Birmingham, Alabama – She hasn't played in Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games this weekend, but many of the people around women's college basketball are still talking about USC's Juju Watkins.
The superstar sophomore guard, second in the nation in scoring and perhaps the consensus national player of the year, tore the ACL early in the Trojan second-round victory against Mississippi State last Monday. Last week, Watkins has fallen into the hearts of many players and coaches who are still competing in the tournament.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has maintained a relationship with Watkins after recruiting her. She provided her support this week and texted her well wishes.
“Juju is loved by all of us,” Staley said. “Juju is lifting up our game in the way she plays and cornering the market when it comes to nil trading. So there's something missing to see that she's a business and not part of the NCAA tournament.
In fact, Watkins has been involved in commercials for State Farm, Gatorade and Nike this season. For Staley, what stands out about Watkins is her star power and how she brought more eyes to women's college basketball games. Regular season meeting with USC in December uconn It attracted 2.23 million viewers to Fox, making it the second most women's basketball game ever shown on the network.
When UCONN coach Geno Auriema saw Watkins' injury, he immediately contacted USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and provided advice on how he dealt with his own player who suffered such a catastrophic injury.
“I personally find it scary for Juju. I know the players I had had to go through it, how much it means to them, how they're out all year round, and what's missing for Lindsay for her teammates,” Aurienma said. “And I think the impact that will have on the tournament is huge from a competitive standpoint, from a very competitive standpoint. I think the kids at USC will probably get up and play on amazing occasions like other nights.”
USC and UConn both play on Saturday with sweet 16. Trojan face Kansas And the Husky is with Oklahoma. If both win, they will meet in the Elite Eight.
If Watkins weren't injured, they would have set up a must-see rematch between USC and UConn. UConn is a game where you could stab a monoculture as the sport's biggest stars, Watkins and Paige Backers, head-to-head.
The hope from the NCAA Select Committee and ESPN was to be able to match viewers with the hype created by the eight elite matchups last season. LSUAngel Reese. The game attracted the 12.3 million viewers recorded at the time.
Bueckers was forced to tackle her own knee injury several years ago. She bouncing off, creating the first team in the US each of the last two seasons, and is expected to be number one in the future WNBA draft.
After seeing Watkins down, Beaker texted her with support and advice.
“Your heart breaks for her, especially for now, just the devastation that you can't be with your team in the most important part of the year, during the tournament,” Bueckers said. “We empathized with her and were there, and we know how much it sucks, but if you don't have a great motor, a great work ethic, you won't get as good as Juju, and she's going to attack this process the same way she attacked basketball, and she's great in this recovery process.”
Similarly, Notre DameAlso, Olivia Miles, who is scheduled to be highly drafted by the WNBA team next month, missed the whole of the 2023-24 season with a knee injury. Miles has come back even better this season, averaging 15.5 points and 5.9 assists per game, while increasing her 3-point shooting percentage by 18 points.
Miles was watching USC vs. Mississippi State game in real time as Watkins fell to the floor during a fast break.
“My heart breaks for those who have experienced it. I'm my worst enemy and I don't want that injury, so it's just tough,” Miles said. “I think the advice I give her is to spend time on her. There are many external factors, many people who want to see you sooner than you can, and you can hurry up your recovery, but the end of the day takes time.
It may take some time to see women's basketball fans bring Watkins back to the court again.
