UConn Stars Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd Empathize With JuJu Watkins Amid ACL Injury

UConn Huskies superstars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd shared messages of support to USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins.

Dec 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) and USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) on the court in the first half at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

USC Trojans superstar sophomore JuJu Watkins suffered an ACL tear during her team's second-round NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State on March 24.

This not only means that Watkins will miss the rest of this 2025 NCAA Tournament but will also miss much (if not all) of the 2025-26 season.

UConn Huskies superstars Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers have both experienced ACL tears during their college careers. And when speaking with the media on March 28, both players sent well wishes toward their former opponent.

"The first week was devastation. A sense of hurt, disappointment, a 'Why me?' mentality," Bueckers said when explaining her mindset after tearing her ACL in 2022, per an X post from SNY.

"But then your motivation, your strength, your faith, peace, kicks in... and then surgery happens, and you know that every single day that passes by is a day closer to you getting to play basketball again. So for JuJu, your heart breaks for her, just the devastation, especially during the tournament of not being able to be out there with your team during the most important part of the year.

"So I know we empathize for her, we've been there, and we know how much it sucks," Bueckers added while looking at Fudd. "But you don't get to be as good as JuJu if you don't have a great motor, a great work ethic. And she's going to attack this process just as she's attacked basketball.

"Disappointed for her, but know she'll be back better than ever, and this will just be a setback to the great story she'll have."

"You don't get to be as good as JuJu if you don't have a great motor, a great work ethic - she's going to attack this process just as she's attacked basketball. Disappointed for her, but know she'll be back better than ever."

Paige Bueckers on JuJu Watkins' ACL injury: pic.twitter.com/xRx2kpp6zx

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) March 28, 2025

Fudd added on to that by saying, "I remember just kind of shock, a little disbelief the first week... and then like Paige said, once you have surgery, every day is one day closer to you being back on the floor."

She later said, "I know that JuJu is going to come back from this and attack her rehab, how she has every single day playing basketball like normal. But I was nauseous hearing the news for her. You don't want to see anyone go through it, but she's gonna come back stronger."

Azzi Fudd said she was "nauseous" hearing the news about JuJu Watkins' injury.

"You don't want to see anyone go through it, but she's going to come back stronger."

— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) March 28, 2025

Hopefully this empathy from these two Huskies stars gives Watkins strength in what's surely a tough time.