| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1954-11-15)November 15, 1954 (age 70) Reidsville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1973–1977 | Charlotte |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1978–1987 | Charlotte (assistant) |
| 1987–1996 | Charlotte (associate HC) |
| 1996–1998 | Charlotte |
| 1998–2004 | Texas A&M |
| 2004–2006 | Missouri (associate HC) |
| 2006 | Missouri (interim HC) |
| 2006–2011 | Missouri (associate HC) |
| 2011–2019 | Arkansas (associate HC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 105–137 |
| Tournaments | 2–2 (NCAA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Conference USA Coach of the Year (1997) No. 32retired by Charlotte 49ers | |
Melvin Lenzo Watkins (born November 15, 1954) is an American formercollege basketball coach and former player.
Born inReidsville, North Carolina, Melvin Watkins attendedReidsville High School. Watkins started for the Reidsville High basketball team for from 1970 to 1973. As a senior, he was named team captain and, after helping the team earn the state championship, was named a 1973 high school All-American.[1]
Watkins played college basketball atUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was thepoint guard and team captain of theCharlotte 49ers' 1977Final Four team.[2] While at Charlotte, Watkins made a point to complete his education, earning aB.A. inEconomics in 1977.[2]
Watkins was drafted in the fourth round of the1977 NBA draft by theBuffalo Braves, but never played in theNBA.[3]
In 1978, Watkins became an assistant coach for Charlotte's head coachMike Pratt, and would continue as an assistant with Charlotte through eighteen seasons and three coaches: Pratt,Hal Wissel, andJeff Mullins. When Mullins retired in 1996, Watkins was promoted and became the seventh head coach in school history and the first Charlotte alumnus to hold the position.
In his first season as head coach Watkins was named the Conference USA Ray Meyer Coach of the Year. He compiled an overall 42–20 record in his two seasons as head coach, bringing the 49ers to theNCAA tournament twice, reaching the second round each year.[2]
At the end of the 1998 season, Watkins accepted an offer to become the head coach atTexas A&M University, a school which had enjoyed only one winning season in the previous eight years. During the next six years, Watkins failed to live up to the success he enjoyed at Charlotte, achieving an unimpressive 60–112 record.[4]
In one of the team's more controversial games of Watkins's A&M career, A&M beatTexas Tech 88–86 by sinking a basket at the buzzer. At the time, game officials were not permitted to review plays using instant replay. The game was declared over, although Texas Tech administrators continued to plead with officials to return to the court and review the play. Watkins shepherded his team out of the locker room and onto the team bus without allowing them time to change, citing security concerns. Watkins conducted the post-game news conference with a cell phone from the team bus. The NCAA soon changed its rules to allow game officials to use instant replay for reviews. The lead official was later suspended, not for missing the call, but for failing to follow procedure for returning to the court after declaring the game was over.[5]
The low point came in 2003–04, when the Aggies put up a 7–22 record, going 0–16 in theBig 12 Conference. Watkins was pressured into resigning during the Big 12 Tournament in 2004. Watkins would not coach for a team that beat Texas A&M again until 2013, when Arkansas snapped his personal 26-game losing streak in games where Texas A&M was playing and he was coaching. He attributed much of the team's poor showing to the youth of the team's very talented recruits, which included freshmanAcie Law IV and sophomoresMarlon Pompey andAntoine Wright, and under his replacementBilly Gillispie, Watkins's players developed into a very strong team, earning an 8–8 conference record and a trip to the NIT in 2004–2005.[6]
During his tenure at Texas A&M, Watkins was noted for his outstanding recruiting, bringing eight National Top 100 recruits to the campus, includingAntoine Wright the school's tenth all-time leading scorer, and future first-team All-AmericanAcie Law IV. He also placed a heavy emphasis on academics, turning out 15 Academic All-Big 12 first or second-team members during his six years, and ensuring that fourteen of the seventeen players who completed their eligibility at A&M went on to graduate (the remaining three players are playing professional basketball in overseas leagues).[2]
After tendering his resignation at Texas A&M, Watkins accepted the job as associate head coach at theUniversity of Missouri on June 21, 2004.[2]
Watkins was named interim head coach at Mizzou followingQuin Snyder's firing on February 10, 2006, with the Tigers at a record of 10–11 and suffering from a six-game losing streak.[7] Watkins led the team to a 2–4 record during the remainder of their conference play.[8] Following the hiring of new head coach Mike Anderson, Watkins resumed his title of associate head coach.[9]
On April 6, 2011, Watkins and other fellow assistants followed Anderson to theUniversity of Arkansas, where Anderson had become head coach.[10] After eight seasons, Watkins was dismissed, along with the rest of the Arkansas staff at the conclusion of the 2019 season.[11]
Watkins is married to the former Burrell Bryant. They have three children, Manuale, Marcus, and Keia.[12] Marcus played for his father at both Texas A&M and the University of Missouri.[13]
Watkins is active inHabitat for Humanity and has served as the co-chair of abattered women's shelter.[12]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte 49ers(Conference USA)(1996–1998) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | Charlotte | 22–9 | 10–4 | 1st(White) | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Charlotte | 20–11 | 13–3 | 2nd(American) | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| Charlotte: | 42–20 (.677) | 23–7 (.767) | |||||||
| Texas A&M Aggies(Big 12 Conference)(1998–2004) | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | Texas A&M | 12–15 | 5–11 | T–10th | |||||
| 1999–00 | Texas A&M | 8–20 | 4–12 | T–8th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Texas A&M | 10–20 | 3–13 | T–11th | |||||
| 2001–02 | Texas A&M | 10–22 | 3–13 | T–10th | |||||
| 2002–03 | Texas A&M | 14–14 | 6–10 | T–7th | |||||
| 2003–04 | Texas A&M | 7–21 | 0–16 | 12th | |||||
| Texas A&M: | 61–112 (.353) | 21–75 (.219) | |||||||
| Missouri Tigers(Big 12 Conference)(2006) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Missouri | 2–5* | 2–4* | 11th | |||||
| Missouri: | 2–5 (.286) | 2–4 (.333) | |||||||
| Total: | 105–137 (.434) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
*Interim coach afterQuin Snyder resigned; complete record for the 2005–06 season was 12–16 (5–11 Big 12).