Birmingham, Alabar knee injury of the season Monday evening.
It was “really difficult” to see Watkins in pain, said the southern Caroline women’s basketball coach.
“Juju is loved by all of us,” added Staley.
Coaches and players throughout women’s basketball, as well as game fans, feel the impact of Watkins’ injury. The Guard USC Dominant and the first team of Associated Press All-American will probably miss an important time, leaving the sport without one of its most transcendent stars during the madness of March.
The way in which Watkins’ absence will affect the Sweet 16 Women’s Sweet 16, although attendance and notes are down last season’s record peaks for the female tournament that featured Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. But that shouldn’t be surprised.
After the record figures that listened to the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird confrontation in the 1979 national championship, the 1980 tournament notes fell signage.
“Juju increases and raises our game with the way she plays,” said Staley, whose gamecocks will face Maryland on Friday in Sweet 16, “with Curring The Market with regard to zero transactions. It is itself a business. And to see part of this is not part of our NCAA tournament – something is missing.
During the first two laps of this year’s female tournament, 224,972 fans were present, which represents a drop of 30% compared to the last season record which saw 292,456 people present themselves. However, the brand of this year is the third highest of all time, also dragging the 231,677 which came to March Madness in 2023.
The grades also dropped, the first round on average 367,000 viewers in the 32 games. It is a drop of 22% compared to last season. But these figures are up 43% compared to the 2023 tournament, which was the second most observed.
“It’s a huge disappointment because she is such an extraordinary player,” said Rebecca Lobo, basketball analyst at ESPN College. “People were watching her for the first time in the regional championships. It is a huge disappointment and a breath because we had so much growth in last year and a half.
“She did a large part.”
Watkins has become the face of female university basketball
Watkins’s knee tried clumsily as it hovered her right foot on a quick break at five minutes USC’s victory against the state of Mississippi in the second round. She immediately greeted and collapsed on the ground before being swept away by several people, unable to put weight on her leg. The USC later declared that it would have been operated on and then rehabilitates.
After the injury, many went to social networks to express their sorrow and send encouragement, in particular Johnson,, Reese and Clark.
“Sending all my thoughts and prayers to Juju,” Clark posted On X. “Kid will come back stronger than ever.”
Watkins had become the next face of female university basketball after Clark raised his profile at unprecedented levels during his stay at Iowa. The 6 -foot Watkins 2 inch led USC to its The deepest run of the NCAA tournament In more than 25 years last season and was marker No. 2 of the country, with an average of 27.1 points.
She has Nile agreements with Nike, Fanatics, Snack Maker Mondelez, United Airlines, Deamp Deodrant, State Farm, Gatorade and Collectable Company Funkko, among others. And his evaluation draw is one of the country’s highest at around $ 739,000, according to ON3.com.
Celebrities everywhere in the Los Angeles stars flocked to the USC Galen Center to watch it play this season, including the movie star Michael B. Jordan, rapper Snoop Dogg and Vanessa Bryant.
Paige Bueckers and others should fill the void
While this year’s field is full of individual talents and many contenders in the legitimate title, many were delighted to watch Watkins continue her stellar season – in which she has an average of 24.6 points – and potentially lead Trojan horses to their first national championship in 41 years.
“My mother played basketball in Santa Clara, so I was sort of operated in the tournament,” said Claire Swenden, 22, who is in Spokane, Washington, for the other half of the Sweet 16. “I planned to attend one of the UCONN and USC games.
There are still big names in the tournament that resonates with fans, including the Senior of Connecticut, Paige Bueckers, who also had to bounce back from an LCA injury and made his last race in a national championship. Uconn’s victory is over South Dakota State was the most watched match in the second round, attracting an average of 1.7 million viewers in ESPN on Monday evening.
Watkins “will come back better and louder,” said UCLA Cori Cori Corri Corner. “… she is so fighting. She will be ready. That said, I have the impression that it is time for the country of the country to really intensify and to see some of the other incredible players who are ready to shine. I am so sad that Juju no longer plays in the tournament, but I am excited for the other players who will enter.”
There are a lot of talented players in the field of women, but little with the power of Watkins star.
“What have we seen last year with the epic battle with the LSU and Iowa?” Lobo, a member of the basketball renowned temple who won an NCAA title with UCONN, requested rhetorically. “We had the potential to obtain a similar type of revenge in the elite eight of it” with a Watkins-Bueckers match.
“Even if USC and UCONN are there,” added Lobo, “it will not be the same without Juju. These are the biggest stars in women’s basketball. One of them is huge.”
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Basketball writer AP Doug Feinberg and AP sports writer, Anne Peterson, contributed. Peterson contributed from Spokane, Washington.
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AP March Madness Bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and cover: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
