Angel Reese wasted no time sending JuJu Watkins a kind message of support

Angel Reese is no stranger to injuries.

That may have contributed to her instant show of support US. Trojans star guard JuJu Watkins on Monday night. While pushing the ball in transition in the first quarter of USC's second-round NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State, Watkins suddenly collapsed to the court in obvious pain, clutching at her knee.

Imaging confirmed what so many feared: JuJu Watkins suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the remainder of this season. What's more, given the recovery time from such a serious knee injury, it is likely that Watkins will miss much of next season, if she even plays at all.

It's obviously a heart-breaking development for Watkins, one of the sport's brightest stars, a pure scorer and high-end defender who carried the Trojans to a No. 1 seed. It's also devastating to USC and their fans, who go from among the title favorites to a longshot without their superstar. For a school that hasn't been to the Final Four since 1986, when it was a member of the "Pac-West" Conference, it's a bitter pill to swallow.

It's also a loss for college basketball as a whole, as Watkins is a big personality and explosive scorer. Every other commercial shown for those watching the men's or women's tournaments featured Watkins. While players returning from ACL injuries -- especially young players -- are able to make a full recovery, it's a year without Watkins filling the spotlight. As Paige Bueckers moves on to the WNBA, college basketball will need new stars to step up. Watkins will not be one of them.

Angel Reese has been there before

Angel Reese is a palyer who has been in a similar position to Watkins, so she likely felt an emotional connection to JuJu when she saw the injury. Reese quickly sent out the message "Prayers for Juju! 🥺🙏🏽" as she joined a watching world waiting to hear news of what injury had occurred.

This is a road Reese has walked before. As a freshman at Maryland in December of 2020, Reese suffered a Jones fracture in her foot that sidelined her for an extended period of time. When she attempted to come back after that injury, she suffered a shin fracture and had a rod inserted into her leg that remains to this day.

Reese has spoken of how that was a dark time in her life, and she questioned the path forward. Yet to her credit, she recovered and had two All-American seasons playing for the LSU Tigers as a junior and senior. As a rookie in the WNBA this past season she broke the single-season rebounding record, then went on to win Defensive Player of the Year in Unrivaled. She is a living example of coming out of an injury recovery even stronger.

Hopefully JuJu can look to Reese and others as inspiration to attack her rehab and be back as an elite player as soon as possible. For now: prayers up for JuJu.