The 6-foot, 165-pound guard would lead the team not only in points, but also in rebounds that day with 14 and six, respectively. It wouldn't even remotely dent the Lions deficit. However, it did allow Watkins to show the never-ending optimism and insatiable and indomitable drive that he uses to lead the resilient young Lions.
In a season in which the Lions (7-19, 3-12 Big Ten) have constantly provided twice the effort for a miniscule fraction of the results, it is Watkins' drive in that devastating low point of the season that best exemplifies how this team has continued to fight despite failure.
"I just got the love for the game so much," Watkins said. "I always told myself, and I've always believed it that the game is never over until the horn sounds and there's three zeroes on the clock. Whether we're down by four or down by 40, I'm never gonna stop until the game is over."
One of the reasons Watkins is so driven to change the Lions' fortunes is because his newfound role as a starter and a team leader makes him feel like this is his team. Seniors Tyler Smith and Ken Krimmel are the official team captains, but as the point guard and floor leader, his leadership status is close to if not equal to theirs.
Like every player on the team, his role has expanded exponentially from last season. After averaging just 12 minutes and 3.2 points per game last season, Watkins has started every game except Senior Day, averaging 13.2 points per game.
The downside of his added playing time, of course, is that it coincides with the exodus of four starters who scored nearly 80 percent of the team's points last season. His role only makes the losses more painful.
"It hurts a lot," Watkins said. "Being a floor leader and trying to keep guys together, trying to keep everyone's head up and trying to keep everybody in tune to what we need to do in the next game has been rough. But I have a great group of guys who have kept their head up and haven't given up."
Watkins is already an eternal optimist, and the spirit the Lions have shown has only brightened his ideas for the future. For that reason, he studies his teammates to find out what makes them tick. In some cases, that requires him to push them and get on them about their faults.
That almost got him in hot water after the loss to Pittsburgh, when Watkins questioned the team's toughness. Some players took his comments personally, but Watkins addressed the situation and made them understand how he was going to relate to them throughout the season.
"I told them, in a game you can never take anything personal," Watkins said. "Especially from your own teammate. Because your teammate knows what no one else does, and he just expects more from you."
Ever since, Watkins' teammates have responded. Though they've been blown out quite a few times, they've fought to the end in each game. His leadership has also become more respected as the season has progressed.
"He's become a better leader as the season's gone along," Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said. "The leadership part of it is finding out what makes each guy tick and find out how you can get the best of them out on the floor. He's done a good job of that."
Watkins knows what he's doing as a leader, because although it's been a few years, he has been one before.
In his senior year and first season as a starter at St. Joseph's High School, the school in Chicago featured in the book Hoop Dreams, he did something not even a list of star alumni including former Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas could ever do. He captained the squad to its first and thus far only Illinois state championship, earning All-State honors and a nomination for the McDonald's All-American team along the way.
Watkins showed the same determination in that season that he shows today as a Nittany Lion. In a state playoff game, he led his team back from a double-digit deficit against current Los Angeles Clippers star Darius Miles' East St. Louis team with less than three minutes to go, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter.
"He just had an incredible will to win," St. Joseph's coach Gene Pingatore said. "He might not have been the most talented player we've ever had here, but he was such an outstanding leader because of his intangibles, his work ethic, and his desire to win."
Though Thomas might not have his own state title, he deserves a bit of credit for helping Watkins get his and making him the player he is today.
At a scrimmage St. Joe's had with its alumni at a practice before a major holiday tournament, the two-time NBA champion showed Watkins the ropes. After the two played a physical game, Watkins earned Thomas' respect and a bit of advice.
"He said, 'That's how you play, young boy,' " Watkins said. " 'You don't care who is on the court with you, you always think that you're the best.' "
Watkins still tries to play with that mentality, possessing the confidence necessary for a major college point guard. There is no player in college basketball he fears, and he is always confident enough to take the game into his own hands.
Along with Thomas' advice, Watkins remembers something his mother told him to keep him from transferring from St. Joseph's when a transfer student took his starting job in his junior year.
"My mom said, 'Be patient. God's got a plan for you,' " Watkins said. "And He don't always come when you call, but he's always on time.' "
Comments like that from his mother helped him build a strong spiritual base, which makes him believe that anything is possible for next season.
"I got a feeling (God) might pull the same thing as He pulled at St. Joe's," he said. "He might pull a Big Ten championship, He might pull another 20-win season. . .He might pull some Big Ten mentions for myself, I think He might pull out a John Wooden award nomination. . .I think I might be a preseason All-American pick. These are all things I feel, and I know I can get if I work hard at it."
Most of that sounds like a stretch considering the turnaround the Lions will need to have. A preseason All-American selection is a near impossibility, because the only way Watkins can get on that radar screen now is by dominating the Big Ten tournament at an unheard of level, say 50 points per game. However, Watkins isn't conceding that anything is impossible until there are nothing but zeroes on the clock of his college career.
