SPOKANE, Wash. — He is the king of Spokane. From commercials to billboards to being the unquestioned leader of this year's Gonzaga men's basketball team.
However, it has not been an easy road to stardom for Gonzaga graduate forward Anton Watson.
"It starts with my freshman year getting injured. I was starting for the first couple of games before I got injured and then it took me a while to get back to my normal form and back comfortable playing how I play," Watson said.
Following shoulder surgery which cut short his freshman season, Watson was forced into a bench role over the next two seasons, but he spent that time learning and developing his craft.
"Being behind Killian (Tillie), he taught us a lot of things and then when Chet (Holmgren) came, it was kind of hard to take a step back and come off the bench, but I learned a lot of things from Chet. Just using that knowledge and building off of that and building my work ethic and using that motivation has really helped me get to this spot right now," Watson said.
Last year Watson broke out and became a viable frontcourt starter alongside Drew Timme.
"Man it felt really good. I felt for a couple of years, I was in a little slump and not playing basketball the way I felt like I should be playing it, so last year to play the way I played and making plays on defense, rebounding and just being an energy guy, helped me evolve into the player I am today, being more aggressive on offense," Watson said.
"I am just thankful for those years where you have to go through the struggle, but it shines in the end," Watson said.
Coming into this season, Watson had to assume a large leadership role on a brand new team.
"I would say this has probably been the most difficult year of trying to be a leader for me because there are a lot of new guys and younger guys. It has been pretty tough, but I feel like at this point in the season, everyone is starting to pick up more, learn more and we are finally starting to click a little bit," Watson said.
Now Watson is a Julius Erving Award finalist and is second in school history in career steals.
"I feel like when the team needs me most, that is when I need to step up. I am just going to keep continuing to work, keep staying humble and keep my head down. I do not really pay too much mind to awards, I just want to win games and if I am doing that, then I feel like the awards are going to come," Watson said.
As Watson finishes up his career in Spokane, he hopes to be remembered for staying the course.
"I want (fans) to remember me as a winner, a competitor and just a good teammate. Every team that I have been on here, I have had to do something different in my role and I feel like I have done my role pretty well," Watson said.
"I am just really appreciative of everyone here. All the fans always show love which really allows me to just play basketball, the game that I love, and be myself on the court, so I am thankful for everyone here," Watson said.
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