UConn's Geno Auriemma Gives Honest JuJu Watkins ACL Injury Return Assessment

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma detailed how he would imagine JuJu Watkins will handle her ACL injury recovery.

Apr 1, 2022; Minneapolis, MN, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to the media after defeating the Stanford Cardinal in the Final Four semifinals of the women's college basketball NCAA Tournament at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

There will be a cloud hanging over the highly anticipated Elite Eight matchup between the UConn Huskies and USC Trojans women's basketball teams on Monday because of how the Trojans will be without star sophomore JuJu Watkins, who suffered a torn ACL during her team's second-round NCAA Tournament game on March 24.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma spoke about Watkins' injury on March 28, saying. “I feel terrible for JuJu personally knowing the players I’ve had that had to go through that... The effect that it has on the tournament is huge from a competitive standpoint, star power."

Huskies superstars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd both tore their ACLs while in college, so Auriemma is well aware of what it takes to return to form after such an injury. And during a March 30 press conference, he detailed what sort of player he expects Watkins to be once she returns to the court.

"The strength is the person that's being affected by it ultimately determines what the comeback looks like," Auriemma said, per an X post from SNY. "Some people, they go into a long, deep depressive state, and it takes them a long time to get out of it, and it gets their progress back.

"And others are very positive about it, very much attacking it like they attack the game. And I would think JuJu is in that mold," Auriemma continued.

"And I don't know of anyone that I've coached that suffered an injury like this, that was the quality of player we're talking about, that didn't come back better," he added. "That's what makes them who they are. For them, it's another challenge, it's another game to win, it's another opponent that they have to beat."

"I don't know of anyone that I've coached that suffered an injury like this that was the quality of player we're talking about that didn't come back better. That's what makes them who they are."

Geno Auriemma on JuJu Watkins: pic.twitter.com/ecPUJUObtF

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) March 30, 2025

This sentiment from Auriemma must have Trojans fans feeling better about how Watkins will look once her injury is healed.