There will come a time when Joseph Watkins is heavily involved in the East Chicago Central boys basketball team’s offense.
Until then, the 6-foot-2 junior guard doesn’t mind a role that’s more focused on the other end of the court. Not when the Cardinals are winning.
“I’ve embraced it,” White said. “I just got that scoring mentality out of my mind. But at the defensive end, I knew I had to take that role.”
Watkins’ willingness to handle that assignment has been an essential part of a deep postseason run for the Cardinals (20-8), who will play Delta (17-7) in the semifinals of the Class 3A Logansport Semistate on Saturday after winning their first regional title since E’Twaun Moore led the team to the 4A state championship in 2007.
East Chicago Central coach Alaa Mroueh said he expects Watkins to find some way to factor into the result, even if it’s not on the scoreboard, like he did during the 78-55 regional win against Hanover Central on March 15.
“He takes the toughest assignment that we can give him, and he rebounds at a high level too,” Mroueh said. “His ability to crash the offensive glass was major for us in the first half, and he kick-started the other guys to join him in that area.”
Watkins’ numbers are modest this season, as he entered the regional ranked fifth on the team in most categories, averaging 4.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.7 steal. Playing alongside senior guard/forward Dominique Murphy, who is averaging a team-high 22.3 points and has passed Moore to become East Chicago Central’s all-time scoring leader, Watkins knows scoring isn’t what’s needed from him yet.
“I’m just waiting for my time, and I can keep playing this role because it’s still getting me the exposure that I want,” Watkins said. “Because we have a scorer or two on the team, I can show more defensively this year. Then next year, they can know me as an all-around player, not just my scoring ability.”
Mroueh made no secret of the expanded role that he expects Watkins to have next season, believing Watkins already has the tools to be a prolific scorer.
“He’s just explosive,” Mroueh said. “He’s very gifted, and he can score at all three levels. I’d anticipate him averaging 16 to 20 points per game next season. He’ll be taking the shots that Dominique is taking this season. But he’s found so many different ways to impact the game this year.”
Mroueh pointed to Watkins’ emphatic breakaway dunk against Class 4A regional runner-up Portage on Jan. 11 that went viral on social media as evidence of Watkins’ physical tools.
“He’s going to be one of the next staples of this program, and we’ve already asked him to do so much for us because he has the ability to do so many different things,” Mroueh said. “It’s just good to see him out there producing.”
East Chicago Central junior guard JeVaughn Wofford, whom Mroueh expects to join Watkins and junior guard Jamarie Pollard in larger roles next season, said Watkins’ ability to thrive at both ends of the court stems from the consistent way he plays basketball.
“It’s his motor,” Wofford said. “He’s just a competitive person who plays hard constantly and doesn’t give up. He won’t back down from anyone.”
Watkins said he’ll take that aggressive mindset to semistate with the belief that he can thrive on offense if the opportunity arises.
“Because of the attention that Dom and my other teammates get, I’m not really on scouting reports,” he said. “I’m the underdog, and I like that because when I’m out there, I can show off my talents, that I can really hoop.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
