Starting Five: UConn empathizes with USC, JuJu Watkins

After UConn thrashed South Dakota State on Monday night to punch its ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, Geno Auriemma joined the ESPN broadcast crew for a postgame interview. As Rebecca Lobo asked him a question, Beth Mowins chimed in to request he cap his answer at one minute long.

“We gotta get to JuJu (Watkins),” she said.

“Oh man,” Auriemma replied. “Get off me right now, let’s get there. I want to watch her play.”

The coach never got the chance. A few minutes later, Watkins went down with a non-contact knee injury in USC’s second round matchup with Mississippi State — a torn ACL. Auriemma found out when he got back to the locker room after finishing his postgame media obligations.

“I still haven't seen it. I've seen enough of those in my career,” Auriemma said. “I didn't want to see another one.”

He’s not the only one. Paige Bueckers, who dealt with her own knee injuries — first a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear that kept her out 19 games in 2021-22 then a torn ACL that ended her 2022-23 campaign before it began — couldn’t bear to see the replay.

“I didn't watch the video. I can't watch that stuff. It makes me sick and ill,” she said.

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