At 6-foot-8 and 255 pounds, Travis Watson's size sounds intimidating. Outside of ACC basketball it would be, but Watson is the smallest starting center in the conference. Playing outside of his natural power forward position, Watson has been an unstoppable force for the Virginia men's basketball team. Averaging an ACC-best 10.8 rebounds per game, Watson has led the Cavaliers in rebounds in 13 of their 17 contests.
"He is our dominator down low," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "He is amazing with all that he does in the low post. I have really seen him improve over the years."
Despite Virginia's lack of size in the middle, forcing Watson to shoulder much of the interior load on his own, he is averaging a double-double for the Cavaliers. Entering this season, Watson ranked second among active ACC players with 21 career double-doubles.
"Travis has been a dominant player for us," junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "He has been a huge rebounder and it seems like he is going to get a double-double every time out. It is hard to stop him when he gets the ball down low."
Virginia opponents have found it increasingly hard to stop Watson's inside ability. Watson has seen every area of his game improve over the last three seasons. Currently third on the team at 12.8 points per game, Watson's points per game average increased from 11.4 as a freshman to 12.3 as a sophomore. The Cavaliers also have enjoyed a steady increase in Watson's rebounding production. Finishing fourth in the conference in rebounding as a freshman, Watson averaged 8.3 rebounds per contest. Watson climbed to second in the ACC as a sophomore, improving to 9.1 rebounds per game.
Despite playing as an undersized center, Watson had started 58 of 60 career games coming into this season.
"Travis is a bruiser," Gillen said. "He plays with all of those nagging injuries, but never stops going hard."
Watson has started 15 of the 16 games he's played this season, missing only a 93-59 win over VMI with a hip pointer. Prior to this season, Watson's last missed start was on Jan. 20, 2001, against Missouri. Breaking a string of 45 consecutive starts, Watson came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 10 rebounds.
"I've been banged up with injuries here and there, but that doesn't matter," Watson said. "I go out there and play my hardest and that's all I can do. I am working really hard to stay healthy, but it's tough when you attack down low."
Watson's hard work and tough play have been his trademarks since joining the Cavaliers in 1999. As a freshman, Watson earned All-ACC freshman honors as well as being selected ACC rookie of the week twice. A second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore, Watson and Mason were the co-recipients of the Bill Gibson Cavalier of the Year Award as the team's most valuable players.
|
Watson's outstanding performance has earned him a position among Virginia's elite players. Entering this season, Watson was tied for seventh on Virginia's career rebounding list. With 522 career rebounds, Watson joined three-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson as only the second player in Virginia history to collect 500 rebounds in his first two seasons. Sampson grabbed 729 rebounds in his first two seasons.
Watson has emerged as one of the most dominant players in the ACC, giving Virginia a consistent weapon in the middle. A lack of size hasn't stopped Watson from becoming an intimidating force for the Cavaliers.
"We have had some ups and downs this season, but that's what happens in the ACC," Watson said. "We are getting all of the pieces together now and we have become a force inside"
Read More
Women’s basketball begins its redemption arc, defeats Clemson
By Victoria Blankenship | 39 minutes ago
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | 20 hours agoOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | 21 hours agoVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
