It’s 7 a.m. and Darryl Watkins is awake. It’s mid-July and most college students aren’t alive to the world yet, but Watkins is on his way to Manley Field House to lift weights. After he’s done, he heads outside to run a mile – all 250 pounds of him, ambling around Vielbig Track. If Josh Boone were awake right now, he’d be terrified.

After that, Mookie, as his family and friends call him, drives back to his South Campus apartment to ready himself for class. He’s back at Manley by 4 p.m. to work in the gym for the night.

When you look at Watkins in a game, you don’t see this determination. The emotions that drive him are on the inside. But don’t be mistaken – the intensity is there.

Watkins is taking a more serious approach to basketball this season. Known as the ‘the biggest clown on the team’ by some of his teammates last year, he is preparing to dominate Big East big men and establish himself as one of the country’s top centers.

Watkins came to Syracuse as part of the self-proclaimed Fab Four. After Syracuse’s 2003 National Championship, Watkins, Terrence Roberts, Demetris Nichols and Louie McCroskey were charged with being the next generation of SU basketball. As one of the top five recruiting classes in the country, expectations were high and patience was short. Watkins was no exception.

With Craig Forth in front of him, Watkins appeared in 12 games as a freshman, averaging about seven minutes. Used to being the star, it was tough for Watkins to watch from the bench.

‘That’s tough on anybody,’ his father, Darryl Watkins Sr. said. ‘It wouldn’t be natural if you didn’t sit and complain, but he realized there’s no sense in crying about it all day. At some point in time you get used to it. You get more tolerant and as time goes on, it bothered him less.’

Again as a sophomore, a less athletic Forth started in front of Watkins for every game. Mookie earned emergency minutes from the bench but could never establish himself. Ten days after his first career double-double, he injured his thumb in a Dec. 28 game against Albany. He had surgery and returned a month later with a heavily padded right hand.

From there, he continued as a backup earning sparse minutes. But there were flashes of Watkins’ potential. As Forth struggled offensively, Watkins gained more playing time. His coaches agree his breakout game came in the Big East Tournament in a four-point win against Connecticut on March 11.

Watkins scored two points in the game but his nine rebounds and five blocks against player-of-the-year candidates Boone and Charlie Villanueva led the Orange to victory.

‘When Boeheim got serious in the tougher games like the UConn game, we saw what (Watkins) could do,’ Darryl Sr. said. ‘He went out and played like people thought he could play. I told him, ‘You see the impact you made in the game? You scored two points and you were the difference.”

Watkins is quiet, but his teammates say he has the best sense of humor on the team. Just ask his roommate, sophomore Josh Wright.

‘He likes to slam me a lot,’ the 6-foot 2-inch, 175-pound Wright said. ‘It’s not wrestling, he slams me. If I’m not fighting back, it’s abuse.’

But this season, Watkins says, is more serious. He cut his patented cornrows this summer and put on about 20 pounds of muscle. He’s sporting a new tattoo of a Jadakiss lyric that reads: ‘The only man that puts fear in my heart is the man in the mirror.’

‘It’s not saying I see fear in the mirror,’ Watkins explains. ‘It means I’m the only man who can defeat me.’

In the past, Watkins could only prove himself when Forth struggled. Now that he’s a starter, assistant coach Mike Hopkins says there’s no reason why Watkins can’t average a double-double.

His childhood friend and high school teammate at Paterson Catholic High School, Marquis Webb, agreed Watkins is poised for a breakout year. Webb, who now plays at Rutgers, said they talk once a week about the upcoming season.

‘When I talk to him, he says, ‘Quis, I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for so long. I just gotta go out there and prove myself,” Webb said. ‘And I just told him you have to go out there and believe in what you do. He didn’t get many minutes as a freshman and

sophomore but now he’s a junior – he can show people what he can do.’

Wright, who worked out in Syracuse for the first six weeks of the summer, said Watkins will surprise a lot of basketball fans this season. Watkins’ athleticism at his size will be too hard to stop.

‘I call (Watkins) the specimen,’ Wright said. ‘You’re gonna see an anxious and excited player this season. Knowing that you’re the man in the middle gives him confidence.’

Published on November 6, 2005 at 12:00 pm