JuJu Watkins Returns for USC After 589 Days Away From College Basketball
In Los Angeles, California, USC women's basketball star JuJu Watkins returned to the court on November 2, playing a college basketball game for the first time in 589 days. Her first game back came against UNLV, tipping off at 4 p.m. ET on CBSSN.
Watkins tore the ACL in her right knee during the 2025 NCAA Tournament, an injury that ended USC's title run that season and kept her out for the entire 2025-26 season. She is the 2025 winner of both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Player of the Year award; in the season she missed, USC went 18-14 while freshman Jazzy Davidson won National Freshman of the Year honors.
Watkins now leads a USC team ranked No. 3 in the nation in pursuit of a national championship, with crosstown rival UCLA as the defending champion. Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Watkins is "stronger, faster, in her best shape ever," while adding that the staff will be intentional about her minutes and listen to the medical team. Watkins said before the game that she might get emotional: "I still want to win. I haven't lost my confidence. I haven't lost my attention to detail."
(Source: USA TODAY)
Source: USA TODAY
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Photo: 图：JuJu Watkins。All-Pro Reels 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: JuJu Watkins. By All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
