Former Richard J. Daley College Men’s Basketball Player Excelling Overseas
Daisy Franco
Published: June 24, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ed Schaffer
June 16, 2015 (312) 553-2854 (Office)
eschaffer1@ccc.edu
Former Richard J. Daley College Men’s Basketball Player Excelling Overseas Diante Watkins receives four awards in German professional basketball league
CHICAGO – Diante Watkins, a former Richard J. Daley College men’s basketball All-American who completed his second professional season with SC Rist Wedel (Rist, Germany) last month, was recognized for his performances in 2014-15 as he received four awards from Germany’s 2nd Bundesliga Pro B League, which is comprised of 24 teams.
Watkins was voted as the Pro B Player of the Year, Guard of the Year and Import Player of the Year. In addition, the 5-foot, 9-inch guard was selected to the All-Pro B first team.
Watkins helped SC Rist Wedel advance to the finals in the Pro B North Division playoffs this year and finish with a 22-11 overall record after recording team-best averages of 21.3 points, 6.8 assists and 3.2 steals per game. His scoring average also placed him second in the league standings. As a rookie in 2013-14, Watkins led the squad with a 16.2 points-per-game clip while also contributing 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals each outing.
The Hubbard High School graduate played at Daley in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. He was a third-team All-American as a sophomore after averaging 26.5 points, 5.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2 steals per game for the 22-8 Bulldogs.
After completing his Daley career, Watkins transferred to Robert Morris University in Chicago and established himself as one of the top NAIA players in the country as he was a two-time first-team All-American and the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year his senior season in 2011-12. Watkins averaged 24.4 points, 7.4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2.1 steals in his final campaign.
While completing his bachelor’s degree in health management, Watkins played for the Chicago Redline in the Independent Basketball Association in 2012-13. He signed with SC Rist Wedel in August 2013 after being contacted by head coach Sebastian Gleim.
About City Colleges of Chicago
City Colleges of Chicago is the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation, with 5,800 faculty and staff serving 120,000 students annually at seven colleges and six satellite sites city-wide. City Colleges of Chicago is in the midst of a Reinvention, a collaborative effort to review and revise City Colleges programs and practices to ensure students leave City Colleges college-ready, career-ready and prepared to pursue their life's goals.
City Colleges of Chicago offers intercollegiate athletics at six colleges: Richard J. Daley College (men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball), Kennedy-King College (men’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball), Malcolm X College (men’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball), Olive-Harvey College (men’s and women’s basketball, baseball), Harry S Truman College (men’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball) and Wilbur Wright College (men’s and women’s basketball). City Colleges of Chicago is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). For more information about City Colleges of Chicago, call: (773) COLLEGE or visit www.ccc.edu.
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