Melvin Watkins enters his third season at the University of Missouri and first under new Head Coach Mike Anderson.

Watkins, who will serve as the Associate Head Coach under Anderson, came to Columbia in 2004 after serving six years as the head coach at Texas A&M University (1998-2004) and two seasons as the head coach at his alma mater, UNC-Charlotte (1996-98).

"We are excited to have Melvin remain with us as our Associate Head Coach," Anderson said. "Melvin is a character guy, a family guy and those are traits that I see in myself and want in my staff. Melvin brings a wealth of coaching experience and has a strong background in the Big 12 Conference having coached in this league for the past eight seasons."

Truly one of the quality individuals in college basketball coaching fraternity, Watkins brings 28 years of coaching experience to Columbia. No stranger to postseason play, Watkins has registered a 2-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament and was named the Conference USA Ray Meyer Coach of the Year in 1997, an honor achieved by Anderson in 2004 while at UAB. A tenacious leader with a dynamic personality, Watkins knows what it takes to build and maintain a successful program and will assist Anderson in doing that in Columbia, Mo.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to be a part of what I feel is an exciting brand of basketball and a winning brand of basketball," Watkins said. "Coach Anderson brings a great deal of energy and passion to the game, which will translate to success for the University of Missouri on the basketball court. How can you not want to be a part of this?"

The former all-conference point guard and team captain at UNC Charlotte during his playing days is regarded as an outstanding recruiter. In his six years as head coach at Texas A&M, Watkins brought eight National Top 100 recruits to campus including the school's fourth all-time leading scorer, Bernard King and 2005 NBA First Rounder Antoine Wright. Current A&M standouts Acie Law and Joseph Jones were also members of Watkins' recruiting classes.

Watkins, 51, also put an emphasis on academics during his time at A&M as 14 of the 17 players who completed their eligibility went on to graduate. The three non-graduates are playing pro basketball overseas. Watkins' program also turned out 15 Academic All-Big 12 first or second team members during his six years at the helm.

Prior to his time at Texas A&M, Watkins was an icon of UNC-Charlotte basketball, helping the team to the Final Four as a player in 1977, then spending 18 years as an assistant before being named head coach in 1996. He was involved in every 20-win season and all 10 postseason tournament appearances in the school's history prior to his move to Texas A&M.

In two seasons as head coach at UNC-Charlotte, Watkins led the 49ers to a 42-20 record and two straight NCAA Tournament first-round victories. UNC-Charlotte posted a two-year conference record of 23-7 and advanced to the Conference USA Tournament finals both years.

A 1977 graduate of UNC-Charlotte with a degree in Economics, Watkins was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in the fourth round of the NBA Draft. His number (#32) was retired at UNC-Charlotte after his senior season along with his teammate Cedric Maxwell (#33). He was a 1973 High School All-American and was also the team captain of the Reidsville (N.C.) High School state championship team his senior year. Watkins was a three-year starter at Reidsville from 1970-73.

A strong member of both the College Station and Charlotte communities, Watkins was active in the Habitat for Humanity "Home Building Project," was a Co-Chair of the Battered Women's Shelter and is a member of the "100 Black Men of Charlotte" organization, a nationally known group that mentors young people and raises funds to assist individuals in their efforts to go to college.

Watkins, and his wife, Burrell, are the proud parents of sons Manuale and Marcus, who will be a senior on the Mizzou men's basketball team this season and a daughter, Keia, who is completing her first year of medical school at Missouri.