The 2025 March Madness ended on a shocking note! The USC star and the college basketball superstar in making, guard JuJu Watkins, injured herself during the 2nd round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament against Mississippi State when her knee bent awkwardly as she planted her right foot on a fast break five minutes. When she fell, she grabbed her right knee in pain, her face clearly signaling it was more serious than it seemed. The coaches, trainers, and other support staff ran. Alas, it was too late. The loss was done.
As expected, it became the talking point of all major shows in America. Even soccer star Megan Rapinoe and basketball player Sue Bird gave their 2 cents about her injury on the March 27 episode of their podcast, A Touch More, Rapinoe gave her moral support from her experience and said, “While it’s like utterly devastating, it still feels like that, like she’s going to be totally fine…I feel like she’s going to be totally fine, she’ll come back. This will be a blip on her radar in the grand scheme.”
NCAA, College League, USA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round USC-Mississippi State Mar 24, 2025 Los Angeles, California, USA USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins 12 grabs her knee after falling g to the floor during the first quarter of an NCAA Tournament second round game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Galen Center. Los Angeles Galen Center California USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xRobertxHanashirox 20250324_neb_wr6_0278
Just like JuJu Watkins, Rapinoe also suffered a grave injury when she tore her ACL while playing at the University of Portland in 2006. Moreover, she tore it again next year and for the 3rd time in 2015, when she was 30 years old. But the injuries made her strong. It made her work hard to find that inner strength.
Sue Bird agreed with this logic. She also dug some jewels from her past to provide more support to Watkins. She also talked about her injury and how she felt while watching her falling to the ground. But she gave the clear message to stay strong and said, “This marks a long rehab. This marks a test physically and mentally, but it is not the end of anything. It is just the end of this particular run. And JuJu will be fine. She’ll be back on the court. When I tore my ACL, it changed my life, it changed my career. I get that it feels like a death sentence, but if there’s one thing I could tell JuJu, it’s not.”
It’s a test of life. Being a professional is hard, particularly when you play at the highest level. Last month, against UCLA, JuJu Watkins became the first Division I player in 20 seasons with at least 35 points, five blocks, and five assists in a game. The injury shook everyone from the NCAA. Not only the USC, but their rivals also called the head coach to enquire about her well-being.
Juju Watkins receives support from another soccer legend!
Megan Rapinoe isn’t the first soccer star to send messages of support. After the guard got injured on March 25, USWNT icon Alex Morgan was also heartbroken. Her media and commerce company, Togethxr, shared a series of emotional messages for the NCAA star.
The first post showed the different prayers from legends across the sports for Juju Watkins. They shared the 2nd photo with the statement from USC. To sum up their feelings, they aptly captioned it, “Everyone’s sending love to @jujubballin (heart emoji).” The injury also rattled Morgan, who shared the post in her IG story with ‘(2x praying hand emoji)‘ to show her concern.
The live action from the game or the highlights were enough to startle everyone. USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb had a sudden rush of feelings upon seeing her game-winner withering in pain. She admitted, “I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor crying.”
Overall, it’s a waiting game now. They need to wait for the player to undergo surgery followed by recovery. How do you think the future would pan out for the young star? Let us know in the comments below.
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