Florida won the NCAA tourney in April and Oklahoma City won the NBA Finals in June but there is still 1 more basketball champion to be crowned this summer. The Basketball Tournament (aka the TBT) kicks off on July 18th with 8 regions of 8 teams playing at Indianapolis/JMU/Kansas City/Lexington/Louisville/Syracuse/West Virginia/Wichita. Each region will send 1 team to the quarterfinals, with the championship game taking place during the 1st week of August, and the winning team walking away with $1 million in prize money. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the weeks ahead interviewing as many TBT participants as possible. We continue our coverage with Maurice Watson Jr., who will be playing for Red Rose Thunder after leading 3 different conferences in APG during his college career.
You got your nickname “Doo-Wop” from Allen Iverson: what kind of relationship do you have with the Hall of Famer? We had a closer relationship when he was playing in the NBA because he was in Philly all the time. I have always been a guy who wanted to be you rather than be over you. I was close to AI’s son/daughter, but after all the negativity came up later in his career we did not spend as much time together. I got the nickname from him when I would sneak down from my seats up high in the Wachovia Center to be down by the court. I want to reestablish my relationship with him in the future: he has always been a big motivation for me.
Your high school coach at Boys’ Latin was your father Maurice Sr.: what was the best part of having your father as your coach, and what was the not-so-best part (if any)? The best part was being held to a high standard…and the worst part was being held to a high standard! He was ON me: I needed to score 25 PTS a game and had to be 10 times better than anyone else. It was the best thing because I was able to learn from my mistakes. My dad coached the B team so when I played on that team I learned how to make the players around me better. If I did not score 25 then I would have to drive home with him or read in the newspaper how he was bashing his PG. I know what it takes to have everyone against you so playing for him is something that I will always cherish. X’s and O’s do not make you the best coach: you need to have toughness/love/etc.
You became 1 of the best scorers in Philadelphia Public League history with 2356 career PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Trusting the work and being full of yourself. As Kobe said, if you put all the work in then it will show. I played well out of fear: the motivation was not to score 25 or make the NBA. I wanted to play well enough so that when I got back to my phone my friends would not be grinding me up. Some of it was just so I could be proud of what I did and talk trash to my boys. I trust the gift that I got from God.
In 2012 you were named a 1st-team Parade All-American: which of your fellow honorees impressed you the most (Kyle Anderson/Kris Dunn/Nerlens Noel/other)? I would say Kyle: he was like Luka (Doncic) before Luka! He was able to keep his opponent from stealing the ball even though he was not very fast. Kris was also very impressive, but he was tall/athletic/fast.
You began your college career at BU: why did you decide to transfer in 2014, and what made you choose Creighton? I did not want to leave BU because I loved it there. I only have about 4 regrets in my life…and leaving BU is 1 of them, even though Creighton took good care of me. BU could not get me to the NBA: the Celtics’ scouts said that they needed to see me face better competition. Villanova was my dream school growing up in Philly: when I decided to transfer they offered me a scholarship, but I could not do that. Creighton had no other NBA/NFL teams and 20,000 fans every night: it was everything that I wanted.
You played for Coach Greg McDermott: what makes him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? I just had this conversation with someone else. When you are in his life he is like a father to you because he is a player’s coach. Everything he said he would do is what he did. He would not yell at you during practice but rather whisper in your year about how you were not working hard enough. If we wanted to get more money on our meal cards then he said we would have to get up 400 shots. He was always there for me and still answers the phone so I can never be mad at Coach Mac. I would send my kid to play for him today: he is a big family guy and even now that I am a pro Creighton will shout me out and still send me gear. He taught me that if you want to be a captain or make the NBA you have to work hard/get shots up/get into the weight room/be disciplined. I got in trouble in college once by not listening to him, but he gave me all the warnings because he is a great guy.
As a SR you played 19 games before tearing your left ACL: how bad was the injury, and how were you able to get back onto the court? My ACL tear was a very traumatic injury: most guys would come back from that in 9-12 months but it took me 18 months. 8 years later I am still battling it due to the meniscus/cartilage problems. I have played through pain during the past 3-4 years, but if I can play 10 years as a pro I will consider my career a success. It is about how much I want it and investing in myself and really being a pro. I must use my free will if I want to keep playing.
You led 3 different conferences in APG during your college career (America East/Patriot/Big East) and were leading the nation with 8.5 APG at the time of your injury: what is the key to being a great PG? Loving your teammates and knowing that it is not about you. I had great relationships with all my teammates: I knew if any of them had a sick mother or needed someone to buy them a meal, which gave me the ability to call them out because they knew that I cared. I would watch the game highlights 10 times and if someone missed 10 layups then I told them I would give them the ball 10 more times. We would go to the gym and work out together. Not many people know this: I tried to score every time that I had the ball, but my instincts would take over so I would pass the ball at the right time. The only time I did not lead my team in FGA was during my freshman year because people do not realize how much you are shooting when you are also passing.
After graduating you spent several years playing basketball overseas: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball in other countries? IQ, physicality, and the fact that there is no favoritism. You could be Luka getting fouled but the refs will not call anything. I am the “foreigner” who nobody can understand and eats food that nobody has heard of. It is tough to be dropped into a new country and adjust on the fly. You have to get used to new food, the time difference, the lack of lifting in the weight room, etc. Your teammates who are from that country do not want you to “get their shine” so they might not pass you the ball or will talk to the GM about you. Sometimes it is about politics rather than basketball so you cannot be as vocal, but it is a great life so I take the good with the bad.
You are playing for Red Rose Thunder in the TBT: what will you do with your share of the $1 million prize money if you win it all? I would put it into a life insurance policy for my kids, and use the rest to open up a youth advocacy center that is a 1-stop shop. Kids could come there to record music/paint/play basketball/write/draw/etc. That is my goal in life.
