NC State needed to fill two assistant coaching spots and landed one today.
The Wolfpack have hired assistant coach Levi Watkins, who has been at Ole Miss since 2018.
"I want to thank [NC State] Coach [Kevin] Keatts for the opportunity to return back to my alma mater," Watkins said. "My family and I are thrilled and I can’t wait to be back on the sidelines for the Wolfpack. Over the last 20 years, I have been extremely fortunate to play, recruit, and coach in and against many of the premier basketball teams, leagues and regions all across this country.
"I am looking forward to playing a critical role in contributing to the success and next level of men’s basketball here at NC State."
Keatts will now be looking to add a third assistant coach.
"I'm excited to welcome Levi and his family back home," Keatts said. "His passion for NC State has been apparent every time I have spoken to him. Levi has a great basketball mind and he's helped guide the last three programs he's been with to the NCAA Tournament. He's a great builder of young men, who will develop our players both on and off the court.
"He's a strong recruiter and communicator. I think he's going to bring enthusiasm and excitement to our program every day and I'm excited to have him on our staff."
The 6-foot-8 Watkins was a top 60 recruit coming out of Rockville (Md.) Montrose Christian High in the class of 2001, and picked NC State over Wake Forest and others, thanks to the recruiting efforts of former NC State assistant coach Larry Harris and ex-coach Herb Sendek. Some have called the class the group that saved Sendek’s job at NCSU.
NC State fans didn’t get to see a true prep version of Watkins’ inside-outside game due to a knee injury. He still was part of four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a berth to the Sweet 16 in 2005.
Watkins moved into the administrative coordinator role in 2006 at NC State under coach Sidney Lowe, and then video coordinator from 2007-09. He was promoted to director of operations for the Wolfpack under Lowe and coach Mark Gottfried.
Watkins was hired as an assistant coach at Buffalo in 2014-15 under coach Bobby Hurley, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He then followed Hurley to Arizona State from 2015-18. He left to work for coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels in April 2018.
Davis has gone 64-61 in four years at Ole Miss, and 30-42 in the SEC. They earned one berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19 and a berth in the NIT in 2020-21.
NC State currently has three scholarships available, plus uncertainty surrounding redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron and freshman shooting guard Terquavion Smith, who are testing the waters.
"As a former NC State student athlete, I know what it means to wear the Wolfpack uniform, the tradition that is engrained into the very fabric of who we are, and the culture and passion that permeates throughout all of Wolfpack Nation!" Watkins said.
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