Mitchell Watt (basketball)

Mitchell Watt (born December 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli Premier League. He played college basketball for the University at Buffalo, where he was an All-American and Mid-American Conference (MAC) player of the year.

College career

Watt, a 6'10" forward-center from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Arizona, came to Buffalo to play for coach Reggie Witherspoon. After cracking the starting lineup as a freshman in 2008–09, Watt established himself as one of the top defensive players in the MAC, earning the nickname sWatt. As a sophomore, Watt battled Guillain–Barré syndrome, which limited his effectiveness.^[1] His role was largely as a rebounder and defensive stopper his first three years. As a junior, he averaged 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game.

As a senior, Watt continued his strong defensive play, but also nearly doubled his scoring output. He averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He led the Bulls to a 12-4 MAC record and was named conference player of the year^[1] and an AP honorable mention All-American.^[2] For his career, Watt scored 1,061 points (8.3 per game), 565 rebounds (4.4 per game) and 195 blocks (1.5 per game). At the end of his career, Watt was invited to play in the Reese's College All-Star Game at the 2012 Final Four.

Professional career

2012–13 season

In April 2012, Watt participated in the pre-NBA Draft Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, where he set the tournament record for blocked shots with 13.^[3]

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, Watt joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2012 NBA Summer League.^[4] On August 2, 2012, he signed a one-year deal with Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Super League.^[5]

2013–14 season

In July 2013, Watt joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On August 18, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with Ironi Nes Ziona.^[6]

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Watt joined the Golden State Warriors for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On September 2, 2014, he signed with the Warriors.^[7] However, he was later waived by the Warriors on October 24, 2014.^[8] On November 3, 2014, he was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors as an affiliate player.^[9] On December 22, 2014, he left Santa Cruz and signed with his former team Ironi Nes Ziona of Israel for the rest of the season.^[10]

References

External links

• Israeli Super League profile
• Buffalo bio