- Darryl Watkins
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Darryl Watkins Center Personal information Date of birth November 8, 1984 Place of birth Paterson, New Jersey Nationality American High school Paterson Catholic Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Listed weight 241 lb (109 kg) Career information College Syracuse NBA Draft 2007 / Undrafted Pro career 2007–present Career history Sacramento Kings (2007)
Iowa Energy (2007)
Los Angeles D-Fenders (2007)
Los Angeles Clippers (2008)
San Antonio Spurs (2008)
Tianjin Ronggang (2008–2009)
Sagesse (2010-2011)Stats at NBA.com Darryl "Mookie" Finesse Watkins (born November 8, 1984, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player. He is a former college basketball player for the Syracuse Orange who has a reputation for his shot-blocking ability.[1]
Contents
High school
A first-team all-state pick as a senior, Watkins was a four-time all-county selection and earned all-area his final two seasons. He averaged approximately 16 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and three assists in his senior campaign.[2]
He was rated 35th nationally and seventh at center by ESPN.com, 35th by PrepStars, 51st by Insiders Hoops, and 60th by Hoop Scoop. New Jersey Hoops ranked him 4th in New Jersey.
College
Used as a backup for his first two seasons at Syracuse, Watkins became Syracuse's starting center in his junior year. He registered 99 blocks that season, and ranked 16th in Division I blocked shots per game (2.8). He finished the season averaging 7.1 points and 7.3 rebounds.[3]
Watkins averaged 8.1 points and 7.5 rebounds a game in his senior year. He missed several games early on in the season due to a bruised nose, but still appeared in 33 games, starting 32 of them. He continued his intimidation inside, ranking seventh in Division I players in blocked-shot average (3.4). In the NIT, Watkins blocked six shots against San Diego State,[4] tying Syracuse's NIT record.[3]
Watkins wore # 13 as a member of the Orange.
College legacy
Watkins finished his career with 67 starts in 106 appearances with averages of 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He ranked fifth in career blocks at Syracuse with 263 and recorded three or more blocks in a game 48 times during his tenure.[3] Highlights include blocking a career-high 8 shots[3] in a 67-62 win over Cornell on November 9, 2005,[5] and matching that with another 8-block effort in a 77-76 win over Cincinnati on January 27, 2007.[6] Watkins during his tenure at Syracuse was affectionately called 'Mookie'
Professional career
Sacramento Kings
On June 29, 2007 Watkins signed a free agent contract with the Sacramento Kings. Watkins played for the Kings' mini-camp in early July and also in their Vegas summer league. In the Vegas summer league, he averaged 3.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game, including a nine-point, three-rebound effort against the Houston Rockets.[7] In August 2007, Watkins signed a partially guaranteed deal worth an estimated $450,000 with the Kings and appeared in nine games.[8]
D-League Stint (Iowa Energy and LA D-Fenders)
However, on December 10, the Kings waived Watkins and Watkins split the rest of the season with the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.[9]
Los Angeles Clippers
Watkins played for the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2008 Las Vegas Summer League.[10]
San Antonio Spurs
On September 11, 2008, Watkins signed a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs.[11] He, together with Devin Green and Salim Stoudamire, were cut on October 23 because the Spurs were cutting down their roster size.[12]
Tianjin (CBL)
When no NBA team was willing to sign Watkins, he signed with Tianjin Ronggang of the CBA on November 6, 2008.[13]
2009–10
KK Crvena Zvezda (BC Red Star Belgrade) agreed to sign Watkins for the 2009-10 season.[14] However, Watkins opted to remain in the United States after the birth of his daughter on August 14. He tried out for the Cleveland Cavaliers,[15] but was waived on October 22, 2009.[16]
Watkins played for the Indiana Pacers in the Orlando Pro Summer League in 2010.
2010-2011
In 2010, Darryl Watkins signed a contract with Sagesse in the Lebanese Basketball League.[17] He was contacted by the Los Angeles Lakers but they decided not to sign him.
References
- ^ Young, Ray. "Darryl Watkins Profile". Orangehoops.org. http://orangehoops.org/DWatkins.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ "Darryl Watkins Profile". SUAthletics.com. http://www.suathletics.com/roster.asp?playerid=1458&sport=176&roster=194&path=mbasket. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ a b c d "Darryl Watkins Prospect Profile". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/draft2007/profiles/DarrylWatkins.html. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ Largest crowd in NIT history cheers Orange to second-round win
- ^ Cornell 62, Syracuse 67 - Box score
- ^ Syracuse 77, Cincinnati 76
- ^ "Darryl Watkins Profile". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/summerleague2007/players/index.jsp?player=darryl_watkins. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ Zagoria, Adam (2007-08-12). "Paterson alumni begin pro hoops careers". The Herald News. http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMzEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxODEzMzEmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky. Retrieved 2007-08-23.[dead link]
- ^ "CNY in the Pros". The Post Standard. http://blog.syracuse.com/cnypros/2007/12/weekly_nba_wrap.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ You can't spell NBA SUmmer League without SU - Orange Basketball Blog on syracuse.com
- ^ Darryl Watkins set to sign with San Antonio
- ^ Roster roundup: Knicks waive Houston, ending comeback
- ^ Darryl Watkins signs with Chinese Basketball League team
- ^ Darryl Watkins close to Red Star Belgrade
- ^ Rick Noland. Cavs missing some key ingredients in loss to Wizards. Chronicle Telegram. October 15, 2009. Retrieved on October 15, 2009.
- ^ Cavs Waive Barrett, Robinson, Watkins
- ^ http://www.asia-basket.com/Lebanon/basketball.asp?NewsID=209229
External links
Categories:- 1984 births
- Living people
- American basketball players
- American expatriate basketball people in China
- Basketball players from New Jersey
- Sacramento Kings players
- Syracuse Orange men's basketball players
- People from Paterson, New Jersey
- Centers (basketball)
- Iowa Energy players
- Los Angeles D-Fenders players
- Undrafted National Basketball Association players
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