BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — She’s not playing in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games this weekend, but so many of the people around women’s college basketball are still talking about USC’s JuJu Watkins.
The superstar sophomore guard, who was second in the nation in scoring and will likely be the consensus National Player of the Year, tore her ACL early in the Trojan’s second-round win last Monday against Mississippi State. Over the last week, Watkins has been on the minds of a lot of players and coaches still competing in the tournament.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has maintained a relationship with Watkins after recruiting her. She sent her a text this week offering her support and sending her well wishes.
“JuJu is loved by all of us,” Staley said. “JuJu is raising and lifting our game up with how she plays, with cornering the market when it comes to NIL deals. I mean, she’s a business herself, and to see part of that not a part of our NCAA Tournament, something is missing. There’s a big void.”
Indeed, Watkins has been in commercials this season for State Farm, Gatorade and Nike. For Staley, what stands out about Watkins is her star-power and how she’s brought more eyeballs to the game of women’s college basketball. In December, a regular season meeting between USC and UConn drew 2.23 million viewers to FOX, making it the second-most-watched women’s basketball game ever shown on the network.
When UConn coach Geno Auriemma saw Watkins’ injury, he immediately reached out to USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and offered her advice on how he’s dealt with players of his own who have had these sort of devastating injuries.
“I feel terrible for JuJu personally, knowing the players that I’ve had that have had to go through that, how much it means to them, what they’re missing for the whole year that they’re out, and for Lindsay, for her teammates,” Auriemma said. “And I think the effect that it has on the tournament, I think is huge from a competitive standpoint, star power, and I think the USC kids will probably rise to the occasion and play amazing like they did the other night.”
USC and UConn both play on Saturday in the Sweet 16. The Trojans face Kansas State and the Huskies take on Oklahoma. Should both win, they’ll meet in the Elite Eight.
Had Watkins not gotten injured, it would’ve set-up a must-watch rematch between USC and UConn, a game that could have pierced the monoculture as the sport’s biggest stars — Watkins and Paige Buckers — went head-to-head.
The hope — from the NCAA Selection Committee and ESPN — was that the matchup could have brushed the hype and viewership generated by last season’s Elite Eight matchup between Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese. That game drew a then-record 12.3 million viewers.
Bueckers was forced to grapple with her own knee injury a few years ago, missing all of the 2022-23 season after tearing her ACL in a summer pickup game. She bounced back and has made the All-American First Team in each of the past two seasons and is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft.
After seeing Watkins go down, Bueckers sent her a text offering support and advice.
“Your heart breaks for her, just the devastation that — especially during right now, during the tournament, of not being able to be out there with your team during the most important part of the year,” Bueckers said. “We empathize for her, we’ve been there, and we know how much it sucks, but you don’t get to be as good as JuJu if you don’t have a great motor, a great work ethic, and she’s going to attack this process just as she’s attacked basketball, and just as she’s great at basketball, she’s going to be great at this recovery process.”
Likewise, Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles — who is also expected to be drafted highly by a WNBA team next month — missed all of the 2023-24 season with a knee injury. Miles came back even better this season, increasing her 3-point shooting percentage by 18 points while also averaging 15.5 points and 5.9 assists per game.
Miles was watching the USC versus Mississippi State game in real time when Watkins fell to the floor during a fast break.
“My heart breaks for anyone that goes through that. I wouldn’t wish that injury on my worst enemy. So it’s just a tough one,” Miles said. “I think the advice that I would give to her is to take her time. There are a lot of external factors, a lot of people who would like to see you back earlier than you may be able to, and you may rush your recovery, but at the end of the day this injury takes time, and it really takes you listening to your body and what it needs.”
It could be a while before women’s basketball fans see Watkins back on the court again.
