Kim Mulkey Sends JuJu Watkins Supportive 3-Word Message After USC Star's ACL Tear
During the first quarter of the USC Trojans' second-round game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Monday, star sophomore JuJu Watkins fell to the floor while driving to the basket and immediately began wincing in pain and clutching her right knee.
After a few moments, Watkins was carried off the court by members of USC's training staff and headed into the locker room. While there was no update about the status of her injury while the game was underway, those who have watched enough sports (and therefore have seen enough injuries occur in real time) had a sinking feeling that Watkins might have suffered a torn ACL.
And this sentiment was confirmed after the game, as it was announced that Watkins suffered a torn ACL in her right knee and will require surgery. Not only will she miss the rest of this season, but she can also expect to miss an extended amount of time next season as well.
Several notable names within the women's basketball community have shown Watkins support. One is LSU Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey, who brought up the USC star's injury during her March 25 appearance on an ESPN radio show.
"Let me say this, guys, before I hang up: JuJu Watkins is a star in our game, and she went down last night with an ACL injury on really things you do in a game," Mulkey said. "Nobody did anything dirty, it was just so sad to watch and see. And I just knew when she went down that it was torn. You just know by the look of the knee, by the look on her face... just think about her and her family.
"And the thing I would tell her and her coach is, 'This is fixable. This is fixable,'" Mulkey continued.
She later added, "[Watkins is] such a great ambassador of our game and that's going to be the talk of the playoffs from here on."
Kim Mulkey on JuJu Watkins' injury on @OTB_ESPN:
— Matthew Brune (@MatthewBrune_) March 25, 2025
"JuJu Watkins is a star in our game and she went down last night with an ACL injury. Nobody did anything dirty, but it was so sad to watch. I just think about her and her family and the thing I would tell her is this is fixable.…
Mulkey saying "This is fixable" to Watkins and her head coach Lindsay Gottlieb speaks volumes, and is a strong showing of support from one of the best coaches in all of college basketball.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.