USC coach defends recklessly leaving star in after injury scare

The USC Trojans want to win six games.

Not just one - all six to run the table and win the NCAA Tournament. They aren't out to merely grind the UNC Greensboro Spartans into dust. They aren't out to merely have a good time playing basketball and see what happens. They are a team talented enough, with a star excellent enough, to honestly think they have a real chance to win it all.

That's why the decision made by USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb on Saturday was so frustrating for fans of the Trojans and of basketball -- and why her excuses rang hollow after the game.

Lindsay Gottlieb made a bad call

In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, JuJu Watkins and the Trojans hosted No. 16 seed UNC Greensboro. They absolutely smothered the Spartans all day long, holding them to just 11 points at halftime and 25 for the game. USC had enough points by halftime to win the game if they hadn't scored again, period.

That was the case even with Watkins missing a portion of the first half with a finger injury, returning from the locker room with taped fingers to check back in. She continued to dominate, ultimately scoring 22 points with eight rebounds in a game the Trojans would win by 46.

In the third quarter, things almost took a turn toward disaster. Watkins missed a layup and came up limping. While she lurched her way beyond the arc and spotted up for a 3-pointer, she was clearly hurt and checked out of the game with an ankle injury. At the time, the Trojans were up by 28.

Should Gottlieb have still had Watkins in the game in the third quarter, with about four minutes to go in the third and 14 in the game? You can argue no, but any coach in the country likely keeps their star player in at that point. Crazier things have happened before.

Where Gottlieb truly erred and risked an All-American talent further hurting herself, was putting Watkins back into the game to start the fourth quarter.

Twice in the game, Watkins left the game with injuries. At the start of the fourth, the Trojans had a 53-16 lead. There was no comeback happened. The Spartans were a great story, but ultimately their season was going to come to a close.

The Trojans story, of course, was not to merely beat UNCG. Their story is meant to include a bold run to the Final Four. To get there, however, they have to beat a lot more than the Spartans. And they will need a healthy JuJu Watkins.

They did not need a healthy Watkins to beat the Spartans, to build their halftime lead, or to close it out after Watkins exited. There was absolutely no good reason that she should have gone back into the game. But enter she did, where she went 1-for-3 before leaving after less than four minutes.

It was an inexplicably reckless decision to put Watkins back into the game. She was already injured, the game was out of hand, and whatever motivation caused Watkins to go back into the game was clearly gone a few minutes later.

Gottlieb after the game told reporters "I trust her. I listen to her. I trust our trainers and I say, 'You good?' When she says she's good, I'm probably not going to shut her down."

That's her job. That's why the University of Southern California pays her. She has to be ready to say no to a player, to see the bigger picture. Athletes always want to go back into games. The odds of worsening the injury were present. The odds of a new injury were present. The impact on their chances of winning the game were nonexistent. They could have always won this game without Watkins, and instead, Gottlieb put her back in just risking another ankle sprain.

After the game, Watkins walked to the postgame podium without any apparent issues. She shrugged off the severity of the injury. She said she wanted to play. And she spoke to the strength of the team around her; that they could win or lose without her.

To win it all, Gottlieb has to coach, not merely call plays. She has to know when it's not worth putting a star player at risk. And she needs to be ready to defend every decision to a watching audience.

A few more reckless decisions, and she won't have a superstar player to put into the lineup.