USC Trojans' Basketball Standards Set High Despite JuJu Watkins' Injury

USC Trojans basketball star JuJu Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL injury in their second-round NCAA Tournament game. The Trojans now look ahead while rallying around her recovery. The 2025-26 season awaits USC after a successful postseason making it to the Elite Eight.

Despite the star having to sit out the upcoming season, the Trojans can still be Big Ten title contenders and in the race for a national championship.

Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb recounted Watkins' injury and the emotions not only Watkins’ team felt, but all of college basketball.

Lindsay Gottlieb and Juju Watkins — Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

“Anytime a player goes down with a significant injury, it is brutal,” Gottlieb told HOOPS HQ. “But I don’t remember anything like that. What we all experienced in that arena when she got hurt was just indescribable. But especially, you know, for someone you know, like JuJu, it was so heartbreaking, not just for us but for basketball.”

Watkins remains one of the more influential female figures in college basketball – her talent and passion for the game has helped inspire many and has brought recognition to women's basketball.

Despite her 8-12 month recovery, the Trojans are in good hands with talent and can temporarily fill Watkins’ talent gap.

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In head coach Lindsay Gottliebs’ four seasons with the Trojans, she’s helped USC set the bar higher and higher every year. In the 2022-23 season, USC finished 21-10 and earned the Trojans their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2014. The following season they finished 29-6 with an Elite Eight appearance.

In a new season for the Trojans, Gottlieb turns towards the young talent to help shape another USC team that competes with the best in college basketball.

The Trojans' most notable recruit is 6-foot-1 Jazzy Davidson, a guard from Clackamas, Oregon who finished her high school season at the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class.

Davidson took her talents internationally as she helped the U.S. win gold at the 2024 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary last summer. She also averaged 11.3 points per game, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Buenos Aires, Agrentina.

“We always felt like we had the best player in class, and it’s not a knock on anyone in any way,” Gottlieb said to HOOPS HQ, "Jazzy has it all as a basketball player.”

Alongside Davidson is 6-foot-1 guard Kennedy Smith. The sophomore ranked third on the team as a freshman in points with 9.1.

The Trojans, however, lost their veteran stars to the WNBA and the transfer portal following the NCAA Tournament – Which set Gottlieb out to do some heavy recruiting.

USC added 5-foot-11 guard Kara Dunn from Georgia Tech – the second-team All ACC player averaged 15.5 points per game and averaged 49.9 percent shooting from the field. Londynn Jones, a guard from UCLA, also joined the Trojans elite line of transfers. Jones earned All-Big Ten honors and set the single-season record with the Bruins for most threes as a sophomore.

Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb reacts during the fourth quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

As the recruiting and rebuilding takes place with Watkins watching from the sidelines, Gottlieb reminds fans that their high standards still stand and will continue to actively pursue a winning mindset.

“You have to adapt and change and allow players and really embrace players having these opportunities that they have, but still make it about the team and what looks like winning basketball,” Gottlieb said. “And I think they should expect us to surprise some people because our standards and our goals haven’t changed.”