Tag: Jamir Watkins

Jamir Watkins: ‘I feel like I could be a first-rounder, maybe even get into the lottery’

Jamir Watkins, currently ranked No. 59 on ESPN’s Top 100, has established himself as one of the nation’s top returning college players. After averaging 12.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in his first season with Florida Sate after transferring from VCU, …

Jamir Watkins, currently ranked No. 59 on ESPN’s Top 100, has established himself as one of the nation’s top returning college players. After averaging 12.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in his first season with Florida Sate after transferring from VCU, and Watkins was named All-ACC Honorable Mention.

Watkins is gearing up for his final season at FSU, where he has emerged as the team leader. Last season, he showed he was much more than a defender, he had 19 consecutive double-figure scoring games, as the 6-foot-7 wing continues to prove his versatility on both ends of the floor. After initially declaring for the NBA draft in April 2024 and entering the transfer portal in May, Watkins decided to return to Florida State, as he seeks to improve his game further with another season under Head Coach Leonard Hamilton.

The Trenton, NJ native recently sat down with HoopsHype to discuss his decision to withdraw from the NBA draft, his development as a player, and his expectations for the upcoming season.

Michigan basketball set to host elite transfer forward

Dusty May has been really impressive using the transfer portal. #GoBlue

Dusty May isn’t quite done yet — or at least he hopes that to be the case.

The first-year Michigan basketball coach confirmed on the ‘Defend the Block’ podcast on Tuesday that the maize and blue do still have one scholarship spot open, and he has his eye on one player who could possibly fill it.

Getting his start at VCU, Jamir Watkins transferred to Florida State where he excelled in his singular year in Tallahassee. But earlier last month, Watkins opted to pursue other options, once again.

Averaging 15.6 points per game last year, Watkins quickly became a hot commodity in the transfer portal, rated No. 10 overall according to 247Sports. And according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Watkins will visit Michigan basketball this week (as well as St. John’s).

May has already assembled an impressive class via the transfer portal. He brought in two centers in Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, guards Roddy Gayle Jr., Rubin Jones, and Tre Donaldson, and forward Sam Walters.

Should May be able to land Watkins, Michigan basketball could find itself not only challenging for the Big Ten in year one, he could potentially have a deep bench and one that could do some damage in the NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame unable to keep up with Florida State in loss

Not quite enough to win on a cold and snowy day.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The souls that braved the snowy and icy conditions in South Bend saw a good contest between Notre Dame and Florida State. It was a game that ultimately wasn’t decided until late in regulation. However, the Irish still are a young team learning how to win, and it didn’t happen in a 67-58 Seminoles victory.

The Irish (7-10, 2-4) trailed by four at halftime but have held the lead but for an 0-for-6 showing at the free-throw line from [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag]. The second half saw the Seminoles (10-6, 4-1) increase their lead to as much as 14.

While the Irish slowly chipped away and were able to cut that deficit to three with 1:25 to play, the Seminoles proved capable of weathering the storm and held on to win a game in which they had more success on offense as well as smothering defense.

Primo Spears led the Seminoles with 13 points off the bench. Jamir Watkins scored 12, and 10 points apiece came from Darin Green Jr. and Jalen Warley.

Despite the loss, [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] led all scorers with 20 points. [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] contributed 11 points but also committed five turnovers.

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