Perry Watson (born April 30, 1950) is an American

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 ...

coach from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan. He played for

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

(where he was a teammate of

George Gervin George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...

), graduating in 1972. In 1977, Watson took the head coaching position at Detroit Southwestern High School where he coached, among others, future NBA players

Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy K ...

Voshon Lenard Voshon Kelan Lenard (born May 14, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was listed as 6' 4" (1.93 m) and 215 lbs, and was born in Detroit, Michigan. ...

and

Howard Eisley Howard Jonathan Eisley (born December 4, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. Born in Detroit, Eisley played college basketball at Boston College and was drafted in 1994 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Eisl ...

. Watson left Southwestern to take a position on Steve Fisher's staff at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1991, coinciding with the arrival of the Fab Five of which Rose was a member. After two years as an assistant under Fisher, Watson was hired as the head coach at the

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 ...

, where he spent the next 15 seasons. He compiled a record of 258-185, second in school history behind only

Bob Calihan Robert James Calihan (August 2, 1918 – September 22, 1989) was an American basketball player and coach. Calihan played for the University of Detroit from 1937 to 1940. He led his team in scoring during each of his three seasons and became the ...

. He led the Titans to three

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

titles, along with their first NCAA Tournament wins since advancing all the way to the Sweet 16 in 1977. Watson took an indefinite medical leave of absence in January 2008. He resigned on March 5, 2008. Perry Watson was an important character witness in the

University of Michigan basketball scandal The University of Michigan basketball scandal, or the Ed Martin scandal, concerned National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) rules violations resulting from the relationship between the University of Michigan (or Michigan), its men's baske ...

References

1950 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players from Detroit Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Michigan Wolverines men's basketball coaches Southwestern High School (Michigan) alumni {{US-basketball-coach-stub