USC guard JuJu Watkins has lifted a Trojans program that hasn’t seen since this level of success since the ’90s. However, basketball is only one of the ways she is impacting Los Angeles.
When asked to share something interesting about herself, Watkins doesn’t typically start with her shoe collection or iconic hairstyle. Instead, she proudly brings up the work she does in the L.A. area.
“I think there are a lot of layers to me,” Watkins told CBS Sports “I would like to say I’m really active when it comes to community. I have a non-profit that helps fund things in the community. From a philanthropy aspect, I try to be as active as I can.”
USC’s JuJu Watkins enjoying every ‘crazy moment’ amid rise to basketball and business superstardom
Isabel Gonzalez
USC’s JuJu Watkins enjoying every ‘crazy moment’ amid rise to basketball and business superstardom
Watkins said that in October, before the season began, but even with a busy schedule she still makes times to help others. In January, already deep into a tough Big Ten schedule, Watkins showed up to help student athletes affected by the fires in Los Angeles while donating backpacks and hygiene products. That was just one of many selfless acts Watkins has done recently.
Watkins’ popularity has landed her a lot of partnerships with major retail, insurance, food and cosmetic brands, and she makes sure she gets those companies involved in her philanthropic efforts such as the Good JuJu Holiday Giveback.
When she was still at Sierra Canyon School, Watkins was the No.1 player of the 2024 recruiting class. She was being recruited by some of the top programs in the nation, including South Carolina, the team who won the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Watkins could have potentially helped the Gamecocks repeat in 2023, but she chose to stay home and revitalize the Trojans.
“Don’t move, improve,” is a phase that has been in her family since before she was even born.
Almost a year ago, USC shared a video with the unique story of the Watkins family. JuJu’s great grandfather, Ted, was born into poverty in Mississippi in 1912, several decades before desegregation. When he was 13 years old, he refused to step off the sidewalk and into some mud, as he was told to do. A fistfight ensued, and by the end of the day his parents told him he had to leave town or he would be lynched the next day. That’s when he fled Mississippi for Southern Los Angeles. He settled in Watts, which at the time was a predominantly Black neighborhood that was starved for resources.
Ted was determined to make a better life for himself while also lifting up others. He became a civil rights activist and founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965 with the goal of fighting poverty locally.
“We hold the hands of people in need by providing a place to sleep, food to eat, money to earn and love to grow,” reads a statement on the official website. “Over the last 45 years, we have grown to hold more than 30,000 hands per year through the tireless commitment of dedicated staff and volunteers … WLCAC has stood the test of time and is firmly rooted in making life better in Watts, one person at a time.”
The organization is currently run by Tim, JuJu’s grandfather. Ted died years before she was born, but JuJu is still inspired by everything he did and what her family continues to do.
“I have a lot of pride in my last name and my family’s history in L.A.,” Watkins said in the video. “I think it always pushes me to think more than just basketball. I feel like my family, my great grandfather and my grandfather, have done so much for the community that it inspires me to want to take that step and really use my platform for something bigger than just basketball.”
