University of Washington Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball
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Junior Donald Watts named Pac-10 player of the week.
Feb. 16, 1998
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- University of Washington junior Donald Watts was named the Pacific-10 Conference mens basketball Player of the Week after leading the Huskies to victories over Oregon and Oregon State, Commissioner Thomas Hansen announced Monday.
A 6-foot-4 guard, Watts amassed 49 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals while shooting 48 percent from the field. He scored 27 points in Washingtons 84-74 win over Oregon State on Thursday and tallied 22 in a 62-61 victory against Oregon on Saturday.
Watts ranks second on the team with 17.8 points per game, a figure that ranks No. 7 among conference players. He leads all Washington scorers during Pac-10 play with a 20.3-point average.
Watts dramatically improved his statistics from his previous two seasons. He has doubled his 8.9-point scoring average from last year and has scored 20 points on 11 occasions after entering the year with a career-best mark of 19 points. Watts is shooting 50 percent from the field, improving from a 22-percent figure his freshman year and 36 percent in 1997.
A product of Lake Washington High School, Watts was the 1995 Washington state prep Player of the Year. He is the son of former NBA standout Slick Watts who played with the Seattle Sonics from 1973 to 1978.
Watts is the second Washington player honored this year by the Pac-10, joining Todd MacCulloch who twice earned the weekly award. The three Pac-10 player of the week awards are the most ever received by a Husky team during a single season.
The Huskies have a 15-7 overall record and a fourth-place Pac-10 mark of 8-5. They reached the 15-win plateau faster than any UW team since 1985. Washington travels to the Bay Area this week, playing at Stanford on Thursday and California on Saturday.
