Metea Valley junior guard Tre Watkins knew he was going to have a more significant role this season.
But nobody realized just how big that would be. Expected to be a complementary player in the starting lineup, the 6-foot-2 Watkins has emerged as much more since senior center Jake Nosek suffered a broken wrist during the Mustangs’ season opener on Nov. 25.
“Jake was supposed to be our primary scorer,” Watkins said. “So now I’m going to have to take a bigger role scoring more points.”
Watkins has done just that, averaging 18.0 points through four games.
In the first game without the 6-8 Nosek, who is scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday and is expected to miss two months, Watkins scored a career-high 28 points to lead Metea Valley past Proviso East.
Watkins followed that with 21 points against Downers Grove North, which pulled away in the second half for a 64-55 win in the Downers Grove North Thanksgiving Tournament championship game Saturday.
“Tre has had a lot of growth and development, just leadership-wise, and then obviously he’s gotten a little stronger and finishes well at the rim,” Metea Valley coach Isaiah Davis said. “He’s a really good scorer. He attacks the basket well and shoots the ball well.
“He just does a lot of good stuff for us.”
That was evident in the early going against Downers Grove North. Watkins was able to find the seams in the defense and squeeze off a variety of floaters and scoop shots.
The Mustangs (3-1) led 19-18 after the first quarter as Watkins sank his first four shots, including the first of his three 3-pointers. He was 8 for 10 shooting in the first half, when he scored 18 of his team’s 31 points.
The score would have been tied 34-34 at halftime had Watkins’ impressive double-clutch 3-pointer at the buzzer not been waved off by the referees, who ruled he didn’t get it off in time.
Senior point guard Khalil Jones, a transfer from St. Laurence, has been impressed with Watkins’ play.
“His role was already big coming into the season as an upperclassman, so he was going to be good,” Jones said. “I’ve seen him grow. Now he’s like our guy.”
The Trojans (4-0) got wise to Watkins and did a much better job of defending him in the second half, when his only made shot was a 3-pointer with 59.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“They kind of played more up on me in the zone, and I couldn’t do much,” he said.
While Watkins did enough to make the all-tournament team along with Metea Valley senior guard Dominic Smith, he wasn’t satisfied with his performance against the Trojans.
“I’ve embraced that bigger role,” Watkins said. “I’m going to have to continue it, like second half too. I can’t just do the first half.
“It feels good starting and playing a lot of minutes, having a bigger role in scoring instead of just facilitating and shooting when I’m open. So I need to shoot more.”
Jones is ready to help Watkins do that.
“I’m going to look for him more, definitely,” Jones said. “He’s really good.”
But opponents know that, which will present more challenges for Watkins and the Mustangs.
“He’s definitely going to be scouted,” Jones said. “They’re definitely going to try to take him away. That’s why I’ve got to help him out.”
Davis is confident Watkins will continue to help out the Mustangs.
“He’s a really good player for us, and we look forward to him having a good junior year,” Davis said.
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
