Mike Watkins (basketball)

Michael Alphonso Watkins (born August 10, 1995) is an American college basketball player for the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. A 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) power forward, Watkins was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team in 2018.

Mike Watkins
No. 24 – Penn State Nittany Lions
PositionPower forward
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (1995-08-10) August 10, 1995
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight257 lb (117 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegePenn State (2016–2020)
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Watkins attended The Phelps School, an all-boys college preparatory school located in Malvern, Pennsylvania and prior to that Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School in Philadelphia. During his junior year at MCSCS reached the 2014 PIAA tournament championship game while 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 that year. Watkins transferred to The Phelps School in his senior year. Watkins averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks per game during his final high school season and helps 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]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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, and 1.5 blocks per game.[5] Watkins scored his 1,000th point against Central Connecticut State on December 23, 2019.[9] On February 11, 2020, Watkins scored a season-high 19 points in a 88–76 win against Purdue.[10] 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, Watkins averaged 9.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocked shots per game.[11]

    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
    2016–17 Penn State 332423.8.590–.6438.1.6.82.79.7
    2017–18 Penn State 292826.3.685.000.6118.9.71.02.312.1
    2018–19 Penn State 271420.8.561–.4477.4.5.61.57.8
    2019–20 Penn State 301721.0.545.000.5657.6.5.82.29.7
    Career 1198323.0.597.000.5738.0.6.82.29.8

    Personal life

    Watkins is the fourth-oldest among eight children of Alphonso Griffin and Rebecca Watkins.[12]

    Watkins suffered from depression and bipolar disorder, in June 2018 Watkins was hospitalized after having suicidal thoughts. Watkins has a lengthy criminal record prior to his diagnosis. 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..."[13][14]

    References
    1. "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. 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. Scarcella, Rich (December 23, 2019). "Chambers, Penn State enjoying ride in the rankings". Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
    10. "No. 13 Penn State relies on 3-point flurry to win at Purdue". ESPN. Associated Press. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
    11. Pickel, Greg (March 12, 2020). "Penn State basketball forward Mike Watkins is facing DUI and other charges". The Patriot-News. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
    12. McCarthy, Erica (October 12, 2016). "Philly players look to elevate Penn State basketball". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
    13. "I was wrong': Penn State basketball's Mike Watkins discusses legal trouble, mental health". Centre Daily Times. October 19, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
    14. "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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