Anthony Watkins

Anthony Watkins (born 31 October 2000) is a German-American professional basketball player who is currently playing for the Artland Dragons of the German ProA. After graduating from The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2019, Watkins chose to bypass college in order to pursue professional basketball in Germany before the 2020 NBA draft.

Anthony Watkins
Watkins with Heidelberg in 2022
Artland Dragons
PositionPoint guard
Personal information
Born (2000-10-31) 31 October 2000
Heidelberg, Germany
NationalityAmerican / German
Listed height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight94 kg (207 lb)
Career information
High schoolThe McCallie School
(Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Basketball Löwen Erfurt
2019–2020Gießen Pointers
2020–2021Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
2021–2022MLP Academics Heidelberg
2022–2023BG Hagen
2023–Artland Dragons

Early life and career

Watkins grew up in the United States and Germany and is bilingual. He started to pursue basketball from his early childhood on, at the age of 5. Watkins continued playing both school-organized basketball in middle and high school, as well as AAU basketball. At Lakeview Middle School, Watkins holds the record of most points scored in a single game with 47 points in three quarters' time.[1] Watkins then became a member of the varsity basketball team at The McCallie School. He led his team as captain in his senior year of high school during which he ranked second in scoring for the Blue Tornado, while also standing second in field goal percentage and blocked shots. Watkins was selected to the 2019 Division II-AA East-Middle All-Region and BCAT All-Stars East teams.[2]

Professional career

Watkins signed his first professional contract with the Basketball Löwen Erfurt[3] of the German third tier ProB in August 2019, right after graduating from The McCallie School. Due to being classified as an EU-import player, despite Watkins' dual citizenship, he played limited minutes in 10 games with the Basketball Löwen Erfurt,[4][5] averaging 3.6 points per contest.[6] In January 2020, Watkins, therefore, joined the Regionalliga side Gießen Pointers (fourth German division) with a debut of 22 points and eight rebounds.[7][8] He finished the season, which ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, averaging 9 points,[9] 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, while shooting 53 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from behind the 3-point line in nine games.[10] Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, Watkins' professional status and the fact that he played his first professional game before January 1, 2020, entered him in the 2020 NBA draft.[11][12][13][14] He was not selected by any NBA team.[15]

On 28 August 2020, Watkins signed with the Basketball Löwen Braunschweig of the Basketball Bundesliga, with a double license, in order to also assist Braunschweig's Regionalliga team SG Braunschweig.[10][16][17] He made his debut for the Basketball Löwen team in the Bundesliga on December 13, 2020.[18]

On July 14, 2021, he signed with MLP Academics Heidelberg of the Basketball Bundesliga.[19] His playing time was limited to no more than 1:33 minutes per game during the 2021-2022 Bundesliga season.[18]

In 2022-23, Watkins emerged as a major contributor for BG Hagen, averaging a team-high 21.4 points per outing for the fourth-tier Regionalliga outfit.[20] On June 30, 2023, he put pen to paper on a contract with the Artland Dragons of the German second-tier ProA league.[21]

National team career

Watkins was selected to the expanded roster of the U20 German National Team in 2019 and also participated in the U18 training camp in 2018.[10]

References
  1. Martin, Misty (2 February 2015). "Lakeview's Watkins scorches the nets for 47 points". The Catoosa County News. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. "2019 BCAT All Stars". BCAT. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  3. "Basketball Löwen - ProB Süd - 2019/2020". Barmer 2. Basketball Bundesliga. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. "Erfurter Löwen Überraschen in Testspiel Science City Jena". Thüringische Landeszeitung. Mediengruppe Thüringen. 11 August 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  5. "Comeback misslingt – 70:73-Niederlage für Rackelos gegen Erfurt". Jobstairs Giessen 46ers. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. "Anthony Watkins". 2. Basketball-Bundesliga (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  7. "Starkes Debüt, klare Niederlage". Giessener Anzeiger. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. Kilsbach, Sebastian (13 January 2020). "Pointers-Trainer Dörr: "Defensiv und offensiv waren wir einfach schlecht"". Giessener Allgemeine. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. "Beste Werfer (Saison: 2019/2020) - 1. Regionalliga Herren (Senioren)". Deutscher Basketball Bund e.V. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  10. Schmidt-Scheuber, Miles (August 29, 2020). "Anthony Watkins Joins The Basketball Lowen Braunschweig". Eurobasket. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  11. Schmidt-Scheuber, Miles (25 April 2020). "Anthony Watkins Enters 2020 NBA Draft Wanting To Add The Blend Of An Elite Athlete And An Advanced European Skill-Set". Eurobasket. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. Herpst, Scott (23 May 2020). "Hoop Dreams". Rome News-Tribune. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  13. "Former McCallie Standout Anthony Watkins Preparing For NBA Draft". The Chattanoogan. 19 April 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  14. Schmidt-Scheuber, Miles. "Anthony Watkins Enters 2020 NBA Draft". German Hoops. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  15. "2020 NBA Draft results: Picks 1-60". NBA.com. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  16. "Doppellizenz für Anthony Watkins & Simon Roosch" (in German). Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  17. "Braunschweiger Basketballer binden zwei Nachwuchsspieler". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 28 August 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  18. "Anthony Watkins". Basketball-Bundesliga. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  19. "Anthony Watkins Kehrt Nach Heidelberg Zurück". mlp-academics-heidelberg.de (in German). July 14, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  20. "Spielerstatistik Scouting - 1.Regionalliga Herren (1RLH) (Senioren; Liganr.: 220)". Deutscher Basketball-Bund. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
  21. "Erster Neuzugang für die Artland Dragons!". 2. Basketball-Bundesliga (in German). 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
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