DRIVE Basketball :: Inside DRIVE : Player Spotlight : Kyle Watson

KYLE WATSON

Drive recently had a chance to speak with our 2nd team All-BC selection Kyle Watson, a member of the 4th ranked McMath Wildcats.

Kyle Watson is an extremely talented wing, standing 6’5’’ he has the ability to shoot the ball, put it on the floor, and post up smaller defenders. All of which makes him a tough match up for opposing teams that he faces this season. The U-17 assistant coach Chad Clifford spoke about Kyle’s game, “I first watched Kyle shoot the ball and I thought to myself, how does he get that to go for him. Then as I kept on watching him play I soon realized that this kid really has a passion for the game. I told the other coaches if his shot isn’t broke, you don’t need to fix it. I think that Kyle is one of the best shooters in BC, he has the confidence to know that he’s going to make that shot, and that’s something that you can’t teach.” Kyle has been around the game of basketball ever since he was a young kid, watching his father, former AAA MVP Brent Watson play, sparked his love for the game. “ I have always been surrounded by the game and I have always loved it” says Kyle with a smile.

Kyle has learned a lot from his experience last year at the BC’s and is now looking to build off of that and doesn’t want to hold anything back for his senior year. His McMath squad returns their core group of players including former provincial team member Eliot Smith who is a 6’6’’ beast on the inside. Kyle says enthusiastically, “I’m very excited for this upcoming season I know it's going to be a challenging year but if we continue to grow as a team, I know that we will have a successful season. There are many talented teams this year, so we are going to have to work very hard to move up in the rankings. The Lower Mainland has some very good teams in it this year like Kits and St. George’s so we have to play well if we expect to finish in the top 3.” Kyle has the game to help take his team to the next level and is looking to do so once the season gets started.

Kyle is extremely excited for this season and can’t wait for it to get under way. He has worked hard on his game this summer competing for the Basketball BC U-17 team that won silver at the Nationals. He is willing to do whatever it takes to help take his team to the next level. “My goals this year are to improve each game and aim to be peaking when the provincials come around. I want to be constantly getting better, always finding ways to work on my game. I want to improve my all around capabilities, leaving everything on the floor for my final year” explains Watson. “We have to play like a team this year. We have to play consistently good defense if we expect to do well against highly ranked teams. We are a very effective team when we play an up-tempo offence. We have very good team chemistry and this will be a key to role to our success this season.”

Kyle leads his 4 th ranked (Drive AAA Rankings) Wildcats into the highly touted HSBC tournament this week where there are 4 of the top 5 teams in BC competing in it. Kyle knows that he is going to have to be at his best for his team to be able to make it to the finals on Saturday night at UBC’s War Memorial gym. “I am very excited for the HSBC tournament coming up next week. This will be our first game this season and I have been anticipating it since the summer time. It has many of the top ranked teams in it this year and is going to be extremely tough. Obviously, Argyle and Handsworth are the favorites but I think that if we are on our game we can make some noise. I would like to be able to face Handsworth on our side of the draw.” This years HSBC tournament fields the deepest and most talented crop of teams since the tournament began several years ago. (Check out www.kelseyhansen.com for the complete schedule).

We got a chance to ask this all-star forward what he thought about DRIVE and how it has helped inform him about what’s going on in the local basketball community. “I think the Drive Basketball Website is great. It specifically deals with BC Basketball. It is a very informative site; it gives information not only on clinics and training, but also on profiles on players and other basketball events. It is a website that I enjoy checking out everyday because it always keeps me up to date with basketball information. Chad and Pasha have done an excellent job in setting up the website and I look forward for more good stuff to come.”

Kyle and his McMath teammates start their season next week at the HSBC tournament. We want to wish the Wildcats good luck on their upcoming season.