Women's Fastbreak On SI

Caitlin Clark Needed No Words for Fresh Display of JuJu Watkins Love

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark showed more love to USC Trojans icon JuJu Watkins on Saturday.
Grant Young|
Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Former Iowa Hawkeyes player Caitlin Clark speaks after the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against the USC Trojans. The Hawkeyes retired Clark’s jersey after the game. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Former Iowa Hawkeyes player Caitlin Clark speaks after the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against the USC Trojans. The Hawkeyes retired Clark’s jersey after the game. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

While the USC Trojans women's basketball advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with a win against Kansas State on March 29, they did so without their star player JuJu Watkins, who suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during the team's second-round game on March 24.

There has been an outpouring of support from the women's basketball community ever since this injury occurred, with Watkins' peers, competing coaches, and basketball legends all sharing words of wisdom, advice, and sympathy for the 19-year-old ahead of what's going to be a long road to getting back to the basketball court.

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was one of the many people who have shown Watkins support in the aftermath of the ACL injury, as she made an X post on March 25 that read, "Sending all my thoughts and prayers to JuJu. Kid will come back stronger than ever ❤️."

Given that Clark isn't often on social media, her sharing this message was cool to see. And that wasn't the only heart-centric display she has sent Watkins' way.

Before USC's Sweet Sixteen game on March 29, Clark reposted an Instagram post from Gatorade that showed a photo of Watkins, captioned "Setbacks Only Set The Stage," to her story, and added an ❤️ emoji.

While Watkins hasn't spoken in an interview since the injury, she hosted a watch party in Los Angeles during USC's game on Saturday and could be seen FaceTiming her teammates in the locker room after they secured the win.

Both Clark and Watkins will likely be tuning in for the Elite Eight showdown between USC and UConn on Monday.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

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