There is a temptation to treat JuJu Watkins’ return like a finished product. One game back, 21 points in 25 minutes, USC cruising past UNLV 100-68, and suddenly everyone wants to fast-forward to the inevitable next chapter. That is exactly the kind of rush Rachel DeMita pushed back on, and she was right to do it. The best version of Watkins, she said, is still to come.
That is not a slight. It is a warning to the rest of the sport. Watkins is the 2025 NCAA Player of the Year, she has already become a major talking point ahead of the 2027 WNBA Draft, and projected her as the No. 1 overall selection in its October 27 mock draft. The hype is obvious. The point DeMita made after the UNLV game is more subtle: a player coming off a serious injury does not simply snap back into her ceiling because the box score looks good.
The comeback is real, but the ceiling is still loading
Watkins has been sidelined for 588 days, a 19-month absence that followed the ACL tear she suffered in 2025 shortly after winning the 2025 NCAA Player of the Year award. That matters. It matters because an ACL return is not just about whether a player can get on the floor. It is about timing, rhythm, confidence, and the long grind of getting the body back to where the mind wants it to be.
DeMita’s point was simple enough. Watkins looked like she did not miss a step, but that does not mean fans have already seen the sharpest, most complete version of her. She noted that the UNLV game was a small sample size and that Watkins will likely keep getting better as the season goes on. That is the uncomfortable truth for anyone eager to declare the comeback complete after one polished night.
And really, the minutes restriction tells you everything. Lindsay Gottlieb said USC is still being intentional about ramping Watkins up, which means the program is not pretending this is finished business. Watkins played 25 minutes against UNLV and still found 21 points, but there is a difference between being available and being unleashed. That gap is where the real story lives.
The WNBA Draft attention will not go away, of course. It should not. Watkins is already being discussed like a franchise-changing prospect, and with her turning 22 on July 15 next year, the timeline only sharpens the conversation. But the obsession with the destination can obscure the present. She does not need to be rushed into a coronation. She needs games, reps, and time.
That is why DeMita’s comment hit a nerve. It was not negative. It was realistic. Watkins has already shown enough talent to justify the buzz. What she has not yet shown, and what no one should expect immediately, is the fully restored version of herself. That player may be coming. In fact, the evidence suggests she probably is. But after 588 days out, pretending otherwise would be nonsense.
