USC basketball star JuJu Watkins strikes a pose with $70 million worth Travis Kelce during Sports Beach 2024

USC Trojans superstar JuJu Watkins has had a busy offseason after a stellar 2023-24 season where she elevated her name into elite conversations. She started June by visiting the Roc Nation offices and having a FaceTime call with founder Jay-Z.

Most recently, she has been attending Women's Sports House at Cannes alongside fellow women's college basketball stars UCLA Bruins Kiki Rice and LSU Tigers guard Flau'jae Johnson.

On Thursday, the popular Watkins posted a picture on Instagram of herself alongside $70 million Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce at the event.

(Credit: Instagram/@britt_mccallum)

The Sports Beach event aims to foster conversations about women's sports encompassing areas like sports, leadership and business. It attracts celebrities from all walks of life, and it's a testament to JuJu Watkins' reputation that she was invited.

JuJu Watkins gets high praise from former NBA coach

The influential JuJu Watkins is no stranger to praise after her exhilarating freshman season where she broke the NCAA freshman scoring record (920 points), which is 121 more than the record-breaking Caitlin Clark managed in her freshman season.

The USC star was named a First Team AP All-American while leading the No. 1-seeded Trojans to the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA tournament to signal a revival of the storied program.

During an episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant Phil Handy was full of praise for Watkins' hunger to learn and natural abilities. Handy has coached the USC prospect and has been her mentor as well.

"She's trying to learn, man. She wants to be great; she wants to understand the nuances of 'How do I beat double teams? You know, teams are trying to force me. How do I get better at this? What does my base look like in the post?'" Handy said.

"She asked so many questions to make sure that she's like really trying to get her game right. ... I just think that she's still scratching the surface. She still has so much more. She's still a baby. ... She's just now entering into that realm of really starting to understand the nuances of the game. It's going to be a beautiful thing to continue to see her grow."

It is high praise for JuJu Watkins from a coach who has won three NBA titles with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), Toronto Raptors (2019) and Lakers (2020).