Ibi Watson

Ibi Watson
Watson with Michigan in 2018
Free agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (1998-01-06) January 6, 1998 (age 27)
Atlanta, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022College Park Skyhawks
2023–2024Borås Basket
2024Ottawa BlackJacks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Ibrahim Davis Watson-Boye (born January 6, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He played college basketball for the Dayton Flyers and Michigan Wolverines.

High school career

During his first two years of high school, Watson attended Athens High School in The Plains, Ohio. He was a basketball teammate of Joe Burrow.[1] For his junior season, Watson transferred to Pickerington High School Central in Pickerington, Ohio.[2] He averaged 19.2 points through two years at the school and earned First Team Division I All-Ohio honors as a senior.[3] He initially committed to playing college basketball for Michigan over offers from Dayton and Indiana, among others.[4]

College career

As a freshman at Michigan, Watson served as a reserve and received limited minutes.[5] He averaged 2.2 points in 5.2 minutes per game as a sophomore, helping his team to the 2018 National Championship Game.[6] After the season, Watson transferred to the University of Dayton and found a great home. Watson sat out his next year due to transfer rules.[7] During the 2019–2020 season, Watson served as the sixth man and averaged 10.1 points per game and shot nearly 40% from three-point range. On December 23, 2019, he scored a career-high 30 points in an 81–53 win over Grambling State.[8] As a junior, he was a critical piece in helping Dayton achieve a Top 3 NCAA ranking, and a program-record 29 wins.[9]

As a senior, Watson was named to the Third Team All-Atlantic 10.[10] He finished 10th in the conference in scoring (15.8) and third in three-point field-goal percentage and three-pointers made (.427, 61–143).[11]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Watson joined the Atlanta Hawks for the 2021 NBA Summer League, posting 8 points in 20 minutes on 3–7 shooting at his debut, a 85–83 loss against the Boston Celtics.[12] On October 12, he signed a contract with the Hawks,[13] but was waived three days later.[14] In October 2021, Watson signed with the College Park Skyhawks.[15] On December 10, 2022, he was waived by College Park.[16]

On August 1, 2023, Watson signed with Borås Basket of the Swedish Basketball League.[17]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Michigan 19 1 4.4 .345 .056 .750 .4 .1 .1 .0 1.3
2017–18 Michigan 26 0 5.2 .389 .323 .545 .8 .3 .3 .0 2.2
2018–19 Dayton Redshirt Redshirt
2019–20 Dayton 31 1 22.5 .498 .393 .845 2.4 1.3 .2 .3 10.1
2020–21 Dayton 24 24 37.1 .467 .416 .757 4.1 1.9 .5 .3 15.7
Career 100 26 18.1 .465 .378 .776 2.0 1.0 .3 .2 7.7

References

  1. ^ Jablonski, David (December 10, 2019). "Dayton's Ibi Watson cheering for Heisman frontrunner Joe Burrow". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  2. ^ Rabinowitz, Bill (March 4, 2020). "Pickerington Central product Ibi Watson thrives since joining Dayton basketball team". Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "Dayton adds Michigan transfer Ibi Watson". WKEF. April 25, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Quinn, Brendan F. (July 28, 2015). "2016 SG Ibi Watson commits to Michigan basketball". MLive. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  5. ^ McMann, Aaron (August 4, 2017). "Ibi Watson just set Michigan basketball's vertical jump record". MLive. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Schoch, Matt (February 10, 2020). "Ibi Watson relishes time at Michigan, but finds 'great home' at high-flying Dayton". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Baumgardner, Nick (April 25, 2018). "Ex-Michigan basketball wing Ibi Watson transferring to Dayton". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Jablonski, David (December 24, 2019). "Ibi Watson scores career-high 30 as Dayton Flyers win 10th game". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Jablonski, David (November 8, 2020). "Trio of experienced guards makes Dayton a contender again". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Johnson, Andre (March 10, 2021). "Multiple Dayton Flyers take home A-10 honors". Dayton247Now. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Jablonski, David (March 10, 2021). "Atlantic 10 awards: Four Dayton Flyers honored by conference". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks Aug 8, 2021 Box Scores | NBA.com". NBA.com. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  13. ^ Atlanta Hawks [@ATLHawks] (October 12, 2021). "Roster Update: We've signed guard Ibi Watson" (Tweet). Retrieved October 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Request Waivers on Johnny Hamilton, DaQuan Jeffries and Ibi Watson". NBA.com. October 15, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  15. ^ "College Park Skyhawks fall in preseason scrimmage". Clayton News-Daily. October 30, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "AJ Lawson Returns to College Park Skyhawks". NBA.com. December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Ibi Watson-Boye signs at Boras". Eurobasket. August 1, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2024.