JuJu Watkins. Photo:
Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire/Getty
University of Southern California basketball sophomore JuJu Watkins tore her ACL in the team’s NCAA Tournament win on Monday, reportedly ending the superstar’s season and upending the sport’s biggest month.
Watkins, 19, suffered the torn ACL on a drive to the basket five minutes into her team’s dominating 96-59 win over Mississippi State.
ESPN first reported that a school spokesperson announced that Watkins plans to have season-ending surgery and begin physical rehab. Recovery from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury usually requires six to nine months, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say this not only changed the tenor of this game, but potentially the tournament,” ESPN broadcaster Elle Duncan told viewers at halftime, adding, “This totally sucks.”
Watkins — who touts more than one million followers on Instagram, appears in television commercials and has her own docuseries — averages 23.9 points per game and is a top contender for the AP Women’s Player of the Year award, one year after winning the WBCA Freshman of the Year award. She’s been named a unanimous All-American selection in each of her first two college seasons.
JuJu Watkins. Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire/Getty
USC, led by Watkins, earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and is one of the teams with the best odds to win the championship, according to ESPN. However, those odds likely decrease without the team’s top scorer and leader in assists (3.4 per game).
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The Los Angeles native’s injury sent shockwaves throughout the women’s game on Monday night, with several WNBA stars reacting on social media.
“Prayers for Juju!” wrote Chicago Sky and former LSU star Angel Reese. Aliyah Boston, who also plays for the Sky, and current LSU star Flau’jae Johnson posted similar well wishes.
JuJu Watkins. Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire/Getty
Basketball commentator Seth Davis summed up the reactions in a one-word post on X: “Awful.”
After Monday night’s game, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb told reporters she was “heartbroken” over Watkins’ injury. “I hope she can at some point see just the significance that she has here that goes so far beyond just her talent and abilities,” Gottlieb said. “I mean that’s really what is generational about it, the way she’s galvanized everyone.”
USC advanced to the Sweet 16 with Monday night’s win but will carry on without its star shooting guard. The Trojans will play No. 5 seed Kansas State on Saturday night.
