Mike Watkins (basketball)

Mike Watkins
Watkins with Penn State in 2017
No. 24 – NLEX Road Warriors
PositionCenter / power forward
LeaguePBA
Personal information
Born (1995-08-10) August 10, 1995 (age 29)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight254 lb (115 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegePenn State (2016–2020)
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020Caribbean Storm Islands
2021Metros de Santiago
2021Titanes de Miramar
2021Hapoel Haifa
2024Delaware Blue Coats
2024Piratas de La Guaira
2024Soles de Mexicali
2024–presentNLEX Road Warriors
Career highlights and awards

Michael Alphonso Watkins (born August 10, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball player for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team in 2018.

High school career

Watkins first attended Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his junior year at MCSCS he reached the 2014 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament championship game, racking up 17 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a runner-up finish to Lincoln Park.[1] He averaged 11.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 5.0 blocks during a junior campaign in which he totaled 17 double-doubles.

Watkins transferred to The Phelps School, an all-boys college preparatory school located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, in his senior year. Watkins averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks per game during his final high school season, and helped The Phelps School win a state championship.

Recruiting

Rated as a 4-star recruit and the 3rd-best recruit from Pennsylvania in the class of 2015 by ESPN.com, Watkins was ranked no. 89 in his class by ESPN. He signed with Penn State on November 13, 2014, as part of the best recruiting class in school history.[1]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Mike Watkins
C 		Philadelphia, PA The Phelps School (PA) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jun 12, 2013 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 87   Rivals: 90  247Sports: 96  ESPN: 90
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

Watkins redshirted his first year.[2] His redshirt freshman season Watkins averaged just over 8 points per game playing in 33 games starting 24 of the games. He was twice named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, on December 19, 2016, and January 16, 2017.[3][4]

In his sophomore season, Watkins averaged 12.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per contest.[5] He had a 22-point, 11 rebounds, and 7 block performance in a late loss to Wisconsin.[6] Watkins was named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team.[7]

Watkins played 27 games as a junior before suffering a season-ending leg injury against Michigan in February 2018.[8] He averaged 7.8 points, 7.4 rebounds (9th in the Big Ten), and 1.5 blocks per game (8th).[5][9] Watkins scored his 1,000th point against Central Connecticut State on December 23, 2019.[10] On February 11, 2020, Watkins scored a season-high 19 points in an 88–76 win against Purdue.[11] He was suspended for the final game of the season versus Northwestern for a violation of team rules, which was later revealed to be a DUI arrest.

As a senior in 2019–20, Watkins averaged 9.7 points, 7.6 rebounds (10th in the Big Ten), and 2.2 blocked shots per game (3rd).[9][12]

Professional career

On September 30, 2020, Watkins signed his first contract, with Cimarrones del Choco of the Baloncesto Profesional Colombiano.[13]

In 2021–22, Watkins was playing forward and center for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[14][15]

On October 29, 2023, Watkins joined the Delaware Blue Coats,[16] but was waived on November 6.[17] On March 22, 2024, he re-joined the Blue Coats.[17]

On April 13, 2024, Watkins signed with the Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto.[18]

On November 25, 2024, Watkins signed with the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) as the team's import for the 2024–25 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[19]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Penn State Redshirt Redshirt
2016–17 Penn State 33 24 23.8 .590 – .643 8.1 .6 .8 2.7 9.7
2017–18 Penn State 29 28 26.3 .685 .000 .611 8.9 .7 1.0 2.3 12.1
2018–19 Penn State 27 14 20.8 .561 – .447 7.4 .5 .6 1.5 7.8
2019–20 Penn State 30 17 21.0 .545 .000 .565 7.6 .5 .8 2.2 9.7
Career 119 83 23.0 .597 .000 .573 8.0 .6 .8 2.2 9.8

Personal life

Watkins is the fourth-oldest among eight children of Alphonso Griffin and Rebecca Watkins.[20]

Watkins suffered from depression and bipolar disorder and in June 2018 Watkins was hospitalized after having suicidal thoughts. Watkins was charged with disorderly conduct on October 1, 2017. According to State College police, Watkins punched a man in the face on September 29, 2017, after being confronted about cutting to the front of the line at McDonald's. Watkins was also charged with possession of marijuana paraphernalia in June 2017 and charged for smashing a window at Baby's Burgers and Shakes in Downtown State College in September 2016. Since these charges Watkins has apologized saying "Sorry I have brought negative attention to Penn State University..."[21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Nittany Lions add three to men's basketball program". Penn State University. November 13, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Jones, David (June 26, 2016). "Mike Watkins can be best PSU power forward since Jarrett Stephens – and that's pretty good". PennLive. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Northwestern, Michigan State and Penn State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Wildcats' Lindsey named Player of the Week; Spartans' Bridges and Nittany Lions' Watkins share Freshman of the Week honors". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. January 16, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  4. ^ "Purdue and Penn State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Boilermakers' Caleb Swanigan named Player of the Week; Nittany Lions' Mike Watkins earns Freshman of the Week honors". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. December 19, 2016. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Brennan, Mark (October 7, 2019). "HOOPS VIDEO: One on one with Mike Watkins". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  6. ^ "Penn State vs Wisconsin box score". ESPN. December 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "View the 2017–18 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Team". Big Ten Network. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Lingerman, Matt (October 7, 2019). "Penn State men's basketball's Mike Watkins is still day-to-day, but his bounce is back". The Collegian. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Mike Watkins College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  10. ^ Scarcella, Rich (December 23, 2019). "Chambers, Penn State enjoying ride in the rankings". Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "No. 13 Penn State relies on 3-point flurry to win at Purdue". ESPN. Associated Press. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Pickel, Greg (March 12, 2020). "Penn State basketball forward Mike Watkins is facing DUI and other charges". The Patriot-News. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  13. ^ "Watkins starts his pro career at Cimarrones". Latinbasket. September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Mike Watkins, Basketball Player". Proballers.
  15. ^ "ISRAEL BASKETBALL SUPER LEAGUE | Israel Basketball | 2021–22 Season | Hapoel B-Cure Laser Haifa | Mike Watkins". basket.co.il.
  16. ^ Delaware Blue Coats [@blue_coats] (October 29, 2023). "time for camp.🏕️ #GetYourCoatsOn" (Tweet). Retrieved November 10, 2023 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ a b "2023–2024 Delaware Blue Coats Transactions History". RealGM.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Alayón Flores, Sairuby (April 12, 2024). "Michael Watkins defenderá camiseta de Piratas". LiderEnDeportes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  19. ^ Ramos, Gerry (November 25, 2024). "Northport, NLEX replace imports days before Commissioner's Cup". spin.ph. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  20. ^ McCarthy, Erica (October 12, 2016). "Philly players look to elevate Penn State basketball". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  21. ^ "I was wrong': Penn State basketball's Mike Watkins discusses legal trouble, mental health". Centre Daily Times. October 19, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  22. ^ "In an article he posted on Twitter on Friday, Watkins detailed his battle with depression and struggles with his mental health". The Collegian. October 19, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.

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