Dec. 13, 2009
by Sarah Stankavage, UNC Athletic Communications
CHAPEL HILL - It was quite a different experience Saturday night for number 24 to be on the court hearing "Jump Around" as opposed to being on the bench showcasing his dance moves for the Smith Center crowd.
Sophomore guard Justin Watts learned of his start only a couple of hours before game time at the pregame meal when head coach Roy Williams wrote Watts' name on the white board as one of the starting five.
"It was a rush of adrenaline and excitement, but I was trying to stay focused and not get too overwhelmed. I wanted to go out there, execute and play hard like every game before," said Watts.
The game Saturday night against the Presbyterian Blue Hose was Watts' first career start for UNC. Watts had no problem fulfilling his role as a starter after having three rebounds and two assists in the first three minutes of the game. He finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 23 minutes overall.
"I think Justin was active early. Defensively, he did some real nice things for us, but I thought the best thing he did was chasing down those two offensive rebounds," said Coach Roy Williams in a postgame press conference.
Being able to start is a whole different ballgame, literally, but Watts attempted to treat this game just like every other.
"I was just out there playing basketball. I did what Coach told me to do, got my teammates involved and played hard," said Watts about his personal game plan.
Watts joined the team as a freshman last season and played in the shadow of great players like Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. After one year of watching from the bench, Watts decided it was his time and he was ready to prove to Coach that he deserved to start.
"Every chance you get, you want to show Coach that you're not going to go out there all lackadaisical. You want to go out there and focus and do what he tells you. The more you listen to him and the more you do, the more playing time you will get," said Watts.
This hard work and focus has paid off for Watts shown by the significant increase in playing time he has gotten this season along with his first career start Saturday.
After a rough week of practice and a game in the midst of final exams, the Tar Heels were able to pull it together and put on a show for the Smith Center crowd.
"I had fun tonight. We had fun tonight. We really executed on offense and we were really aggressive on the defensive end," said Watts about the Tar Heels performance Saturday night.
Last season, Watts was known as the sideline "Jump Around" dancer, fans did not know his full capabilities on the court. This year has been different, however, since Watts has gotten the chance to play in every game so far. Hopefully, the guard from nearby Durham, N.C., can continue improving his game and add a couple more starts to his record.
