June 16, 2014

"Stop running away! SMELL MY WRIST!!".

One of the best rebounders in the country, as mentioned in the above Chad Posthumus section, Watkins was one of only 14 players in the country to average a points and rebounds double double, and tied for sixth in rebounds per game, doing so in less minutes of all those ahead of him except UNLV's Roscoe Smith. Rebounding is self-evidently the strongest strength of his game, yet those scoring averages speak to his usefulness as a part time scorer too.

Watkins is an extremely good offensive rebounder, and benefits from the number of putbacks and backtaps this gets him. He gets these boards despite not being athletic, explosive, a leaper, a speedster, or even overly strong - instead, he outworks people, with a nose for the ball and a good motor. He's a skilled finisher around the basket, with decent hands, a little spin move, step-through and hook shot to go with good touch and solid footwork, and he combines good shot selection with an understanding of his limitations. Watkins also utilises a short to mid range jumpshot with slightly ugly form, and is efficient from both the line and the field, taking only shots he can make and with few mistakes to boot. Defensively, Watkins fronts the post well and has good timing as a weakside shotblocker, curtailing his foul rates significantly as an upper classman.

There are limitations, though. Watkins is not much of a creator in the post, without many counters to the righty hook and without the power or explosiveness to finish through and over defenders, a much less capable finisher when strongly challenged at the rim. His rebounding numbers are benefitted from being basically the only big man on his team, and there is nothing much to offer away from the basket. Watkins only leaves the paint on the offensive end to screen and sometimes roll, being barely able to put the ball on the floor otherwise, and when he needs to leave it on the defensive end, he looks unsure. Probably smaller than his measurements, Watkins can be scored over by bigger defenders and is slow to rotate, relying more on his activity level on that end more than any physical tools.

Despite the lack of ideal size and strength, though, Watkins made himself into a nightly double double player. With no huge holes in his game and a good effort level, he figures to be a professional in decent standard leagues for many seasons to come.

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