VCU has confirmed that sophomore guard Jamir Watkins suffered an ACL tear in his right knee during practice this week. Fans began to speculate on an injury on the forums yesterday as Watkins posted an image to his Instagram story with the caption “Minor setback for a major comeback”.
An MRI was performed by VCU Health which confirmed the injury. VCU states that Watkins will undergo surgery next week and is expected to miss the entire 2021-2022 season.
“We’re devastated by the news, but we know with Jamir’s work ethic and approach, he’ll be back and ready to work in a few months,” said VCU Head Coach Mike Rhoades. “His teammates will rally around him throughout his rehabilitation.”
This is a significant setback for the program as Watkins was expected to have a major impact in his sophomore season. As a freshman, he averaged 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds for the Rams, many of those statistics coming later in the season where he helped the Rams solidify their NCAA tournament at-large resume.
VCU sophomore point guard Ace Baldwin is also out until at least January 2022 from an Achilles injury suffered in the offseason.
Mike Rhoades’ roster has plenty of size to fill Watkins minutes, though not quite as much experience.
