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USA Today
14-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jayson Tatum injury draws parallels to Juju Watkins
Jayson Tatum injury draws parallels to Juju Watkins Jayson Tatum, like JuJu Watkins, endures the cruelty of sports and an untimely injury For those who are unaware, while I graduated from USC and now live in Los Angeles, I was born and raised in the Greater Boston area. Hence, am have been a massive Boston Celtics fan since I started watching basketball at seven years old. (I even own a custom Drew Peterson Celtics jersey, which I bought after last season's championship.) Obviously, I was devastated after seeing star Jayson Tatum go down with an injury in Monday's playoff game, and the subsequent news Tuesday that he underwent surgery to repair a torn achilles. After the initial shock wore off, however, my thoughts shifted towards another basketball injury that I remember all too well: Juju Watkins's ACL tear. The parallels between the two situations are striking. Both Tatum and Watkins are superstar players who entered the postseason looking to lead their respective teams to glory. Instead, however, both suffered severe injuries in the second round that not only prematurely ended their championship quests, but will likely keep them out for the majority of next season as well. Both players are still quite young—Tatum is 27, while Watkins is just 19. While fans are generally confident that both will be able to return to elite levels of play, there are major questions surrounding what their respective teams will look like in their absences, as well as when they finally return to the court, potentially not until the fall of 2026. There is one key difference between the two situations: Tatum and the Celtics already won a championship last year. While Watkins has taken the USC program to new heights—Elite Eights, conference titles, and No. 1 seeds—this was supposed to be the year that the Trojans finally broke through and reached their first Final Four since the days of Cheryl Miller. With Watkins now sidelined for the foreseeable future, there are now much more uncertainty regarding if/when that will happen. Differences aside, though, both situations are incredibly sad to watch unfold. With both the Celtics and the Women of Troy, 2025 was supposed to mark the dawn of a potential dynasty, with Tatum and Watkins leading the way. After severe injuries to both star players, however, there are now major question marks surrounding the futures of both teams. With one bad plant of a foot, both Boston and USC went from perennial contenders to organizations with massive questions in a nanosecond.
Indianapolis Star
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana basketball adds assistant coach who developed NBA talent from Tennessee
Rod Clark is leaving Tennessee basketball after four seasons as an assistant coach on Rick Barnes ' staff, Clark told Knox News. Clark was hired to join Darian DeVries's staff at Indiana. DeVries was hired in March to replace Mike Woodson. DeVries coached at West Virginia last season after six seasons at Drake. Clark was on staff for some of the best seasons in Tennessee history. Tennessee won an SEC Tournament title in 2022 and an SEC regular-season title in 2024 with Clark on staff. It also went to back-to-back Elite Eights for the first time in program history in 2024 and 2025. It also reached a Sweet 16 in 2023. Rod Clark was instrumental in Vols landing Dalton Knecht, Chaz Lanier Clark, 32, was instrumental in Tennessee's recruiting efforts, including in the transfer portal. Notably, he spearheaded UT's recruitment of Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Clark headed the recruitment and secured an April 2023 visit from Knecht. The 6-foot-6 guard went on to win the SEC player of the year award and had one of the most impressive seasons in Vols basketball history. Knecht was a first-team All-American, the fourth consensus first-teamer in UT history. Lanier followed in the 2024 portal class from North Florida. He set the Tennessee single-season record with 123 3-pointers. The 6-5 guard earned multiple All-American honors. Clark also was essential in UT landing prospects such as Zakai Zeigler, Tobe Awaka, JP Estrella and Amari Evans. Rod Clark hired by Indiana basketball after four seasons with Tennessee Tennessee was Clark's first high-major college coaching job. He was an assistant coach for one season at Austin Peay. He was at the University of Illinois-Chicago for one season before he was hired at Austin Peay. Clark previously coached at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, from 2017-19. Clark is a Kansas City native. He played his final two seasons in college at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky. He played his first two seasons at Neosho Community College in Kansas and Redlands Community College in Oklahoma, respectively.
New York Times
01-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Hailey Van Lith's long college career ends with a loss, but also redemption
BIRMINGHAM, Ala — Standing at the top of the key, as Texas celebrated its first Final Four trip since 2003, TCU coach Mark Campbell addressed his players on the court for the final time this season. He then turned to his star, Hailey Van Lith, and gave her a hug. They embraced for about a minute before waving goodbye to their fans and walking off the court arm in arm. Advertisement The second-seeded Horned Frogs were fresh off their 58-47 loss to top-seeded Texas on Monday night, ending Van Lith's long career that has spanned five seasons with three different teams in five Elite Eights. But no tears rolled down her face on the court. Those came when TCU got back into the locker room and even at times in the postgame news conference. When Van Lith got choked up, it was from talking about her season at TCU and Campbell, not the loss to Texas. 'He has just breathed life into me, and from a life perspective, he's taught me a lot of great lessons about how to have healthy relationships, and what it takes to have a healthy relationship, and how much better life can be if you just let people see who you are,' Van Lith said. Hailey Van Lith embraces her coach after her last collegiate game ❤️ — ESPN (@espn) April 1, 2025 Van Lith arrived at TCU with no expectations about how many wins she'd gain with the Horned Frogs, who were 21-13 in Campbell's first year last season. Last season, Van Lith's season also ended in the Elite Eight with LSU — a year filled with adversity for her. She said she just wanted to find herself, find love in basketball and in life again. She said she found that at TCU. Monday night's Elite Eight wasn't her best game. She finished with 17 points, seven turnovers and shot just 3 of 14 from the field, but the legacy she's left at TCU and in college basketball isn't tied to just this result. She said she wanted redemption this season, a place where she felt at home, and to play for a coach who helped her be herself. She got more than she could've ever imagined, and at the same time, she impacted an entire program that was rebuilding from the ground up after using walk-ons last season to fill its injury-plagued roster. Advertisement 'To watch Hailey show up and do her process and her grind and her training habits, it was inspiring to her teammates, it was inspiring to our staff,' Campbell said. 'You want to give your best when you see someone approach their craft the way that she does. And that's been from Day 1.' When Van Lith left LSU, entering the transfer portal a second time after spending her first three seasons at Louisville, her father, Corey Van Lith, told her that Campbell reached out. That wasn't uncommon, though. Van Lith and Campbell have kept in contact since he was an assistant at Oregon and was her primary recruiter out of high school. Despite not choosing the Ducks, they kept in contact throughout their career. He texted to check on her and consistently reached out to her parents as well. When she left Louisville, Campbell reached out again. He didn't think he had a shot to sign Van Lith, though. So, he just gave her advice on her options and what types of schools fit her style. They broke down offensive schemes and more. 'He cared about my best interests,' Van Lith said. Van Lith remembered that when Campbell called her father again last year. Corey wasn't sure if they should call back, though, because TCU wasn't having much success, but Van Lith urged him to call, and soon after, she and Campbell connected too. She loved the idea of playing back in a pick-and-roll offense with a dominant big and shooters around her. But even more importantly, she felt refreshed talking to him. 'It was like a revival of somebody breathing life into me when that whole year I felt like people were taking it,' Van Lith said. 'For him to make me feel something in a 30-minute conversation that I hadn't felt for a whole year, I knew I had to take a visit.' Van Lith doesn't regret playing at LSU. But she acknowledged that it wasn't the best fit for her from a basketball standpoint. The 5-foot-9 guard thrives in the pick-and-roll and with her ability to create off the bounce, especially with plays breaking down. That wasn't always possible at LSU because coach Kim Mulkey's offense ran off dominant post players. Angel Reese was the focus of the offense, along with Aneesah Morrow. Advertisement 'Coach Mulkey's vision for a one was different than the one that I am,' Van Lith said. 'The style of play I play as a one didn't fit her system.' Her numbers dropped to just 11.6 points per game, her lowest average since her freshman season. Her WNBA projections dipped as well, along with her confidence. Van Lith has been in the spotlight since she was coming out of Cashmere High School in Washington and had one of the largest followings in college basketball, men's or women's. She said the spotlight wore on her at times in her college career. This postseason, for the first time, she opened up about her mental health struggles and seeking help to heal. There were days when she said she had suicidal thoughts and took medication because she couldn't sleep or eat. Though she felt more at ease in Fort Worth and with the Horned Frogs, those feelings didn't just disappear. She arrived at TCU with a wall up, Campbell said. 'She kind of kept her distance for different reasons,' he said. 'Just as we went through that journey together, that wall slowly came down, and she opened up and became vulnerable and we were able to challenge each other and have honest conversations.' She and Campbell were tied at the hip throughout her time at TCU. She needed to get to know her new coach on a deeper level, and he wanted her to be able to open up to him. As she did, the improvement in her game started to show as well. LET'S GOOOOOOOO — TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) April 1, 2025 She wanted to play point guard at TCU, a position many around the country thought she couldn't play because of her struggles at LSU. She set the TCU single-season record in assists with 202 and points with 663. She was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. 'She was the perfect piece at the right time,' Campbell said. Advertisement Her impact with the Horned Frogs won't be forgotten, Campbell said. 'I don't know the criteria in regards to getting your jersey hung at TCU, but I have a hard time believing that anybody in any sport in one year can have a greater impact than what Hailey Van Lith has had at TCU,' Campbell said. 'If it's up to me, yes, no question (her jersey will eventually be retired).' As Van Lith walked off the floor at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, it was obvious that TCU had changed her for the better. 'I really praise God for the struggle and the suffering,' Van Lith said. 'I praise Him for the nights where I didn't want to be alive anymore. I praise Him for the nights that I was on medication because I couldn't sleep or eat. And it's painful to talk about it, but it's really how beautiful life is. So I'm sitting up here now with women that I love and a coach that I love and a team that I love and we aren't even sad about losing. We're sad that we aren't going to see each other probably next week. So, my journey has been crazy. I'm super grateful for it; wouldn't have had it any other way.' If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. (Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
JuJu vs. Paige isn't happening, but UConn vs. USC promises drama anyway
JuJu vs. Paige isn't happening, but UConn vs. USC promises drama anyway SPOKANE, Wash. — The magic of March is that every tiny thing that has happened leading up to this point matters … but also, you should probably throw everything that's happened so far out the window. The habits that were built in practice? Crucial. But the season records? Unimportant. Team chemistry and growth? Necessary. But stats and individual records? Blah. It's why Monday night's Elite Eight game between UConn and USC remains compelling despite so much changing since Selection Sunday. The potential showdown was immediately circled by fans as the must-see rematch of the tournament, pitting the nation's top two individual players — USC's JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Bueckers — against each other. Advertisement The teams advanced to deliver this matchup, but it won't be the showdown that was expected. There will be no Watkins, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the second round. Yet, somehow, there's more to unpack in the vacuum left in the tournament by Watkins' exit. Coaches consistently describe the Elite Eight as the toughest postseason hurdle. The Final Four is the hallowed ground of the NCAA Tournament. It's nice to gain entrance to the Big Dance, but legends are made when only four teams remain. It's why programs boast about their Final Fours, not Elite Eights. There's an invisible but pretty blatant wall that separates the two, and right now, USC and UConn are knocking on it. They're in different situations, but they need the same thing: for players to make plays, and for the ball, every now and then, to fall their way. 'People say, 'Well, take it one game at a time, take it one play at a time,'' UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. 'We preach that, but in reality, some players are going to rise to the occasion, and some are going to shrink. It's just the nature of it.' Advertisement One team, UConn, is motivated by Bueckers' quest for an elusive national title. After years of Auriemma imploring her to take over games, the impending finish line of her college career seems to have been just the tool necessary to help her unlock her full potential — and UConn's. Then there's USC, a team motivated by the player who's not in Spokane. Reminders of Watkins surround the Trojans: the T-shirts they wore when they arrived at the arena for the Sweet 16, the JuJu Funko Pop that stood on the sidelines in that game, the video call afterward with Watkins when coach Lindsay Gottlieb's 2-year-old daughter, Reese, asked whether the phone call meant Watkins was no longer hurt. 'No,' Gottlieb explained, 'but she's happy today.' Even when this was all about JuJu vs. Paige, coaches knew there was an underlying theme: Both teams have needed contributions all around. In the last two games without Watkins, the Trojans have gotten more from their other players. Kiki Iriafen scored 36 points in the Trojans' second-round win against Mississippi State, the most ever scored by a USC player in the NCAA Tournament. USC freshman Kennedy Smith matched a career-best 19 points in the Sweet 16 win over Kansas State. Advertisement Those recent performances matter, but they don't guarantee a Final Four trip. When the ball is tossed up Monday night, neither team gets a head start because its players had the bigger night in the previous game. UConn doesn't get extra chances because its program has been in this position more, and USC doesn't get an extra player because it happens to be missing its best. USC senior forward Rayah Marshall summed it up best. 'It's March,' she said. 'Throw the game plan away and really compete. That's what we are here to do.' In last season's Elite Eight, Bueckers scored 28 points to lead the Huskies to their 23rd Final Four. But there's not much USC can glean from that contest. That late December game between the programs this season in Hartford, when Watkins' 25 points led USC to victory? Same deal for UConn. There are too many variables. Besides Watkins' absence, UConn redshirt junior Azzi Fudd was recently returned from her own injury in December and played only eight minutes. She's at full strength now. Smith also had just returned after missing five weeks for a knee injury. Advertisement If there's an overriding lesson either of these teams has learned over the last week (for USC) and the last few years (for UConn), it's that adversity can open doors. Gottlieb has relied on her freshmen probably more than she imagined, as they've led the Trojans deeper into the tournament than they've been in 30 years. Last year, the Huskies suffered a slew of injuries, and players like Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold gained starting roles. They come off the bench now, but those experiences make UConn even more dangerous. There's no reason to think these 40 minutes can't change everything for some of these players. 'We saw firsthand what it's like to play without someone who means so much to your team,' Auriemma said. 'At this time of the year, as you saw (in the Sweet 16), someone has to step up and do all the heavy lifting, and that normally would be somebody like JuJu. But if you have enough good people around her, which they do, they will get a chance to stand out even more than they would have ordinarily.' The final spot in the Final Four will be decided Monday night in Spokane. The game won't at all be what it could've been, and yet, it's exactly what we knew it would be. So throw out the game tape and the records, and throw up the game ball and see which players make the most plays to clear the highest hurdle on the path to Tampa. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. USC Trojans, Connecticut Huskies, Women's College Basketball, Women's NCAA Tournament 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
31-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
JuJu vs. Paige isn't happening, but UConn vs. USC promises drama anyway
SPOKANE, Wash. — The magic of March is that every tiny thing that has happened leading up to this point matters … but also, you should probably throw everything that's happened so far out the window. The habits that were built in practice? Crucial. But the season records? Unimportant. Team chemistry and growth? Necessary. But stats and individual records? Blah. Advertisement It's why Monday night's Elite Eight game between UConn and USC remains compelling despite so much changing since Selection Sunday. The potential showdown was immediately circled by fans as the must-see rematch of the tournament, pitting the nation's top two individual players — USC's JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Bueckers — against each other. The teams advanced to deliver this matchup, but it won't be the showdown that was expected. There will be no Watkins, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the second round. Yet, somehow, there's more to unpack in the vacuum left in the tournament by Watkins' exit. Coaches consistently describe the Elite Eight as the toughest postseason hurdle. The Final Four is the hallowed ground of the NCAA Tournament. It's nice to gain entrance to the Big Dance, but legends are made when only four teams remain. It's why programs boast about their Final Fours, not Elite Eights. There's an invisible but pretty blatant wall that separates the two, and right now, USC and UConn are knocking on it. They're in different situations, but they need the same thing: for players to make plays, and for the ball, every now and then, to fall their way. 'People say, 'Well, take it one game at a time, take it one play at a time,'' UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. 'We preach that, but in reality, some players are going to rise to the occasion, and some are going to shrink. It's just the nature of it.' One team, UConn, is motivated by Bueckers' quest for an elusive national title. After years of Auriemma imploring her to take over games, the impending finish line of her college career seems to have been just the tool necessary to help her unlock her full potential — and UConn's. Then there's USC, a team motivated by the player who's not in Spokane. Reminders of Watkins surround the Trojans: the T-shirts they wore when they arrived at the arena for the Sweet 16, the JuJu Funko Pop that stood on the sidelines in that game, the video call afterward with Watkins when coach Lindsay Gottlieb's 2-year-old daughter, Reese, asked whether the phone call meant Watkins was no longer hurt. Advertisement 'No,' Gottlieb explained, 'but she's happy today.' Even when this was all about JuJu vs. Paige, coaches knew there was an underlying theme: Both teams have needed contributions all around. In the last two games without Watkins, the Trojans have gotten more from their other players. Kiki Iriafen scored 36 points in the Trojans' second-round win against Mississippi State, the most ever scored by a USC player in the NCAA Tournament. USC freshman Kennedy Smith matched a career-best 19 points in the Sweet 16 win over Kansas State. Those recent performances matter, but they don't guarantee a Final Four trip. When the ball is tossed up Monday night, neither team gets a head start because its players had the bigger night in the previous game. UConn doesn't get extra chances because its program has been in this position more, and USC doesn't get an extra player because it happens to be missing its best. USC senior forward Rayah Marshall summed it up best. 'It's March,' she said. 'Throw the game plan away and really compete. That's what we are here to do.' In last season's Elite Eight, Bueckers scored 28 points to lead the Huskies to their 23rd Final Four. But there's not much USC can glean from that contest. That late December game between the programs this season in Hartford, when Watkins' 25 points led USC to victory? Same deal for UConn. There are too many variables. Besides Watkins' absence, UConn redshirt junior Azzi Fudd was recently returned from her own injury in December and played only eight minutes. She's at full strength now. Smith also had just returned after missing five weeks for a knee injury. If there's an overriding lesson either of these teams has learned over the last week (for USC) and the last few years (for UConn), it's that adversity can open doors. Gottlieb has relied on her freshmen probably more than she imagined, as they've led the Trojans deeper into the tournament than they've been in 30 years. Last year, the Huskies suffered a slew of injuries, and players like Ashlynn Shade and KK Arnold gained starting roles. They come off the bench now, but those experiences make UConn even more dangerous. Advertisement There's no reason to think these 40 minutes can't change everything for some of these players. 'We saw firsthand what it's like to play without someone who means so much to your team,' Auriemma said. 'At this time of the year, as you saw (in the Sweet 16), someone has to step up and do all the heavy lifting, and that normally would be somebody like JuJu. But if you have enough good people around her, which they do, they will get a chance to stand out even more than they would have ordinarily.' The final spot in the Final Four will be decided Monday night in Spokane. The game won't at all be what it could've been, and yet, it's exactly what we knew it would be. So throw out the game tape and the records, and throw up the game ball and see which players make the most plays to clear the highest hurdle on the path to Tampa. (Photo of Paige Bueckers and Talia von Oelhoffen: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)
