
The other finalists were Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida, Mark Sears of Alabama and Braden Smith of Purdue.
Watkins, a sophomore guard, won the women's award. She beat out UConn's Paige Bueckers, who won in 2021, by 46 votes.
The other finalists were Lauren Betts of UCLA, Madison Booker of Texas and Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame.
Flagg and Watkins were honored as the The Associated Press players of the year.
USC guard JuJu Watkins (12) shoots during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Bloomington, Ind. Credit: AP/Doug McSchooler
Watkins averaged 24.6 points per game for the Trojans before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in their second-round NCAA Tournament win over Mississippi State.
Voting took place from March 11-24 by a national panel of sportswriters and sportscasters, along with former Wooden Award winners.
The trophies will be presented April 11 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
