New Jersey City University Athletics

Simply put, Darren Watkins was one of the finest players to ever wear a Gothic Knight uniform. Watkins currently ranks 10^th on the NJCU men’s basketball career scoring list with 1,318 points and is the school’s career leader in games played (115). He is also eighth in career free throws made (265), ninth in career rebounds (712) and 10th in career field goals (517).  

 

Watkins earned first-team All-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), First-Team Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro NY-NJ and First-Team New Jersey College Basketball Writer’s Association honors in 1992. He also earned Honorable Mention All-NJAC in 1991 and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 1992 NCAA Division III Sectional Championship.  During his four yearsthe most successful four-year period in NJCU men’s basketball historythe team compiled a record of 94-21 and went to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 1992.

 

“I never had one problem with Darren,” said fellow NJCU Hall of Famer and current men’s basketball coach Charles Brown. “He was our team captain and an excellent leader. Darren played hard and always sacrificed for the good of the team.”

 

Watkins is currently employed as counselor at Youth Consultation Services for mentally challenged children in Newark. He will join the NJCU men’s basketball staff this year as an assistant coach in charge of scouting and recruiting.

 

Watkins resides in Jersey City with his wife Eloisa, a 1994 graduate of Jersey City State College and their one-year-old son, Darris.