USC star JuJu Watkins' teammate Malia Samuels enjoys offseason as she shares beachy snaps from Turks and Caicos
JuJu Watkins' USC teammate Malia Samuels is making the most of the offseason. The sophomore guard shared a photo dump from her trip to Turks and Caicos on Instagram on Friday.
Samuels included snaps of herself in a beautiful blue bikini and in a white dress, pictures of the food she ate on her beach trip and a photo of her ocean view.
Both Samuels and Watkins are coming off of successful sophomore campaigns with the Trojans. Watkins led USC in scoring (23.9 ppg) and assists (3.4 apg) on her way to being named AP Player of the Year.
Samuels appeared in all 35 games for USC this season and averaged 12.5 minutes of playing time. She put up 2.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, all increases from her freshman stats. The guard highlighted her defensive potential with 0.9 steals per game.
Together, Samuels and Watkins helped the Trojans remain one of the top teams in the nation throughout the season. USC received a No. 1 seed in March Madness and made a run to the Elite Eight even without Watkins, whose season ended abruptly when she tore her ACL in the Round of 32.
Now, Samuels is enjoying her offseason, and Watkins is focusing on her recovery before her teammates next hit the court for USC.
USC's JuJu Watkins receives adorable tribute from young fan
Watkins recently got a special gift from a loyal fan. On Wednesday, Watkins shared a portrait a seven-year-old fan drew of her in her Instagram photo dump.
In the drawing, Watkins is wearing her USC jersey and has her signature bun hairstyle. The fan drew the Trojan guard with a basketball in her hand and cardinal and gold confetti surrounding her. The mom of the young artist expressed how excited her daughter was that Watkins saw the portrait:
"Omg my baby girl drew you that photo! 😭🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾She's so excited you really saw it!" @rnlneek said.
The seven-year-old also wrote Watkins a letter. The Instagram post features a photo of the fan holding up her letter while wearing a Watkins hoodie.
"Dear JuJu, My name is Cayler Thornton. I am seven years old. I want to be just like you when I grow up. You are the best baller in the whole world. I love you!" the letter read.
Watkins is a superstar who has fans' support on her side as she works through her recovery.