Judea "Juju" Watkins, who grew up in Watts and plays at Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, had become the most coveted women's basketball prospect in the country. She put her recruitment to rest Tuesday morning after announcing her commitment and signing with USC over a final group that includes Stanford and South Carolina.

Keeping the hometown player in Los Angeles is a major coup for Lindsay Gottlieb and her staff at USC as Watkins is widely considered to be the most talented girls high school basketball player in the world and has been called a generational talent.

The 6-foot-1 Watkins is as accomplished of a player as you will find at the high school level having won two gold medals with USA Basketball in addition to helping Sierra Canyon secure a state title leading to the standout guard being named the Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

"JuJu is the best and most decorated player of her class both in the country and internationally. I could talk for days about her skill set: her shot-making ability, creativity to the rim, dominance on the boards, defensive tenacity and her elite court vision," Gottlieb said in a statement Tuesday. "But what I am most excited about is that JuJu the human being is joining the USC family. This is a young woman with transcendent talent, but she is also uniquely motivated. She is about things bigger than herself: her family, her team, her community, her city.

"JuJu had the courage to stay home and is driven to bring USC women's basketball back to prominence. What a monumental day for all of us in the Trojan Family."

The addition of Watkins to the 2023 class, naturally, provides a major boost for the Trojans in the current recruiting cycle as the newcomer to the group joins Seattle-based guard Malia Samuels as the other member of the class for USC.

Her recruitment became a battle between the Trojans and arguably the top two programs in women's college basketball.

"I didn't want to rush this process," Watkins told ESPN. "A lot of people in my class had already committed before me, and I definitely was taking my time. But I want to make sure it was 1,000 percent where I wanted to go."

Not only has Watkins made waves on the basketball court with her play, but she has also been a pioneer in the NIL space for high school athletes as well. Early in the year she became the first high school athlete to be represented by Klutch Sports Group leading to an endorsement deal with Nike last month.

ESPN currently has Watkins ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class.