Brandon Watkins enters his fourth season on the NIU men’s basketball staff in 2020-21, coming back to DeKalb following one season as head coach at Morton College. Watkins had previously been a part of the NIU staff from 2013-15 when he worked for the Huskies as a graduate assistant.
Watkins helped the Huskies capture a share of the MAC West Division title in 2019-20, as well as a top-four seed in the conference tournament, giving NIU a first-round tournament bye for the first time since 2006. The Huskies were on target for just their fifth postseason appearance in school history before the year was prematurely ended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
NIU won 11 conference games during the 2019-20 season, its most in 14 seasons, and Huskie senior Eugene German led the MAC in scoring, became NIU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,203 points and became just the eighth player in program history to earn All-America recognition when he was named to the Lou Henson All-America Team. German also earned First Team All-MAC and First Team NABC All-District honors.
In 2018-19, the Huskies earned 17 victories, tied for the sixth-most in school history, and advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals for the first time since 2003. German was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, becoming the first Huskie to receive that honor since 2003, and also earned Second Team All-MAC and Second Team NABC All-District recognition.
NIU recorded just its third win over a ranked opponent in school history when the Huskies defeated 14th-ranked Buffalo on January 22, the first Huskie win over a ranked foe since 1973.
During the 2017-18 season, his first back with the Huskies, NIU had one of its best offensive teams in recent memory as it averaged more points than any Huskie team since 2001-02 and scored the third-most points (2,319) in a single-season in school history. German led the MAC in scoring while earning Second Team All-MAC and First Team NABC All-District honors.
In his lone season as the head coach at Morton College in 2016-17, Watkins led an extremely young Panthers team that featured two sophomores and 11 freshmen to a 9-20 record. Under Watkins’ guidance, Deonte McReynolds was named to the All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Second Team.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Watkins began his coaching career in 2011-12 as the head sophomore coach and varsity assistant at his alma mater, St. Joseph’s High School in Westchester, Ill., where he led the sophomore team to an 18-6 record and worked under legendary head coach Gene Pingatore with the varsity team.
In 2012-13, Watkins coached the freshmen team at Riverside Brookfield High School, leading the Bulldogs to a perfect 24-0 record.
Watkins joined the NIU staff as a graduate assistant in 2013-14, helping the Huskies to a 10-win improvement, the 10th-largest nationally and the largest single-season improvement in school history. The Huskies earned the No. 7 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and hosted a first round tournament game for the first time since 2003.
After earning his graduate degree from NIU in 2015, Watkins started his own player development company called Blueprint Athletic Training.
As a player, Watkins played collegiately at Penn State under Jerry Dunn; helping lead the Nittany Lions to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2001. Watkins earned All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition as a senior in 2003 and ranks 13th in Penn State history in career assists.
Watkins went on to play professionally in Europe for eight seasons, playing in France, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Estonia and Germany. Among the notable teams Watkins played for were Wolfburg in Germany, the club team of NBA star Dirk Nowitzki, as well as Greek powerhouse Olympiakos. In 2008, Watkins was named newcomer of the year in Germany while leading the league in points and assists.
Watkins earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Penn State in 2007 and his master’s from NIU in adult and higher education in 2015.
