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USC’s JuJu Watkins earns Team USA senior camp invite despite ACL injury
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- USC’s JuJu Watkins earns Team USA senior camp invite despite ACL injury
The post USC's JuJu Watkins earns Team USA senior camp invite despite ACL injury appeared first on ClutchPoints .
JuJu Watkins may be out for the season, but she's still being tapped for a Team USA honor ahead of the 2026 FIBA World Cup. The USC women's basketball star will join Lauren Betts as the only two NCAA players invited to join USA Basketball's senior team training camp for the first time in their young careers after both won gold medals in junior-level competition.
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The reigning Wooden Award winner will sadly be unable to participate in on-court drills as a result of her ACL injury. However, Watkins will still attend to learn about the women's national team's program and operations so that she remains an eligible choice for Team USA's final lineup.
Watkins is currently sitting out the college basketball season as she recovers from an ACL tear. She suffered the serious injury during the Trojans' matchup against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, ending her time in the tournament and keeping her on the sidelines for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
The training camp is meant to be an opportunity to evaluate players to decide who will end up making the final Team USA roster for the World Cup in September of next year. New national team managing director and WNBA legend Sue Bird will have her work cut out for her, as the team will be gunning for its fifth-straight gold medal in the event.
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The senior-level training camp will take place at Duke University from December 12-14 and will be led by current Blue Devils head coach Kara Lawson. WNBA head coaches Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries , Stephanie White of the Indiana Fever , and the Phoenix Mercury 's Nate Tibbets will join Lawson as court coaches.
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