JuJu gave her shoes to this fan after our dub tonight 🥹 pic.twitter.com/FWSQ2fFWKj
— USC Women’s Basketball (@USCWBB) February 6, 2025
After the game ended, the USC star approached her fan to show a noble gesture: she gifted her the shoes she played in and signed the soles. Beam couldn’t hold back her tears at this act and thanked the player for it.
The excitement of meeting their NCAA favorite
Ruby Beam, a young girl from Cambridge, Illinois, did not hesitate to express her excitement about what Juju Watkins had done. She shared that her mother gave her the tickets to the game as a Christmas present, which made her incredibly happy. “Then I thought, ‘I have to make a sign for Juju!’ So I did, and I wrote: ‘Juju, I want to be like you.'”
She has been following Watkins since last year. “I told my coach about her, and he had the chance to watch her play at Sierra Canyon… We talk a lot about Juju, and since then, I’ve been completely amazed,” she added.
For Ruby, this gesture reignited her hope of one day being in the same place as the Trojans’ star. In fact, she hopes to have the same experience with a fan in the future. “It was something incredible and exciting. I’m so grateful to have been able to experience this. Thank you so much!” Beam said.