After being out for 588 days since tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in a season-ending injury, USC guard JuJu Watkins finally made her triumphant return during the Trojans’ season-opener against UNLV. Watkins led the team to a 100-68 victory with 21 points, five rebounds, and two assists in her first game back, but not everyone is impressed.
Hoops analyst and YouTuber Mick Curley explained on X why he doesn’t believe all the hype about Watkins, noting that the guard misses most of her shots and saying he doesn’t think she’ll be as good as Paige Bueckers or Caitlin Clark, two guards dominating the WNBA.
“Am I the only person that’s not entirely sold on JuJu? She’s going to be a great player but I just don’t see her on the same stratosphere offensively as Paige/Caitlin She’s a 40% shooter at the NCAA level. Just because her buckets look pretty doesn’t change that fact,” he tweeted.
Watkins only shot 40.9% from the field against UNLV, and she was not the top scorer on her own team. Jazzy Davidson had a team-high 23 points on 90.9% shooting for the Trojans, along with five rebounds and four assists.
Watkins missed the 2025-2026 season due to injury, but she averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game on 42.6% shooting in the season prior.
JuJu Watkins In Tears After Emotional Return
JuJu Watkins was a bit rusty in her return, as she went 9-for-22 from the field, missing all five of her three-point attempts. However, she was still in double digits and was very emotional after returning from an injury that saw her miss her entire junior season at USC.
She was teary-eyed in her post-game interview with CBS Sports’ Jamie Erdahl, saying how proud she was of Jazzy Davidson and that they were all still trying to learn.
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