Watson Makes Up for Lost Time in Healthy Senior Season
Chris Watson missed all of last year with North Haven boys’ hoops after tearing an ACL, but saw a light at the end of the tunnel in that he still had one more chance to run the floor and now he’s shining bright in his senior season.
Chris suffered a complete tear of his right ACL during the Nutmeg Games in July 2014 and was sidelined for the subsequent campaign. Chris went through rehabilitation and supported his teammates by attending practices and games, while keeping the prospect of competing as a senior fresh in his mind. When it was time to tip off, Chris was indeed healthy and feels happy to have spurred the Indians’ second-half surge that’s propelled them to the playoffs. Chris is averaging 12.1 points and 2.4 steals per game on the season.
“It was awful. Junior year, I really wanted to prove myself and didn’t picture sitting out the whole season. When the doctor told me, I busted down crying. But I just realized that God has a plan for me and so I started working to get back on the court, no matter how frustrating,” says Chris, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard. “I just wanted to make up for lost time, be an impact player, and be a leader. I wanted to go all out to start making a change for the basketball program.”
Chris returned to action last summer with his AAU team and admits he felt scared about possibly tearing the ACL again. Chris and the Indians then attended a camp as the winter season approached and, by that point, he felt the jitters were gone. Still, Chris’s nerves were put to the test when he was in uniform for North Haven’s season opener.
“I was extremely nervous that first game and, leading up to it, my mind was going crazy,” Chris says. “It was the first time I heard [Marc Russo] say my name in the starting lineup and I said, ‘This is what I’ve been working for all year.’”
Thus began North Haven’s quest to return to postseason play following a two-year absence. Things were bumpy early for the Indians, who dropped seven of their first nine, yet Chris and company bounced back with a 7-3 spurt that sealed their spots in the SCC and Class L brackets.
“The past couple years, the team hasn’t been winning, so the goal was eight wins and not just for us, but also Coach [Justin] Falcon. He’s worked his way up to varsity coach and we wanted to get eight wins for him, so everyone realizes he deserves it,” says Chris. “Now we want to get as much as we can, so people realize North Haven basketball isn’t a joke.”
Coach Falcon says Chris is one of the biggest reasons his team is faring so well of late and adds that the torn ACL looks like a distant memory based on the way he motors around the court.
“One of Chris’s greatest attributes is his quickness and, when he wants to run the floor, not a lot of our guys can keep up with him. Defensively, the kid’s long and that helps him get loose-ball deflections and create turnovers,” says Falcon. “Chris is a great kid and he cares. He’s been through an experience that not a lot of kids have and now he sees how important it is to work hard.”
Coach Falcon noted two performances in which Chris made big-time plays to help North Haven prevail. When the Indians played at Career on Feb. 10, Chris slammed home a dunk in the first quarter that sparked his club to a 57-47 victory.
“Emadi [Okwuosa] had the ball and I realized nobody was on me, so I cut to the basket. When I jumped, I wasn’t planning on dunking it, but I realized I was above the rim and, on the way down, I just dunked it,” Chris says. “I looked and everyone was going crazy and smiling. It was nuts.”
Two nights later, the Indians faced East Haven and Chris relentlessly attacked the basket to score 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as North Haven won 74-67 to solidify its playoff bid.
Of course, it’s a sweet feeling for Chris to help his team reach the postseason, but he feels equally pleased about how North Haven’s achievements can make an impact on the future generation of Indians’ hoopsters.
“We wanted to start something for the kids coming up to high school and leave our mark,” he says. “I feel like this year is a good start. None of those players have witnessed us going to SCCs or states and, now that they see the atmosphere and what it’s like to do that, they’ll strive for it every year.”