LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California’s JuJu Watkins is back on the court preparing for the upcoming college basketball season over 14 months after one of the biggest stars of the women’s game suffered a torn ACL.
“I’m just really blessed to be here, feeling back like myself and being able to practice with the team,” Watkins said Monday. “It’s been a long time coming. I’ve just been working out, grinding every day so that I could be in this position, so to see all of that hard work kind of pay off right now is really fulfilling.”
Watkins missed the entire 2025-26 season as she recovered from the injury she suffered in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
“She’s back on the court and it’s just a beautiful thing to see,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.
Watkins and Gottlieb didn’t get into specifics about the guard’s status, although Watkins said she’s been able to scrimmage. The Trojans are in their third week of summer camp.
“She’s stronger, faster, in her best shape ever,” Gottlieb said. “The work that she put in is something that is going to speak volumes.”
Teammate Kennedy Smith said, “She’s back like she never left.”
That’s welcome news for the Trojans.
After back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight, USC went 18-14 overall last season and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind Big Ten freshman of the year Jazzy Davidson. She carried the load in Watkins’ absence, averaging 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
Watkins was a regular presence on the bench, offering support and encouragement to Davidson and her other teammates. At road games, she would set up chairs in the locker room for team talks.
“They just kind of gave me a job because I couldn’t sit still,” she said, smiling.
Gottlieb could relate to Watkin’s injury and long recovery as more than her coach. She tore her ACL before her senior year of high school. Like Watkins, it led her to view the game from a different perspective.
“I said there’s things that are going to come from this that you cannot possibly know right now that someday you’re going to be grateful for,” Gottlieb said she told Watkins.
Watkins received support from Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers, who tore her ACL at UConn in 2022 and was cleared to resume playing a year later. Bueckers was “constantly checking up on me, sending me texts,” Watkins said.
“Every person in the WNBA world who had gone through that just had nothing but love and support for me, so I really appreciate that,” she said.
Watkins kept her recovery mostly private, inadvertently building a huge level of excitement for her impending return. The Trojans open the season on Nov. 2 against UNLV in Las Vegas.
“Just seeing her on the court, it’s really surreal,” Davidson said.
Watkins will be instantly recognizable with her sleek high bun, which she’s called her superpower.
“It’ll be back,” she said, smiling.
AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
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