Jameel Sharif Watkins (born August 2, 1977) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who last played for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL). He played

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for the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National ...

during the late 1990s, earning a reputation for his defensive proficiency and shot-blocking skills. His professional career has taken all around the world, playing with over 20 different teams. In addition, between 2000 and 2007, Watkins had four NBA training camp/preseason stints, but never played in a regular season game for any of them.

High school and college career

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Watkins led Paul Robeson High School to an NYC championship and was earned honorable mention All-America honors by ''USA Today''. After redshirting the 1995–96 season, Watkins played in all but three games for Georgetown as a freshman in 1996–97, averaging 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in nine minutes per game. As a sophomore in 1997–98, Watkins stepped up when fellow big men Jahidi White and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje were sidelined with injuries, recording a 16-rebound game against West Virginia. In 31 games, he averaged 4.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. As a junior in 1998–99, Watkins started all 31 games and was the fifth-leading scorer on the team with a career-high 7.8 points per game. He also averaged a career-high 7.2 rebounds. As a senior in 1999–2000, Watkins played in every game, averaging 12.3 minutes per game. He was the third-leading shot-blocker on team with 1.1 per game. He also averaged 4.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He made a strong impression at the

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur basketball tournament in the United States and the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft ( ...

following his senior season at Georgetown, averaging 12.3 points and 9.0 rebounds to help his team win the championship. Had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game and was named to the PIT All-Tournament team.

Professional career

Early years (2000–2007)

In his first professional season, the 2000–01 campaign, Watkins played in both the Continental Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association for the Fort Wayne Fury and the

Los Angeles Stars LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

. In April 2001, he signed a short-term deal with Spanish club

Cáceres CB Cáceres Club Baloncesto also known as Cáceres CB was a basketball club based in Cáceres, Spain. It was founded in 1961. History Cáceres CB club participated in 11 ACB League (from 1992 to 2003) and in two editions of the LEB (2003–04 an ...

to replace the injured Tim Perry. Watkins spent the first half of the 2001–02 season in Italy with Basket Livorno. He left the club in January 2002 and finished the season with the Fayetteville Patriots of the NBA Development League. Following the 2001–02 D-League season, Watkins had a five-game stint in Puerto Rico for Maratonistas de Coamo. For the 2002–03 season, Watkins returned to the Fayetteville Patriots. He later had a stint with Chinese team Shanshi YuJing in mid-2003. In January 2004, Watkins signed with the

Beijing Ducks The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chin ...

for the rest of the 2003–04 CBA season. In April of that year, he moved to the Philippines where he played for the

Shell Turbo Chargers The Shell Turbo Chargers were a Philippine Basketball Association team from 1985 to 2005. It won four PBA championships, two from 1998 to 1999. Shell sold its franchise to PBL team Welcoat Paints in February 2006. Aside from being known as the T ...

during the 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference. In 10 games for the Chargers, he averaged 27.3 points, 18.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. Between 2004 and 2007, Watkins played in the Korean Basketball League for Wonju Dongbu Promy. During this time, he also had off-season stints with

Kuwait SC Kuwait Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الكويت الرياضي) is a Kuwaiti professional football club based in Kuwait City. The football team has won Kuwaiti Premier League 17 times. Kuwait SC also has over 50 trophies in Kuwaiti Club foot ...

(2005) and Kansas Cagerz (2006).

Later years (2007–present)

During the 2007–08 season, Watkins played in China for Fujian XunXin and in the Philippines for the Magnolia Beverage Masters. Between 2008 and 2010, he played for the Jiangsu Dragons, while he also had a mid-2009 stint in Puerto Rico for Cangrejeros de Santurce. Between 2010 and 2011, Watkins played in Colombia, Lebanon, China, Jordan, and the Dominican Republic. This was followed by more time in Asia between 2011 and 2015, playing in China, Korea and Japan, while also having stints in Venezuela and Lebanon. On March 27, 2016, Watkins signed a two-week contract with the

. On April 7, he parted ways with the Saints. He appeared in three games for the Saints, averaging 7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and had a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds on March 31 against the Southland Sharks.

References

External links