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Florida State Seminoles guard Jamir Watkins (1) entered the transfer portal with a "do not contact" tag. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Should Gonzaga target Florida State's Jamir Watkins in the transfer portal?

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Cole Forsman | Last updated Apr 9, 2025 6:58 PM ET

Jamir Watkins, a 6-foot-7 forward who led the Florida State Seminoles in scoring last season, has entered the transfer portal with a "do not contact" tag, according to reports.

Watkins, who also entered the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday, averaged 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals across 32 games with the Seminoles, earning him All-ACC second team honors at the end of his second season in Tallahassee, Florida. He shot 42.7% from the field, 32.1% from 3-point range and 74.7% from the free-throw line. Watkins transferred to Florida State in 2023 after spending the previous three years with the VCU Rams.

Across 65 career games with the Seminoles — all in the starting lineup — Watkins put up 17.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He's currently the No. 64-ranked player on Tankathon's 2025 NBA Draft big board, while Bleacher Report's latest mock draft has him slated to go late in the second round. Watkins declared for the NBA draft last year before withdrawing to explore his options in the portal, though he returned for what turned out to be Leonard Hamilton's final season at the helm.

If Watkins decides to opt out of the draft, he would return to college with one year of eligibility left. Watkins was teammates with current Gonzaga Bulldogs wing Jalen Warley, who played alongside Watkins in the starting lineup on the 2023-24 Seminoles squad. Also worth noting: Gonzaga assistant coach R-Jay Barsh was on Hamilton's coaching staff the year prior when Warley was a sophomore.

The Zags could be in the market for another wing player after they lost two rotational players at that position to the portal in 6-foot-6 Dusty Stromer (Grand Canyon Antelopes) and 6-foot-7 Michael Ajayi (Butler Bulldogs). The 6-foot-7 Warley, who joined the Zags midseason after transferring from the Virginia Cavaliers, and Davis Fogle, an incoming freshman and highly touted 6-foot-6 wing, are two additions to the 2025-26 squad who could play meaningful minutes right away.

While acquiring backcourt depth is a high-priority item on Gonzaga's offseason to-do list, bringing in a guard/wing hybrid with a scorer's mentality might be worth considering as well. It just so happens that the last player who took on that role for the Zags, Khalif Battle, was high school teammates with Watkins at Trenton Catholic Academy (New Jersey) once upon a time. When Battle was playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks, he went with Watkins on his official visit with the team in April 2023, before Watkins decided to go to Florida State instead.

A former three-star recruit in high school, Watkins committed to VCU as the No. 17-ranked player in the state of New Jersey, according to 247Sports. He missed the entire 2021-22 season due to an injury, making him eligible for a fifth year of college in 2025-26.

A "do not contact" tag indicates that a player doesn't want to be contacted by coaches unless they initiate contact first. The dead period in recruiting ends April 10, meaning all in-person visits and communication are permissible between coaches and players.