Jamir Watkins gets his hand in the passing lane, deflecting the ball before dribbling upcourt and doing one of two things — passing it off on the fast break or dunking.

The defense creates offense and few in the ACC have done it better than Watkins, a Florida State junior forward who has scored in double figures in 16 straight games but also hit 15 or more points in eight straight games.

“He fit what we're looking for, what we're trying to do here at Florida State with his body type, his size, athleticism, his intensity on the defensive end,” FSU assistant coach Steve Smith told the Osceola. “Now, did we know that he was going to all that he’s doing? We knew he could shoot the ball and make shots, but we didn't know he would shoot it this well. He does so much.

“It ended up being a better fit than we even realized.”

Watkins is in position to be the first FSU player in school history to lead the team in scoring (15.1 points), rebounds (5.8), assists (2.66) and steals (1.8). He has 80 assists to Jalen Warley’s 82 going into the final regular-season game on Saturday against Miami (4 p.m. on ACC Network). Watkins has a year of eligibility left but is on track to graduate this summer and will be among those who are being honored on Senior Day before the game.

All of the production on both ends of the court leads to a question: Where would FSU (15-15, 9-10 ACC) be without Watkins? The Seminoles have been wildly inconsistent and have gone just 3-7 in February and March, a disappointing turn after the five-game win streak of January. But through good times and bad times, Watkins has delivered.

“No doubt he has become the most consistent player on our team,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “And all the defenses are preparing, setting their defenses to guard him. And he seems to always find a way to produce numbers to give us a chance to be successful. So you have to admire that and respect that he's one of those guys that finds a way to be the stable player in our system. And we seem to all play off of him.”

A native of New Jersey, the 6-foot-7 Watkins has been everything FSU coaches could have asked for on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Watkins came off the bench in 19 of his 61 games at VCU the last two years, averaging 7.2 points as a freshman but then in Sept. 2021 suffered a torn ACL in practice and missed the season. He returned in 2022-23 to produce 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds.

But after a coaching change at VCU, Watkins was seeking a new opportunity last spring and entered the transfer portal. FSU coaches had been watching VCU film as they pursued Jalen DeLoach, the brother of FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach, who had also jumped in the portal. While Jalen DeLoach eventually picked Georgia, the coaches had already seen a good amount of Watkins’ games when his name hit the portal.

“Obviously, we jumped all over him,” Smith said.

Watkins had a few rough shooting nights early, but he has scored in double figures in all but five games — and his only miss in ACC play came on Jan. 6 in a home win over Virginia Tech in which he had eight points. Since then he has scored 20 or more points four times, including a season-best 27 at Syracuse. He’s also among the ACC leaders in free-throw shooting at 79.2 percent.

Is Watkins an All-ACC pick? There’s little question that despite the team’s struggles, Watkins has earned it. He might be overshadowed by the likes of UNC’s RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Clemson’s PJ Hall, among those who could be clear-cut first-team picks. But Watkins could be a second-team selection, FSU’s first since M.J. Walker after the 2020-21 season.

Smith says Watkins has put in the time, spending hours watching film of FSU’s games as well as scouting opponents.

“He really has such a high basketball IQ,” Smith said. “He's kind of a quiet kid on the court. But he sees things and I think that's part of it, another reason why he's good is because he sees the game. He sees a play ahead. He can see how people are guarding, he can see where the help is coming from. He spends a lot of time watching film.

“He’ll come in my office and we’ll sit for two, three hours watching film. And I realize while we’re watching it, some things he will say and he has already watched this two or three times before he’s even gotten to me. And it’s paid dividends.”

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