University of Tennessee Athletics
Watson Trades Orange For Red, White & Blue
August 12, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 12, 2003
Last summer, C.J. Watson was in Knoxville working out, spending time with his new teammates and getting acquainted to a new city nearly 2000 miles from his Las Vegas home. This summer, though, the 6-foot-2 point guard traded his Tennessee orange for red, white and blue in search of the gold.
Watson was one of 12 players named to the USA Basketball Junior World Championship team last month that won the gold medal at the Fourth Annual Global Games June 29-July 5 in Dallas. The team also made it to the consolation round at the Seventh FIBA Men's Junior World Championship July 10-20 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Wearing No. 4, he helped the USA to a strong showing during its brief tour and gained some valuable international playing experience along the way. He was the only player from the Southeastern Conference to be named to the team that included five Big Ten players (two from Michigan State and two from Illinois) and two high schoolers. Watson provided a spark off the bench at the point guard position by serving up assists to scorers like Daniel Brown (Illinois), Paul Davis (Michigan State) and De'Angelo Alexander (Oklahoma). "Coming into tryouts, I felt comfortable with my game," he says. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
The USA, led by Oregon head coach Ernie Kent, cruised through the Global Games with a perfect 5-0 record in six days. Watson, meanwhile, collected 19 points and 16 assists to only six turnovers during the week-long tournament. The USA crushed its competition, which included two games versus fellow Americans (like incoming Tennessee freshman Major Wingate) on the Global Games Select team. The USA defeated Global Games Select 104-88 to take the gold medal.
Following the "training session," as it was called, the team moved on to Greece for the FIBA Men's Junior World Championship. The USA inched by Slovenia, 84-83, before blowing by China (109-84) and Nigeria (88-69) in first-round play to finish first in Group C and advance to the quarterfinals. It was in the three first-round games when Watson made his mark on the international basketball world. He shot a sizzling 72.7 percent from the floor and 75 percent from 3-point land through the United States' first three games. "I just try to come in off the bench and do what I can for my team to win the game," Watson told reporters after his team beat Nigeria.
In quarterfinal action, the USA breezed by Puerto Rico (106-72) and edged Lithuania (87-84) before losing to Australia, 106-85. The loss dropped the USA into a three-way tie with Australia and Lithuania in the Group E quarterfinal standings. Because the USA lost to Australia by more than six points, Australia won the tiebreaker. Lithuania finished second and the USA was third. The team beat Slovenia in the consolation semifinals and wrapped up competition with a win over Puerto Rico to finish 7-1 in the tournament.
Traveling with the USA team and dishing out assists was the opportunity of a lifetime for young Watson. "It feels good to be able to represent my country," he says. "It means a lot to make the team. It means that I am one of the best players in my class in the country. It means that all of the hard work that I have put in over the summers is paying off."
Watson had an exciting freshman season with the Vols last year. He was pushed into the starting lineup from the opening tip and never failed. And when the dust settled, Watson led the team and the SEC in minutes played at 35.8. He averaged 9.1 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds his rookie year. In all, he tallied 160 assists on the season, which ranked second by a Tennessee freshman only to Johnny Darden (1965-77). To no one's surprise, Watson was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and to CollegeInsider.com's national all-freshman team.
Watson not only spent his freshman year dishing out assists on the hardwood, but he assisted in the community as well. He was named co-recipient of the 2002-03 Male Community Service Student-Athlete of the Year Award, given by the CHAMPS/Life Skills office at the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center.
A freshman year full of accolades was even furthered this past month. Some gold hardware from the Global Games can add shine to a trophy case. And the experience gained from competing in red, white and blue against international competition in both tournaments is worth more than gold.
