C.J. Watson

Charles Akeem Watson, Jr.^[1] (born April 17, 1984,^[2] in Las Vegas, Nevada^[3]) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He is 6' 2" (1.88 m) tall and plays point guard position.^[1]

College career

C. J. Watson played for the Tennessee Volunteers for 4 seasons. His best season came during his senior year where he averaged 15.3 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds. He earned Second Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and the league coaches. He finished his collegiate career as Tennessee's second all-time leader in assists (577), second in steals (198), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.396), tied for eighth in three-point field goals (401), and 15th in scoring (1,424 points).^[1]

Professional career

European career

Despite an excellent college career, Watson went undrafted in 2006 NBA Draft. He then played briefly with San Antonio Spurs in 2006 NBA summer league before joining Italian Serie A team Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia. He averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 17 games. He then moved on to join Greek A1 Ethniki team PAOK B.C. where he averaged 7.4 points and 2.2 assists in five games.^[1]

D-League career

Watson returned to the states to revive his NBA career, participated in 2007 NBA summer league with the Spurs and later joined Charlotte Bobcats training camp. However, he once again failed to make the roster for the season. On November 1, 2007, he joined NBA D-League and was drafted 5th overall by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.^[4] He averaged 26.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.38 steals in 38.1 minutes per game for the Vipers before signed by Golden State Warriors on January 8, 2008. At the time of the called up, Watson was the third leading scorer in the D-League. He also became the 100th player to be called up by a NBA team in D-League history.^[5]

Golden State Warriors

On January 8, 2008, Golden State Warriors signed Watson to a 10-day contract to be a backup point guard to All-Star Baron Davis^[5]. He impressed Warriors coach Don Nelson and subsequently earned a second 10-day contract^[6]. After two 10-day contracts, where he appeared in 8 games, averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 assists in 16.6 minutes, Watson was signed for the remainder of the season.^[7]

Personal

C. J. Watson majored in psychology at Tennessee and continues to pursue his degree. Has one brother, Kashif Watson, and one sister, Vonyetta Brooks.^{[citation needed]} He is also actively involved in the Hoops For Hope program.^{[citation needed]}

NBA career statistics

Regular season

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} NBA D-League draft profile
2. ^ NBA.com : C.J. Watson Info Page
3. ^ WARRIORS: Blog Squad - Warriors.com
4. ^ NBA Development League: 2007 D-League Draft Board
5. ^ ^{a b} WARRIORS: Warriors Sign Guard CJ Watson To 10-Day Contract
6. ^ WARRIORS: Warriors Sign C.J. Watson To Second 10-Day Contract
7. ^ WARRIORS: Warriors Sign C.J. Watson For Remainder Of Season

External links

• C.J. Watson Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• NBA.com: C.J. Watson Info Page
• NBA Development League: C.J. Watson Playerfile

Categories: 1984 births | African American basketball players | American basketball players | Point guards | Golden State Warriors players | Tennessee Volunteers basketball players | Living people | People from the Las Vegas metropolitan area | PAOK basketball players