Donald Watts Honored
SEATTLE - - Washington basketball standout Donald Watts was named the KOMO Most Valuable Player, headlining the awards presented Thursday evening during the annual Husky basketball awards banquet at the Don James Center.
Watts, a junior from Kirkland's (Wash.) Lake Washington High School, ranked second on the team with 16.9 points per game. He led the Huskies in assists (107) and steals (48).
Washington registered a 20-10 record in 1998, finishing fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference with an 11-7 mark. The Huskies earned their first NCAA Tournament invitation since 1986 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984. Washington defeated Xavier (69-68) and Richmond (81-66) before losing to Connecticut (75-74) on a last-second shot in the East Regional semifinal.
Junior center Todd MacCulloch (Winnipeg, Manitoba) garnered two awards, including the Harshman Trophy honoring the team's top rebounder. MacCulloch topped the Huskies in scoring (18.6) and rebounds (9.7) and was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection. He was also the recipient of the Tyee Club award.
Senior Chris Thompson also took home double honors. The graduate of Edmonds-Woodway (Wash.) High School won the Captain's Award and the 101 Club Award given to the top student-athlete.
Senior Jan Wooten (Elizabeth, N.J.) received the KING Television Most Improved Award while walk-on freshman Bryan Brown, from Mercer Island (Wash.) High School, was named the Hec Edmundson award winner as the team's most inspirational player.
Junior center Patrick Femerling (Dusseldorf, Germany) was named Washington's top defender for the second straight season and red-shirt freshman Thalo Green (Salem, Ore.) received the Wurster Award recognizing the team's top hustler.
