Overview
Born in Trenton, NJ, Watkins graduated from Trenton Catholic in 2020. As a senior, he was named All-State Third Team, area Player of the Year and Mercer County MVP. He led the team to three straight Mercer County titles. Watkins began his collegiate career at VCU. He missed his sophomore season due to a knee injury. As a junior, Watkins started 22 of his 35 appearances and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team. For the 2023-24 season, he became a full-time starter and averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals in 28.2 minutes. He was named ACC All-Honorable Mention, plus the Sunshine Slam MVP.
Analysis
Watkins is a wing-sized playmaker who is versatile on defense. He posted excellent steal and block rates (3.8 STL%; 3/2 BLK%) and is valuable in switching schemes. Offensively, he often orchestrated in ball-screen actions. However, his inconsistent three-ball remains a sticking point. He shot 36-for-106 (34%) as a junior at VCU and 33-for-96 (34%) as a senior at Florida State. He did improve his free-throw shooting to 80% as a senior from 72% as a junior, so there’s hope for further three-point development. Athletically, he’s both quick and sturdy, helping him on both ends of the floor.
Projection
Watkins projects as a secondary playmaker at the NBA level, potentially a great two-way sixth man. Depending on how much or little he’s asked to do as a playmaker and defender, Watkins could have an NBA playstyle similar to Caris LeVert, Deni Avdija or Rudy Gay. It’s possible he won’t need much development time and may be able to be in a rotation immediately despite a second-round expectation.
— Profile by RotoWire