Michigan Wolverines basketballhas added eight new players, including six transfers, since head coach Dusty Maywas hired in March. The Maize and Blue have at least one scholarship spot remaining and are continuing to scour the NCAA transfer portal.
The Maize and Blue are targeting Florida State forward transfer Jamir Watkins, who earned an NBA Combine invite but has withdrawn from the draft process and is now searching for a new school. According to CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein, Michigan is a contender along with St. John’s, Florida State, Oregon, Kansas State and Cincinnati.
Watkins, who earned an All-ACC honorable mention nod last season, is the top available player in the NCAA transfer portal, according to the On3 Industry rankings. He’s also the sixth-best player to transfer this offseason. He has two years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-7, 210-pounder spent three seasons at VCU (2020-23), before transferring to Florida State for the 2023-24 campaign. Last season with the Seminoles, Watkins averaged 15.6 points, 6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 50.2 percent on twos (127-of-253), 34.4 percent on threes (33-of-96) and 79.5 percent at the free throw line (163-of-205). He had the highest usage rate on the team (28.2 percent).
Watkins also led the team with 64 steals, and he ranked second on the squad with 92 assists, one shy of the team’s leader (point guard Jalen Warley, 92).
Watkins produced 0.996 points per possession on ball screens (including passes). He was effective at getting to the rim, converting on 57.5 percent of his 181 opportunities in close, and had a 54.8 effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot jumpers, which stood in the 69th percentile nationally.
Florida State finished last season with a 17-16 overall record and 10-10 mark in the ACC, missing the NCAA Tournament after a second-round exit in the conference tournament. The Seminoles ranked 90th nationally on offense and 75th on defense, according to Kenpom’s adjusted efficiency ratings.
The Athletic ranks Watkins the second-best available player in the transfer portal.
“Watkins is one of the most athletic wings in the country. He’s a menace defensively with his ability to get deflections and steals,” C.J. Moore wrote. “He averaged 1.9 steals per game, and he’s built in the mold of the ideal Florida State wing — long and athletic. Watkins is one of the rare players who up-transferred and improved his numbers. After two years as a single-digit scorer at VCU, he transferred to Florida State a year ago and averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.”
Watkins was the No. 72 NBA Draft prospect on The Athletic analyst Sam Vecenie’s big board before opting to return to college basketball.
The Trenton, N.J., product registered 9.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest for VCU in 2022-23. He shot 46.2 percent on twos and 34 percent on 106 three-pointers. He missed the 2021-22 season with a knee injury, after averaging 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a freshman for VCU in 2020-21.
Watkins was an unranked recruit out of high school, per On3, hailing from Trenton (N.J.) Catholic. He scored 1,212 points in 73 career prep games, averaging 16.6 points per game.
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