Los Angeles, CA — USC and UCLA are two schools steeped in basketball history, separated by about 12 miles within the city of Los Angeles.
The Southern Cal Women of Troy won two national championships in 1983 and 1984 with three All-Americans: Cheryl Miller, Paula McGee and Rhonda Windham. Before joining the Big Ten this season, Southern Cal won five regular season titles and two tournament crowns, first in the Pac-10 then the Pac-12.
Miller is one of four Black head coaches in USC history. She first achieved legendary status as a player (1982-86), a two-time NCAA tournament MVP and a 1999 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
She often sits courtside across the USC bench at Galen Center. We got to chat with her prior to last Thursday’s Minnesota-Southern Cal game, the first time the two teams met as Big Ten opponents.
“This team is fun to watch,” stressed Miller, who coached the Women of Troy for two seasons (1993-1995), went 44-14, including two NCAA trips and a regional final. She also was the first coach/GM of the Phoenix Mercury (1987-2000) and was the winning coach at the 2024 WNBA All Star Game.
USC currently ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring margin (29.6), scoring offense (83.8), scoring defense (54.2), and blocks per game (7.1) in their first year in the Power 5 conference. Minnesota lost to their hosts last Thursday 82-69.
The Trojans are led by sophomore guard JuJu Watkins, who after a 0-10 first half finished with 20 points against the Gophers last week. “JuJu is a show within itself,” marveled Miller of the 6’2” guard from Los Angeles.
It was a welcoming sight to find so many Black people in the stands among the 5,243 announced attendance last week. A Black arena worker told me that the community‘s support of Trojans women’s basketball, especially among Black youth, is strong.
“I try to make as many games as possible,” said Trojans fan Brandon Jones of LA, who was with his three-year-old son.
Across town is UCLA, the nation’s No. 1 team in women’s basketball. The Bruins won its first national championship in 1978, four years after Kenny Washington was named the program’s first head coach in 1974 as well as its first Black head coach. He coached for one season and finished 18-4 with Ann Meyers, a future HOF, on the squad.
Washington earlier played on John Wooden’s first two NCAA championship teams in 1964 and 1965.
Washington’s place in school history seems to have been overlooked. Decades later, Nikki Fargas became the school’s first Black female women’s HC. She’s the current team president of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA.
Besides sports, UCLA also is known for its medicine, while USC also is known for journalism and is a private research school.
“USC is in the inner city, right in the middle of the city. [UCLA] is on the west side of Los Angeles surrounded by Beverly Hills and Brentwood,” explained UCLA Women’s Tennis Associate Head Coach Rance Brown. “SC’s footprint is definitely growing there. Here on the west side is completely different.
“If you walk through SC [campus], it gives you a representation of Los Angeles,” continued Brown. “Here at UCLA, you’ll definitely get a different perspective. There are more African American males on campus that are not student athletes over the last decade. UCLA is one of the few universities that have five buildings named after African American gentlemen.”
“I’m super excited to learn about the places I am going,” Minnesota redshirt freshman Niamya Holloway said to me before she and the team left for the West Coast. “It could be really amazing to feel the history.”
It was this richness of diversity, learning more of the women’s hoops history of USC and UCLA, that was very refreshing and made our first time in LA well worth the trip.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.