Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
will show signs of disgust at each and every foul called against them, deserved or not, Watkins typically owns his mis- deeds. He'll throw an arm in the air to take the blame or at least keep a straight face if the call seems legit. But if it does- n't, if it seems not just wrong but egre- giously wrong, his body language can often lead a ref to believe he's being shown up. The demonstrations can elicit laughs from Watkins and his teammates after the fact, even if he doesn't find much humor in the moment. Recoiling and unable to hide his displeasure, Watkins wears a look of sheer disbelief after a bad call that can't be missed. Even days or weeks afterward, blown calls can still nag at Watkins based on principle alone. He doesn't deny that he takes issue with the notion of automatic calls and whistles that are blown for the mere appearance of a foul rather than re- ality. "Certain fouls, I know I hit all ball. But just because I swipe down [it gets called]. That shouldn't be a foul if I didn't hit whoever I'm guarding at the time," Watkins said. "I'm not trying to [show displeasure], but certain times it gets the best of me." Penn State coach Patrick Chambers has been working with a young roster throughout this season, and as part of the maturation process, he and his assis- tants have strived to help Watkins chan- nel his instinctive behavior. Said Chambers, "He knows when he fouls, so you might see a face or two. We're work- ing on that." For his part, Carr just lets it go. He un- derstands the necessity of keeping an en- gaged Watkins in the game and off the bench, so the real priority is to distract, to keep the situation from escalating. He will shield his teammate from the offi- cials, allowing Watkins a moment to blow off some steam before regaining his com- posure. "I let Mike be Mike. When Mike is Mike, that's when we flourish as a team. That emotion and that care that he gives, that's what we need," Carr explained. "I just try to make sure he stays level- headed out there whichever way the whistle blows and just try to stay in the ref's ear to make sure he knows that he doesn't mean any harm and doesn't re- ally cost us." The strategy has produced mixed re- sults in Watkins' first year of action, as he had 77 personal fouls heading into the Big Ten tournament. His total was the team's third-highest, trailing freshman forward Lamar Stevens' 85 fouls and sophomore guard Josh Reaves' 78. Watkins had not received any technical fouls to that point in the season, nor had he fouled out of any games. But he also had not mastered the difficult art of playing with accumulated personal fouls. Sometimes, after picking up his first two in the first half, he would get hit with a third early in the second half, requiring Chambers to pull him out of the game. Through 31 games, he was averaging 23.2 minutes, the lowest total of the six play- ers who had made 10 or more starts. While he had not been disqualified, he had reached the brink more than a few times, collecting four fouls in seven games. When he's been on the floor, he's been very effective, averaging 9.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per contest. A central component of Penn State's defen- sive strategy, Watkins is a 6-foot-9, rim- protecting, shot-blocking presence. When he is absent, it fundamentally al- ters Penn State's approach and its mind- set. "It changes everything. Mike is the main point of our defense, and when he's out, it's clear to see. It's hard to get re- bounds," Carr said. "It kind of makes you buckle down more to keep your guy in front of you, just knowing that Mike is not back there to save you at the end of the day. We suffer from it. So, him getting into foul trouble kind of takes a toll on our team, especially so early in the game. Playing those key minutes during the game without him definitely takes a toll on us." Watkins started Penn State's first 14 games, but his penchant for getting into early foul trouble proved so vexing that Chambers frequently started forward Ju- lian Moore in his place once the Big Ten season began. The reason for the change was two-fold: Chambers wanted to mo- tivate Moore, but he also wanted to save Watkins from himself in the opening minutes. However, the move produced no real decline in the forward's foul totals. In the games he started, Watkins averaged 2.55 fouls; in the nine games in which he came off the bench, he averaged 2.44 fouls. In February, Chambers put him back into the starting lineup. Coming off an impressive defensive ef- fort highlighted by 29 minutes from Watkins against Purdue, the league's highest-scoring team, the Nittany Lions were eviscerated in the first half of an 82- 72 loss at Minnesota the next game. Asked to elaborate on the difference be- tween those back-to-back perform- ances, Chambers offered a succinct answer. "Mike was in foul trouble," he said. "It's very noticeable. He only played 16 min- utes, and according to our analytics, he was plus-nine in his 16 minutes. But for Mike, where he is in this stage of develop- ment, it's very difficult for him to play with two and four fouls [in the first and second halves, respectively]. He's just not ready for that yet, and we have to con- tinue to help him and guide him and teach him how to do it." Barring a deep Big Ten tournament run, the Nittany Lions were expected to wrap up their season in early March. But with three more seasons in which to refine his game, Watkins' future is looking exceed- ingly bright. He's determined to improve his reac- tions, both in the moment and in terms of the adjustments he makes for the rest of the game, and he understands the impor- tance of making those changes moving forward. "I've just got to learn to play through two fouls in the first half," he said. "It's hard, because once you get a certain amount of fouls, if I get another foul I'm going to come out. I can't foul again or I'm going to hurt my team. I've just got to play my same game with those two fouls and not worry about whether I'm going to foul out." ■