Former NBA head coach lands job in college ranks

A former NBA head coach is circling back to somewhat familiar territory.

NBA reporter Chris Haynes revealed Friday that Earl Watson is joining the coaching staff of the men’s basketball team at the University of San Diego. The move will reunite Watson with Steve Lavin, the head coach of the program who also used to be Watson’s own coach in college at UCLA.

Watson, 45, is a former point guard who played for Lavin at UCLA from 1997-2001. He then played in the NBA for 13 seasons from 2001-14 as a journeyman backup. After retiring as a player, Watson became a coach in the NBA. He served as an assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns and was later elevated to head coach of the team after the firing of Jeff Hornacek. Watson’s stint as Suns head coach was highly forgettable though as he went a brutal 33-85 (.280) over his three partial seasons in charge from 2016-17 before getting fired. Watson also reportedly had some issues with Phoenix’s management at the time.

After his Suns tenure, Watson returned to assistant coaching, serving as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors from 2021-23. He received an interview some years ago for a big head-coaching job in college and will now officially return to the NCAA ranks as an assistant for the University of San Diego, a D1 school in the West Coast Conference (WCC).