The college basketball world just got its spark back.
After 15 agonizing months spent on the sidelines watching from a distance, USC superstar JuJu Watkins is finally back on the hardwood. Monday marked her official return to full-team practice at USC, a massive milestone for a program that spent the last year trying to survive without its centerpiece. For anyone who watched the Trojans grind through a frustrating 18-14 campaign last season, her presence changes everything overnight.
"I’m really blessed to just be here, you know, feeling back like myself," Watkins told reporters after stepping off the court. "To see all the hard work kind of pay off right now, it’s really fulfilling."
Let's not downplay what this means. We aren't just talking about a good player returning from an injury. We're talking about a generational talent who took home the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year, and Wooden Award before an ACL tear halted her momentum on March 24, 2025.
The Long Road from March 2025
When Watkins went down against Mississippi State in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament, a collective groan echoed across women's basketball. The right ACL tear didn't just end her sophomore run; it cost her the entire 2025-26 season.
Rehab is a lonely, brutal process. It involves countless hours of mundane strengthening exercises, slow progression from pool workouts to solo shooting, and an immense mental hurdle. Watkins spent the past year leaning heavily on her close support circle, which includes WNBA star Paige Bueckers—someone who unfortunately knows a thing or two about navigating major knee surgeries.
But instead of letting the year go to waste, Watkins used the time to completely re-evaluate how she plays the game.
Sitting on the bench gave her a view she never had while running the point. She spent hours analyzing her own tape, focusing on efficiency and finding ways to slow her internal clock down. She openly admitted that the time off allowed her to figure out how to get to her spots with less wasted energy and how to get her teammates involved more naturally. That intellectual growth should terrify the rest of the Big Ten.
How USC Survived the Void
To understand how high the ceiling is for the 2026-27 Trojans, you have to look at what happened while Watkins was gone. Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb was forced to fast-track a young roster.
Without their leading scorer, the Trojans stumbled to a 9-9 record in conference play, scraping into the Big Ten tournament and eventually earning a No. 9 seed in the Big Dance. They managed an emotional overtime win against Clemson before running head-first into a powerhouse South Carolina squad that handed them a harsh 101-61 reality check in the Round of 32.
It was a tough season to watch, but it wasn't a total loss.
The silver lining came in the form of Jazzy Davidson. The top recruit took home National Freshman of the Year honors, proving she could carry a massive offensive burden by dropping 31 points in her NCAA tournament debut. Now, instead of Davidson being forced to do everything alone, she gets to pair up with a healthy Watkins.
Junior guard Kennedy Smith highlighted that Watkins' competitive drive has been missed in live action. "Her mentality is something that we all kind of inspire to be like," Smith noted on Monday.
What to Expect Next for the Trojans
USC is currently in week three of their eight-week summer session. This isn't the time for full-throttle, game-speed scrimmages quite yet, but having Watkins participating in live drills sets a completely different tone for the summer.
The immediate next step for the coaching staff is figuring out how to blend the old with the new. Gottlieb has a roster featuring the reigning Freshman of the Year in Davidson, experienced pieces like Smith, and a healthy former National Player of the Year returning to run the show.
For the fans wondering about the small details—yes, Watkins confirmed her signature high bun will absolutely be making a return to the court this winter.
USC opens its season with a highly anticipated matchup against UNLV. Expect the Galen Center to be absolutely packed. The road back from a torn ACL is never truly finished until you take that first real hit in a live game, but Monday proved that the hardest part of the journey is firmly in the rearview mirror.
