Terrence Watson (born March 3, 1987) is an

American-Israeli , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Hapoel Eilat of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. A forward, he played

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

Mott Community College Mott Community College (officially Charles Stewart Mott Community College or abbreviated MCC) is a public community college in Flint, Michigan. It is named for politician, businessman, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott. Its district is ...

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

and Ball State University before playing professionally in Iceland, Israel, Finland and the Philippines.

Early life and college career

Watson attended Murray–Wright High School in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

, where he averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks per game as a senior. He helped his team to 20-plus win seasons three straight times, including a 21-5 record in his last year. Watson was named second team All-City as a senior and also participated in track and cross country, earning All-City honors in cross country. Watson started his

career with

, where he averaged 12.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.4 blocks and 2.8 steals per game, leading Mott to the NJCAA Division II National Championship while also earning Defensive Player of the Year and All-Tournament honors. Watson played his junior year for the

, where he averaged 1.4 points in 6.7 minutes per game. On November 30, 2008, Watson transferred from Ole Miss to Ball State University but sat out the 2008-09 season per NCAA transfer rules. In his senior year at Ball State, he finished the season fourth on the team in scoring at 8.3 points per game and was second in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game. Watson led the team and was third in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

with 39 blocked shots.

Professional career

In 2011, Watson stated his professional career as a player-coach with Körfuknattleiksfélag ÍA of the Icelandic 1. deild karla. In 22 games played for ÍA, he averaged 24.4 points and league leading 15.1 rebounds. On January 2, 2013, Watson joined 1. deild karla club

Haukar Knattspyrnufélagið Haukar ( en, Hawks F.C.) is an Icelandic multi-sport club from Hafnarfjörður with divisions in Football, Handball, Basketball, Karate, Skiing & Chess. Club history The club was founded on 12 April 1931, when 13 young boys ...

. In 10 games played for Haukar, he averaged 22.3 points and 12.1 rebounds. Watson helped the team to promote to the top-tier Dominos League as the 1. deild karla regular season champions. On April 15, 2013, Watson re-signed with Haukar for the 2013–14 season. On March 28, 2014, Watson recorded a career-high 33 points, shooting 14-of-21 from the field, along with 11 rebounds and three blocks in a 77-81 loss to

Njarðvík Njarðvík () is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400. History In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær. T ...

in the third and decisive game of the Úrvalsdeild first round playoffs series. In his second season with Haukar, he led the league with 14.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks while also averaging 24.1 points, 2.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. In October 2014, Watson joined Maccabi Kiryat Gat of the Israeli National League. In 35 games played for Kiryat Gat, he averaged 16.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.1 rebounds per game, leading Kiryat Gat to win the Israeli National League championship after they defeated Ironi Kiryat Ata 3–2 in a best of five series. On October 23, 2015, Watson signed with the Helsinki Seagulls of the Finnish

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

. Watson helped the Seagulls to reach the 2016 Korisliiga Playoffs as the seventh seed, but they eventually lost to

Tampereen Pyrintö Tampereen Pyrintö ry is a Finnish multi-sport club from Tampere. Pyrintö representatives have achieved several Olympic medals and other success. In the year 2017, Pyrintö has sport sections in cross-country skiing, basketball, ski jumping, w ...

in the Semifinals. On August 10, 2016, Watson returned to Israel for a second stint, signing with Hapoel Kfar Saba for the 2016–17 season. In 32 games played for Kfar Saba, he averaged 16 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Watson helped Kfar Saba to reach the Liga Leumit Playoffs as the second seed, but they were eliminated by

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

in the Semifinals. On September 11, 2017, Watson signed with San Miguel Beermen of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). On November 15, 2017, Watson joined

Maccabi Ashdod Maccabi Ashdod B.C. ( he, מכבי אשדוד) is a professional basketball team based in the port city of Ashdod, Israel. The team currently plays in the Israeli National League. History The team was founded in 1961 by "Maccabi Ashdod Sport ...

of the

, signing a two-month contract as an injury cover for Gerald Lee. On October 1, 2018, Watson returned to the Philippines for a second stint, signing with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters as a replacement for

J'Nathan Bullock J'Nathan Bullock (born June 25, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Cleveland State University. He was signed by the New York Jets of the National Football League as an undrafted free agent in 200 ...

. In seven games played for the Painters, he averaged 16 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game. On March 7, 2019, Watson returned to Israel for a fourth stint, signing with

. However, on March 18, 2019, Watson suffered an achilles injury in his second game with Be'er Sheva and ruled out for the rest of the season.

Awards, titles and accomplishments

Titles

* Israeli National League champion (2015) * Iceland-D1 champion (2013) * NJCAA Division II champion (2007)

Accomplishments

* Iceland Úrvalsdeild rebounding leader (2014) * Iceland Úrvalsdeild blocks leader (2014) * Iceland-D1 rebounding leader (2012)

Personal life

Watson grew up in

. Son of Terrence and Meredith Watson. On March 7, 2019, Watson received an Israeli passport after converting to Judaism.

References

External links

Ball State Cardinals bio

RealGM profile

Eurobasket profileIcelandic statistics
at kki.is {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Terrence 1987 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Iceland American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Ball State Cardinals men's basketball players Basketball players from Detroit Centers (basketball) Converts to Judaism Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Hapoel Kfar Saba B.C. players Haukar men's basketball players Helsinki Seagulls players ÍA men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Maccabi Ashdod B.C. players Maccabi Kiryat Gat B.C. players Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Philippine Basketball Association imports Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players San Miguel Beermen players Murray–Wright High School alumni Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) players