K-State's Jeff Mittie Offers Sympathetic Message To Juju Watkins After Injury
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Kansas State women's coach Jeff Mittie couldn't address the upcoming USC matchup without recognizing star guard Juju Watkins' season-ending ACL tear. The Trojans standout is one of the most prominent players in the nation, and her injury took a shot at USC's national championship odds.
Mittie offered a word of inspiration, comparing Watkins' injury to what the Wildcats experienced with star center Ayoka Lee this season. Lee's injury wasn't season-ending, but her absence impacted Kansas State as they lost three of four heading into the Tournament.
"I think it's unfortunate when any player goes down, not just the great players," Mittie said in the pregame Wednesday afternoon. "All these players work so much to play in this time of the year. JuJu's play certainly inspires a lot of people. We been through it with Ayoka Lee. It stinks every time you have to go through it. It stinks for the players. The good news is we've seen players come back, as we've seen Ayoka come back. That wasn't the case 20 years ago, so we've come further that way."
Mittie detailed the game plan for Kansas State, who now have to adjust its focus away from Watkins as the central playmaker.
"There's not a lot of clips without her on the floor," Mittie said. "But they played so well without her. Every team has probably dealt with some of that. We'll just do the best we can in terms of what they run. My guess is they won't get too far away, but somebody's gotta take those minutes. So we'll take a look at all the rotations they use."
Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.
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