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Improved Watt desires second chance
By SAM WILSON
If Pat Watt wasn’t thirty minutes early, he was late. The former Cincinnati Bearcats walk-on would always show up well before practice started at 3:00 p.m. during the 2005-2006 season. So it didn’t take until 3:00 for teammates to realize something was amiss.
“Around 2:20 or 2:30 we finally talked to (coach Andy Kennedy) and found out he wasn’t on the team anymore,” former Bearcat Ronald Allen said.
But in only part of a season as a walk-on at UC, Watt had already made an impression. “He was one of the only walk-ons that was vocal,” Allen said. “You might not like it all the time, but he was actually vocal. He actually said what he felt. He actually said, ‘come on,’ he vocally tried to get guys going. It surprised you for a walk-on. Walk-ons are usually quiet, to themselves, whatever is going on they just go with the flow.”
Watt didn’t let the scholarship players make him nervous. “They all felt kind of intimidated by everybody,” Watt said of the other walk-ons. “And I didn’t. So, I worked hard and earned their respect. I was just one of them.”
All the time spent in the gym caught up to Watt. Most nights he didn’t get home until after 7:00 p.m. His grades slipped and he had to leave the team.
“It was hard,” he said. “It was a lot of work. It was at least six hours a day. Whether we were running, conditioning, practicing or lifting, there was always something. But it was cool, though. I loved every minute of it. I just kind of got in trouble with my grades a little bit.”
Watt remained enrolled at UC for a while after leaving the team. He later took some time away from school to work at a travel agency. But he plans to return to UC, either in the fall or possibly the following quarter. Trying to return to the team as a walk-on is a possibility.
“I’ve trying to get in shape, so maybe (coach Mick Cronin) would take me back or something,” Watt said.
Watt said he has lost weight during his current workout plan.
“I’ve just been running a few miles a day and doing pushups and situps,” he said. “I was a football player (in high school) so I was too big for my own good. I cut weight so I would be in better shape.”
Watt has also improved in the classroom, giving him confidence that he would able to manage basketball and academics.
“I’m pretty good in school now,” he said. “I’m doing really well. I’ve definitely upgraded a lot from when I was at UC. “
Watt will be playing this summer in The Deveroes Summer Basketball League. He will be playing for Brick Street, a team that primarily consists of Miami Redhawks. Watt went to Moeller High School with Miami forward Tyler Dierkers.
“He’s pretty hard-nosed,” Dierkers said. “He’ll do whatever it takes. He’s a great competitor.”
Watt played for Brick Street last season. He has also visited Dierkers at Miami on numerous occasions, making him familiar with his summer teammates.
“I actually went to a couple open gyms up there,” he said. “Nothing that the team held, but just getting players together. Tyler would grab a couple of people. He lived in the dorm with all of them, so when I went up there to visit him, we all became good friends.”
Allen said teammates used to make fun of Watt’s shot. Watt has been working on improving his shot, and hopes to work on it this summer in The League.
“I think my handles and my defense are there, but I need to work on a better shot,” he said. “It’s going to gradually get better and better”
If Watt tries to return to playing for UC, it may be more difficult than when he first joined the team. As a freshman, Watt was a preferred walk-on. Even though he was not given scholarship money, the coaches knew he was coming and he didn’t have to go through a tryout to get his spot. Watt hasn’t had a chance to talk to Cronin about returning but he expects to go through a tryout against whoever else might show up to try to join the team. But just like the first time, he doesn’t think he’ll be intimidated.
“As long as I’m in good shape, I think I’ll be okay,” he said.
Even though a return to the Bearcats might have long odds, Dierkers has confidence in his friend.
“He’s one of those kids that if he puts his mind to it, I know he can do it,” Dierkers said. “So, I wouldn’t mind seeing him try somewhere, trying to get back on the court. Because I know he can do it if he wants to.”
