SPOKANE, Wash. — In the wake of USC star JuJu Watkins’ season-ending knee injury, Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb said she has been overwhelmed by the support expressed to the program, university and women’s basketball at large.
“I do think the women’s basketball community is incredibly empathetic, and the people that (we) have built real relationships with, it’s meaningful when they reach out and try and offer support and advice,” Gottlieb said. “I think it speaks mostly to JuJu and who she is, and everybody wants her playing basketball, and everybody respects who she is as a person and as a player. And then for me, colleagues just try and give you the support to go forward and lead your team the way that you know you have to at this time.”
For better or worse, many within the women’s basketball community can empathize with Watkins, Gottlieb and the rest of USC for what they’re going through. Knee injuries have become one of the most common season-ending ailments in the sport.
Gottlieb said she’s heard from so many in the women’s basketball world, including WNBA legend Candace Parker, Lindsey Harding and UCLA coach Cori Close. One of the first messages came from UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who reached out with words of support, understanding her position considering his stars have gone through the same. Paige Bueckers missed the 2022-23 season with a season-ending ACL injury, and Azzi Fudd missed all but two games in 2023-24 with an ACL injury.
This is in the Annenberg School on our campus today. ❤️💛 pic.twitter.com/3VgERMUTLb
— Lindsay Gottlieb (@CoachLindsayG) March 27, 2025
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey also reached out. The fifth-year Irish coach knows all too well what it’s like to enter the postseason without the team’s top player. Olivia Miles tore her ACL at the end of the 2023 regular season and missed the entire postseason, as well as the 2023-24 season.
Though Watkins hasn’t publicly spoken since the injury less than a week ago, the women’s basketball community has rallied around her, especially with so many of those players who experienced season-ending ACL injuries now entering the Sweet 16. From Birmingham and Spokane, players offered support and advice.
“My heart breaks for anyone that goes through that. I wouldn’t wish that injury on my worst enemy,” Miles said from Birmingham, where the Irish are preparing to face TCU. “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.”
Bueckers echoed Miles’ sentiment. Her career has been interrupted multiple times with injuries. In addition to the ACL, a lateral meniscus tear and tibial plateau fracture during the 2021-22 season kept her out for much of the season.
Bueckers said she texted Watkins and offered support. The fifth-year senior has spoken about how she mentally struggled during her recoveries. She relied on her faith and began seeing a sports psychologist and said that she has reframed her mindset to consider that the injuries, setbacks and lessons made her stronger, which is what she believes can also happen for Watkins.
“Just learn to enjoy the process and learn to enjoy that this is a new trial that’s been placed in front of you, and as much as you think it’s devastating, and at the time, it’s the worst thing that can happen to you, how can you use it to better you? And how can you use it to just be another thing in life that you overcome and use to make you better?” Bueckers said. “Embrace the bad days. Embrace the good days. Embrace it all and enjoy it and know that everything in that journey is helping you get closer to playing basketball again.”
Fudd, who initially tore her ACL in high school before suffering the same injury at UConn, said this early period that Watkins is in is full of shock and disbelief, especially when — like Watkins — you’re a player who had been competing at such a high level in such a crucial part of the season.
Fudd got a bracelet with the word “purpose” on it so that during her rehab she remembered the reason why she was doing everything — to get back on the floor even stronger than she had been. She said she believes the same will happen for Watkins.
“I know that JuJu’s going to come back from this and attack her rehab how she has every single day playing basketball,” Fudd said. “I was nauseous hearing the news for her. You don’t want to see anyone go through it, but she’s going to come back stronger.”
Watkins’ timeline to return isn’t yet known, but the general ACL recovery lasts 10 to 12 months when surgery is required. In the short term, the Trojans have a quick turnaround as they prepare to face Kansas State on Saturday in the Sweet 16 without Watkins, a move that will likely see more minutes for freshmen such as Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel, and a more highlighted primary role for Kiki Iriafen.
“This team is locked in on continuing our goals, as JuJu wants us to. She’s proud of her teammates. She is with us a hundred percent in mind and spirit, if not in her actual body,” Gottlieb said. “And this team is really focused on continuing our journey and achieving our goals even though the path looks a little different than it did just a few days ago.”
(Photo of Paige Bueckers: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)