USA Today writer: 'It matters that the faces of the future' of women's college basketball are Black

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A USA Today writer posted an op-ed on Thursday stating that "the Black players who built women's hoops…haven't been acknowledged," and "it matters that the faces of the future look like the faces of the past."

In the piece, with a headline, "Women's basketball needs faces of future to be Black," Lindsay Schnell, an enterprise reporter for the outlet, wrote that JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo are set to become the future of women's basketball.

"Not lost on any of the powerbrokers in the game: Both of these players are Black. And in a game built by Black women, it matters that the faces of the future look like the faces of the past," Schnell wrote.

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Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins, #12, dribbles the ball against the Colorado Buffaloes during a NCAA college women's basketball game on Feb. 23, 2024 in Los Angeles. USC defeated Colorado 87-81. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

Schnell continued that marketing tactics have centered around Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Paige Bueckers.

"Too often, the Black players who built women’s hoops — and who now dominate the professional level, where the WNBA is 70% Black — haven’t been acknowledged," she continued.

"Part of that has to do with position. Casual fans fall hard for playmakers, athletes who have the ball in their hands and create shots. Paint players might have great footwork, but that doesn’t usually translate to highlight reels. Consider that power forward A’ja Wilson, arguably the best player in the world, whose award résumé is longer than a Walgreens receipt, doesn’t have near the star power of Clark."

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