Rodney Watson (born July 18, 1960) is an American basketball coach and the former head coach for the University of Southern Indiana. Watson succeeded

Rick Herdes Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

, who resigned following a scandal that ultimately resulted in suspension from postseason play for one year.

Early life

Watson was born in Paris, Illinois and graduated from

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

in 1982. Rodney and his wife Carol live in Carterville, Illinois, where their kids attend school. Blake (16), Olivia (16), Zach (20), and Ashley (21). Ashley was a member of the Saluki Shaker dance team at Southern Illinois. Zach is currently a member of the USI track team in which he competes in the high jump.

Coaching career

Watson's coaching career began in 1982 at Coulterville High School in Coulterville, Illinois, where he led the team to an Illinois high school regional championship. In 1984, he became the head coach at Madison High School in

Madison, Illinois Madison is a city in Madison and St. Clair counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,891 at the 2010 census. It is home to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and the first Bulgarian Orthodox church in the United States. ...

, where he coached the Trojans to an appearance in the Illinois high school Elite Eight.

Collegiate assistant

In 1986, Watson began a two-year stay as an assistant the University of Nebraska-Omaha men's basketball team, before becoming an assistant coach at Southern Illinois University men's team in 1988 and remained until after the 2008–2009 season. During his twenty-one seasons with the Salukis, he helped coach the team to a 430–238 record, eleven Missouri Valley Conference championships, and nine

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

appearances (the Salukis had only had one previously)--including six in his last seven years. While at SIU, Watson worked under head coaches Rich Herrin, Bruce Weber, Matt Painter, and Chris Lowery. Neil Hayes, writing for '' The Chicago Sun-Times'' credited Watson with maintaining continuity for the team across the tenures of four different head coaches. He was considered for a position as men's basketball coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2007.

Southern Indiana

On May 22, 2009, Watson was hired to fill a vacancy created by the departure of

, who resigned following a scandal involving multiple NCAA rules violations by USI. Despite a one-year prohibition on postseason play imposed by the GLVC, Watson led the team to a 23–0 start and a #2 ranking in the

NABC NABC is an initialism that may refer to any of the following: *North American Bridge Championships, North American contract bridge tournaments * National Association of Basketball Coaches, an American trade association of men's college basketball c ...

Division II Top 25 Poll making it the best start for a first-year coach at USI. During the 2013-2014, Watson led USI to a GLVC Tournament Championship. USI also completed a season sweep of Bellarmine for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Watson retired following the 2019–20 season. His teams compiled a record of 251–82 over his eleven seasons.

Post-coaching

On November 4, 2020, Watson was named as a radio analyst on Saluki men's basketball broadcasts, splitting those duties with Greg Starrick. He moved into the primary analyst's role for the 2021-22 season.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Rodney 1960 births Living people Eastern Illinois University alumni High school basketball coaches in the United States College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Omaha Mavericks men's basketball coaches People from Paris, Illinois People from Carterville, Illinois Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball coaches Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles men's basketball coaches