Neil Watson (born February 2, 1991) is a former American professional basketball player for the

Plymouth Raiders The Plymouth Raiders was a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition. The club was founded in 1983 through a merger between two lo ...

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

and is currently an assistant coach for

Park University Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2017, Park had an enrollment of 11,457 students. History The school which was originally called Park College was founded in 1875 by John A. ...

. He competed in

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

Early life and education

Watson was born on February 2, 1991, in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

. He attended college at

Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...

and the

Career

Out of high school, Watson tried out for the Toledo men's basketball team but was rejected. He transferred to the University of Southern Mississippi under coach

Larry Eustachy Larry Robert Eustachy (born December 1, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, most recently the head coach of the Colorado State Rams He was previously the head coach at Idaho and Eustachy was the AP Coach of the Year in 2000 af ...

. Watson's first season with the Golden Eagles resulted in an NCAA Tournament berth along with other starters Maurice Bolden (Sr.) Angelo Johnson (Sr.) Dwayne Davis (Jr.) and Johnathan Mills (Jr.). The Golden Eagles finished 25–9, losing in the first round to the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as c ...

in the NCAA Tournament. In Watson's junior season, he carried the Golden Eagles with 9 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game. The Golden Eagles lost the Conference USA championship to the

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the Sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level as a member of ...

in double overtime. Watson led the Golden Eagles to the NIT quarterfinal, which they lost to the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

. Watson had his best season in his senior year and led the Golden Eagles, averaging 11 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game. He was also fourth in the nation in free-throw percentage with 92%. The Golden Eagles made another NIT tournament but lost to the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

in the quarterfinals. After the loss, Watson was named a starter in the Reese's NCAA Basketball All-Star game. Watson was not drafted or signed by any NBA or development league roster but was named on the U.K.'s oldest professional basketball team, the

Leicester Riders Leicester Riders are a British professional basketball team and the oldest club in the British Basketball League (BBL). Established in 1967, the club have played in various locations around Leicestershire before moving to their current purpose- ...

. He departed Leicester Riders at the end of the 2015–16 season eventually joining Glasgow Rocks also in the British Basketball League (BBL). At the start of the 2017 Season Neil Watson joined the Plymouth Raiders and was brought in following his success and experience within the British Basketball League (BBL). In 2019 Neil founded TeeaTime basketball to provide training and coaching to youth players in Kansas City who are willing to put in the Time, Energy, Effort and Attitude required to grow as players and people. References

External links

Southern Miss bio
*http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/neil-watson-1.html http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/smis-m-baskbl-sched.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Neil 1991 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kansas City, Missouri Coffeyville Red Ravens men's basketball players Glasgow Rocks players Leicester Riders players Plymouth Raiders players Point guards Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball players