Another player with Trenton roots is headed to the NBA.
Jamir Watkins, the former Trenton Catholic Academy standout and Trentonian Area Player of the Year, was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 43rd overall pick and then traded to the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.
His selection came one day after the champion Oklahoma City Thunder took Thomas Sorber with the 15th pick.
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The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Watkins averaged a career-best 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists at Florida State in his senior season. He spent three years at Virginia Commonwealth before transferring to Tallahassee where he was twice an All-ACC selection.
“I worked out for the Wizards last month,” Watkins said after he was selected. “I really like how they have a young team with a coach in his second year. I feel that I will fit in well with them because they love my defense and how hard I play.”
The 23-year-old was one of the risers coming out of the NBA Draft combine in Chicago.
“He brought physicality and high-level intensity defensively while making plays all over the court,” noted ESPN draft guru Jonathan Givony. “Turning 24 in early July, his NBA-ready frame and tools give him an immediate skill he can hang his hat on, but finding a way to score consistently in the half court will be essential to him sticking long term.”
Watkins, who holds a degree in social science from Florida State, played 126 career games between FSU and VCU and finished with 1,626 career points.
“I’m a huge fan of him on and off the court,” ESPN analyst Bobby Marks said on the broadcast. “He pulled out of the draft last year and decides to go b ack to Florida State and I asked him why — it’s because he wanted to graduate and be the first person in his family to graduate.
“He’s an electrifying defender. We saw him in Chicago at the combine and he had five steals in the first half. He’s a long athletic wing, he can defend. He’s going to a Washington team that needs some athleticism and he will certainly add that to that team.”
The Wizards took Tre Johnson out of Texas with the No. 6 overall pick and Will Riley out of Illinois out at No. 21.
Source: Berkshire mont
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