After spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach under Bobby Hurley at Arizona St, former NC State Forward Levi Watkins has been hired by Kermit Davis as an assistant coach at Ole Miss.
“Levi Watkins has won everywhere he has been, either as a player and coach at NC State and also with coach Bobby Hurley at Buffalo and Arizona State,” said Davis. “I feel Levi has great talents in recruiting areas that are different than mine, and he comes highly recommended as a coach on the floor with player development. We sure are glad to have his family join the Rebel family in Oxford!” (Link)
Watkins is excited and honored about his new opportunity with the Rebels.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to join one of the finest, most highly regarded and well respected coaches in the country, in Coach Davis, at Ole Miss,” said Watkins. “This is an excellent institution with a beautiful campus and great people. I am truly grateful to be a part of the Ole Miss family. The investment that is being made into these programs and our student-athletes is unmatched, and the sky is the limit for Ole Miss Athletics under the leadership of Chancellor Vitter, Athletics Director Ross Bjork and Coach Davis.” (Link)
Watkins worked on NC State’s basketball staff for 8 years as Director of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator before earning his 1st coaching job with Bobby Hurley in 2013 at Buffalo. The two of them spent two seasons there, leading Buffalo to their first MAC championship and NCAA Tournament birth.
In the third year at Arizona St, Watkins helped lead Arizona St back to the NCAA Tournament, and at one point the Sun Devils were ranked 3rd in the AP Poll, which is the highest ranking in school history.
As a player at NC State, Watkins played in 97 career games for the Wolfpack, averaging 5.1 points.
