Juju Watkins had piled up a lot from the start – from the moment she stepped onto the USC campus, she was the one who brought the program back to the top of the mountain. This season, she is the player who will carry the power of stardom in women’s college basketball after Caitlin Clark.
It’s big on anyone’s shoulders, but she handles it very well. She thrives under this responsibility and blooms in the spotlight.
But last weekend, the biggest star in women’s college basketball was taken away after the end of the season ACL was torn apart. Her absence shocked USC fans and the women’s college basketball world was uneasy.
Some polite words from Juju Watkins🥹 pic.twitter.com/8symkuoucu
-ESPNW (@epnw) March 25, 2025
Salt in the wound? Advertisements featuring Watkins will continue during the NCAA Championship. She is now the biggest solo star in women’s college basketball, attracting celebrities’ red carpet-like turnout during her game at the Galen Center. The reception will thrive as an undeniable Hollywood storyline on its last four trips or the National Championship.
Although the prayers in Los Angeles were prayed for Watkins’ recovery, the problem surfaced: What about now? World Health Organization Now?
This is a fair question. This is in line with the response from Clark who repeatedly asked for a women’s basketball game when he set out for the WNBA last season. Will her numerous fans and millions of viewers create records in the 2024-25 college season and watch her drama records?
No one wants this season’s game to match last season’s record ratings, but progress cannot be measured only in annual growth. While no one wants the pre-season figures to reach Clark Mania’s heat, the trend continues in one direction: upward.
There were no Cinderellas, no major worries, no Clark in the first two rounds of the game. They have some knowledge of the drama that some people think is essential to attract audiences. However, the numbers don’t mean it – from second in the first two rounds, second in tournament history, 43% higher than in 2023, now is the third year in tournament history.
Like Clark, the game still shows her motivation. With Watkins missing for the rest of the game, this will be imminent, so there is no reason to think the sport is not enough to continue.
Because this question is not new.
Many people forget that Paige Bueckers did the same before Clark attracted the country. She is a freshman UConn star who won National Player of the Year in 2021 and became an early darling of a name, image and similar era. She then tore her ACL and missed the entire season, leaving questions about how the sport would last without a new prodigy filling the arena.
It was in the absence of Bueckers that Clark and Angel Reese emerged, emitting the gap that made the game more interested and pushed the sport to a higher horizon, which ultimately led to one of the most epic showdowns in tournament history. Last season, South Carolina’s unbeaten sports were led by coach Dawn Staley, one of the sports’ most influential figures. Gamecocks was tested by Clark’s dazzling display, attracting ratings and even dwarfing the high standards of 2023.
When Bueckers were out, Clark and Reese answered. The Bueckers did the same thing after going to the WNBA with Sabrina Ionescu in Oregon. Similarly, when Maya Moore graduated from UConn, fans were equally skeptical about the lack of star power.
The women’s competition proves time and time again what it will produce. Celebrities will appear and attract basketball fans.
Perhaps the answer isn’t as obvious as it was a week ago, when the country’s best players were leading a revival program and gaining national followers and instant recognition on a must-see journey.
Similar to Clark, Moore and others’ reactions, the coach also felt annoyed, trying to stop them, but appreciated everything they did for the game. Sometimes it’s easier to see growth from within.
If there is a coach who can prove the value of players like Watkins and their impact on the sport, it is UConn’s Geno Auriemma. He saw a phenomenon closer than anyone else, many people became so loved by people whose names (or abbreviations) could be quoted: Sue, Dee, Maya, Stewie.
Auriemma Saters conducted an interview with Storrs when ESPN broadcast covered its report in UConn’s second round victory after Bueckers scored 34 points. He was asked to answer quickly so that the broadcast could be transferred from the West Coast to the USC-Mississippi State game.
“Oh man, get out now and let’s go find her. I want to see her drama,” Orima said with a smile. “Juju is here. Give me some Juju!… Give me a Juju, take over!”
Geno calculates the broadcast, then throws it to Juju and tells her to “take over” >>>> https://t.co/ermnjnrp5d pic.twitter.com/a2sto3eh2a
— Tyler deluca (@tylerdeluca) March 25, 2025
The coach respects the great players; the game respects the game. (If only the latter has knee mercy.)
What’s next? Who is now?
That’s the decision for the next two weeks. But if we were told anything in the past, it was that the women’s championship would be delivered. The most elite talent is still in the game. Each No. 1 seed (UCLA, South Carolina, USC and Texas), 2 seeds (UConn, NC State, Duke and TCU) and 3 seeds (Notre Dame, LSU, LSU, North Carolina and Oklahoma). The spotlight is training for Bueckers, and as previous games have taught us, even casual audiences will be new fans of the game’s best players. Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and UCLA’s Lauren Betts are all examples of the season, and new young players are ready to surprise us.
In Spokane and Birmingham, the performance continued. The Nets will be cut. New stars will be made and crowned, and more familiar stars will bear the heavier burden.
USC without Watkins is different from before, nor is it a game without Watkins. But the best proof of Watkins’ greatness and star power is that the movement she is helping to build will continue to grow even in her absence.
(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
