The crowd sat in hushed disbelief, struggling to process a scene that seemed ripped straight out of their worst nightmares: USC’s superstar laying crumpled on the court, clutching her right knee, her cries rising to the rafters where she hoped a banner would soon hang.
JuJu Watkins, for the better part of two seasons, had felt nothing short of invincible, surpassing every sensible expectation with stunning grace for a sophomore, never wavering even as she bore the weight of an entire program on her back.
But now, at the start of the Trojans’ tournament run, Watkins bumped into Mississippi State’s Chandler Prater and her knee buckled beneath her.