SPOKANE, Washington — That monster game by Paige Bueckers wasn’t just big for UConn.
It was big for JuJu Watkins and USC.
Bueckers dropping 40 points in the Sweet 16 on Saturday night is a reminder that ACL injuries don’t have to diminish star players. That you can not only come back, you can come back better.
“I do think it will be a source of inspiration for JuJu to see someone like Paige literally go through a similar thing, at about the same point in their careers, and come out the other side,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Sunday.
“Now obviously, we’re hoping that Monday night is not the showcase for that. We’re going to try and, you know, limit her to less than 40,” Gottlieb added. “But I think JuJu can see in real-time somebody that is thriving post-knee injury.”
Knee injuries are not uncommon in women’s basketball. Or women’s sports, for that matter. In this NCAA tournament alone, Bueckers, UConn teammate Azzi Fudd and Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles had their careers disrupted by torn ACLs.
That frequency doesn’t make them any less devastating or the rehab any less arduous.
“The toughest part was mentally,” Fudd said. “As an athlete, we know how to get through the hard stuff physically. Every day in practice is hard, during the season is hard, lifting is hard. So for me, it was mentally and just trying to figure out — trying to be in a good place that I can find positives in this rehab process when the only thing I want to do is be on the court with my team and playing.”
But knowing others have gone through it, and seeing them have success, can make a world of difference.
“I drew a lot of inspiration from my teammates, from people who came back from major injuries,” said Bueckers, who has already reached out to Watkins to offer her support. “Looking at them as a blueprint and a how-to and knowing their story, their journey, and how they came back from it and using it as an inspiration to what I wanted to accomplish.”
And no one is better to serve as a blueprint and inspiration for Watkins than Bueckers.
Their injuries occurred at similar points in their careers. Bueckers blew out her ACL the August before her junior season. Watkins, who got hurt last Monday night in a second-round game against Mississippi State, is a sophomore.
They are similarly transcendent players, able to dictate a game both offensively and defensively.
Mostly, though, Bueckers has the same supernova status as Watkins. Their injuries reverberated across all of women’s basketball, and Watkins’ recovery will be watched with the same bated breath as Bueckers’ was.
“When you understand what’s involved in the rehab here, how long this takes and how many dark days there are, and then they come out of it and you see something like (Bueckers’ 40-point performance), yeah, that’s the thing that keeps them going those 12 months,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
Though Watkins didn’t travel with USC, the Trojans have made a point of including her as if she’s here. The players wore T-shirts with her face and signature bun to Saturday’s game against Kansas State. They had a JuJu Funko Pop! with them on the bench.
“That was crazy and so fun and funny,” Gottlieb said. “That’s the best Funko Pop! of all time. The bun is perfect, the whole thing.”
The players also FaceTimed with Watkins from the locker room after the game.
“We’re all just kind of going through these un-navigated or uncharted territories,” Gottlieb said. “We want to keep her with us in every way that we can.”
But perhaps the best thing for Watkins right now is to know she can get through this. That she will recover from the injury and her game won’t suffer for it.
Bueckers offers proof of that.
Jaw-dropping as a 40-point game is, it doesn’t adequately convey how otherworldly Bueckers was against Oklahoma. She single-handedly outscored the Sooners in the second half, 29-23. She had 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, when she played just seven minutes.
She was 12 of 16 over the last 20 minutes, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
If Bueckers can do this on a rebuilt knee, it should give Watkins hope that she can, too.
“I think the strength of the person that’s being affected by it ultimately determines what the comeback looks like,” Auriemma said. “(Some) are very, very positive about it, very much attacking it like they attack the game, and I would think JuJu’s in that mold.
“For them, it’s another challenge. It’s another game to win. It’s another opponent that they have to beat,” Auriemma added. “And if you’re a competitor, if you’re somebody like Paige, somebody like JuJu … they come back better, they come back stronger, they come back more determined, more resilient, more understanding that they can fight through things and overcome just about anything.”
Injuries are temporary. Generational talent endures.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.