Philly-to-Boston pipeline continues with commitment of highly-touted point guard Watson
With the arrival of former head men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers to Boston University in 2009, a pipeline was created, a bond that linked along the East Coast all the way from Boston to Philadelphia.
It was a connection that Chambers used to recruit talented players who helped to revitalize a stagnant BU program and were instrumental in leading the Terriers to their first America East Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in almost a decade.
When Chambers left for Penn State University in early June and former Boston College associate head Coach Joe Jones was hired to replace him, the question naturally arose – would Jones be able to maintain not only Chambers’ success, but also the valuable connection to one of the most talent-rich areas in the nation?
Just over two months into his tenure, Jones has begun to answer those questions, doubts and concerns in one fell swoop when he landed a verbal commitment from class of 2012 point guard Maurice Watson.
The 5’9” floor general from Boys’ Latin School in Philadelphia announced his decision on Aug. 31, three months before he was originally scheduled to, choosing a school that over time became a clear and perfect fit for him.
“Everything felt right and I have no regrets about my decision,” Watson said in a phone interview with The Daily Free Press. “I didn’t feel like waiting anymore – I knew where I wanted to go and I just didn’t want to waste coach Jones’ time.”
Ultimately, Watson’s announcement – in which he chose BU over the University of Virginia, La Salle University, Hofstra University and Niagara University – served as a culmination of sorts for a process that has taken place for the greater part of the last three years.
Watson noted that BU started recruiting him as far back as his freshman year of high school, a seemingly distant time when Dennis Wolff was in the last of his 15 years as the Terriers’ head coach.
As a new coaching staff came into place under Chambers, the interest from BU remained, something which led Watson to take a visit to BU, where he noted Chambers and then-assistant coaches Brian Daly and Dwayne Killings did “a great job of selling BU.”
Though Watson never officially received an offer from Chambers, he remained high on BU and what it had to offer as a program. Even when Chambers left, something which commonly leads a recruit to reconsider a school, Watson continued to keep BU on his radar.
For Watson, the transition from Chambers to Jones, even in such a late stage in the coaching carousel, was relatively seamless.
“When they got the new coach, they didn’t miss any of my games and they had been there since day one – at one point, they were the only school recruiting me,” he said. “The new coach saw me play once and offered [a scholarship] and came to every single game after that, so I had no reason to doubt this guy had my best interests at heart and everything he’s telling me is genuine and sincere.”
The bond with Jones was only solidified and strengthened when Watson made another visit to BU this summer after the AAU season ended, utilizing the opportunity to forge a close relationship with Jones – all without even taking so much as a campus tour, instead sitting and talking with Jones in Case Gymnasium.
More than anything, it was the commitment and loyalty that Jones and BU has displayed towards Watson that made him feel more than comfortable with his decision.
“I was his No. 1 guy, and sometimes when coaches say that, they don’t treat you as such,” Watson said. “He’s always treated me like his No. 1 guy. We’ve had many conversations, some about basketball, some about just life and not even basketball.
“I just felt like I had the best relationship with Coach Jones and I have no problem trusting him with my career and basketball.”
While the aforementioned loyalty to Watson ultimately paid dividends for the Terrier basketball program, it existed for good reason – Watson is a highly-touted prospect that many feel has a bright future.
With a grade of 88 on ESPN.com, he is rated as the No. 30 point guard nationally in the 2012 recruiting class. Having been recruited by several Ivy League schools, Watson has been lauded for his intelligent play and exceptional decision-making, as well as his speed, which an ESPN evaluation noted as his “calling card.”
Despite all the accolades, Watson has been putting in extended hours working to improve areas of his game that he feel can improve and make him that much better.
“All summer, I’ve been extending my range to 3-point range and deeper, and I’ve been getting stronger,” Watson said. “I feel like I can finish under the basket now and take contact.”
With a supportive coach in Jones already on board, Watson was particularly enticed by the profound Philadelphia presence in the BU basketball program, having played with four current sophomores on the BU team – point guard D.J. Irving, forward Dom Morris, guard/forward Mike Terry and guard/forward Travis Robinson – and one former team member in H.J. Gaskins.
The “family-like atmosphere” that Chambers helped create around the BU basketball program always intrigued Watson and with so many familiar faces already on board, the college choice became clear.
The presence of a similar player in Irving, a speedy point guard who collected America East all-rookie honors last season, is something some may see as a deterrent to commit for a highly-touted recruit like Watson.
However, what some saw as a likely turn-off was something Watson saw entirely differently, looking at it instead as a Philadelphia-style backcourt built for greatness based on their time playing together – perhaps even one that could quickly take the BU basketball program to loftier heights.
“Over the summer, we won a lot of games and I just told Coach Jones that I think I can help him win a lot of games,” Watson said of his time playing with Irving. “Me and D.J. playing aside each other, that’s just going to be a killer backcourt because me and him played together for a whole summer and we just killed everyone.
“With our speed, me and him have similar games and we’re really close friends, and we can lead us to a championship.”’
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