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| NLEX will now turn to Mike Watkins for the PBA Commissioner's Cup. |
MANILA--The PBA Commissioner's Cup has not started yet, but NLEX already initiated an import change.
The team announced on Friday that Mike Watkins will be their new foreign player for the upcoming conference, which will tip off on Wednesday.
Watkins will take the place of former NBA journeyman Ed Davis, who reportedly begged off from joining the Road Warriors due to family matters.
Former NBA star Kenneth Faried was considered Davis' replacement, but NLEX decided to stick with Watson.
Listed at six feet nine inches, the 29-year-old Watkins is known as a solid rim protector.
In all his four seasons in the amateur ranks, he finished inside the Top 10 in the Big Ten Conference in blocks per game.
Watkins committed to Pennsylvania State ahead of the 2015-2016 US NCAA season as part of arguably the university's best recruiting class ever.
However, he redshirted his supposed first year and only came on the season later, but he won two Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards during the 2016-2017 season.
The following year, he helped the Nittany Lions win the 2018 NIT championship and was named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team.
His final two years with Penn State were cut short due to tragic moments like a leg injury during his junior season and a DUI arrest in his final year.
Turning pro afterward, Watkins signed with Cimarrones Del Choco in the Colombian league in the 2020-2021 season before Hapoel Haifa called him up to Israel the year later.
After taking the 2022-2023 season and much of the 2023-2024 calendar off, Watkins, who went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, made his way to the NBA G-League with a short stint with the Delaware Blue Coats last March.
The following month, he moved to Venezuela and played for Piratas De La Guaira.
In what would be Watkins' first game in an Asian league, NLEX will begin its campaign in the mid-season conference on Thursday against NorthPort at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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