Height: 6-9
Weight: 205
Position: SG/SF
College: George Washington
Age: 22
2017-2018 Season Stats
PPG: 16.3
RPG: 6.1
APG: 1.6
BLK: 1.6
STL: 0.8
Player Bio
Courtesy of George Washington Athletics
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Ranks second in school history in blocks (147) and games played (134) and 15th in scoring (1,460)...The 2017-18 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year...Two-time selection to the A-10 All-Defensive Team (2016-17, 2017-18) and an All A-10 Third Team Selection in 2017-18...2018 recipient of the Patricio Garino Defensive Award and Mike Brown MVP Award
AS A SENIOR AT GW (2017-18): Started all 33 games ... the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year ... also an All-Conference Third Team selection and All-Defensive Team selection ... recipient of the Patricio Garino Defensive Award and Mike Brown MVP Award ... led the team with 16.3 ppg and 54 blocks ... second on the team with 6.1 rpg ... ranked third in the A-10 with 1.6 blocks/game ... scored in double figures in 20 straight games and 29 overall ... had seven 20-point games and four double-doubles ... averaged 18.4 ppg in A-10 play ... member of the GW Athletic Department Dean's List (Fall '17) ... had a team-high 21 points at Dayton (3/2), marking his fourth 20-point effort in the last five games ... scored a career-high 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting vs. Fordham (2/28) ... nearly double-doubled with 23 points on 10-of-21 shooting and nine rebounds vs. VCU (2/17) ... double-doubled at George Mason (2/10), scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds ... scored 29 points on an 11-of-20 effort, including five three-pointers in seven attempts, vs. La Salle (2/7) ... had five blocks at St. Bonaventure (1/28) ... totaled a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a trio of threes, vs. George Mason (1/17) while holding Otis Livingston II, who had back-to-back 25 and 26-point performances, to 1-of-7 field goals and three points ... paced the Colonials with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting vs. Saint Joseph's (12/30) while limiting the Hawks' leading scorer Shavar Newkirk to 2-of-11 field goals and 10 points ... had his third double-double of the season, and fourth of his career, with 18 points and 11 boards vs. UNH (12/20) ... registered a team-high 18 points, 13 of which came in the second half, on 8-of-15 shooting at Penn State (12/9) ... named A-10 Co-Player of the Week (12/4) after leading GW vs. Morgan State (11/29) and Temple (12/3), averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, and 2.5 blocks through both games ... marked his first Player of the Week honor ... tallied 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 3-of-7 from long range, and had a career-high five steals vs. Morgan State (11/29) ... recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points, a game-and career-high 13 rebounds and six of GW's 12 blocks in 40 minutes vs. Rider (11/20) ... played 40 minutes in the season-opener vs. Howard (11/10), leading the team with 19 points (8-of-11 fg) and 11 rebounds while making a career-high seven blocks.
AS A JUNIOR AT GW (2016-2017): Started 27 games and played in 28 ... missed seven games (Penn State on 11/26 through UCF on 12/15) with a calf injury ... ranked second on the team in scoring (12.2) ... named to the A-10 All-Defensive Team ... led the team with 32 blocks ... scored in double figures in 19 games ... tallied a season-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting at UIC (3/20) ... recorded 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting (2-of-4 3pt. FG), along with six rebounds (three offensive) vs. Dayton (3/4) ... played a career-high 40 mins at Fordham (3/1), scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting ... played 39 minutes vs. St. Bonaventure (2/1), holding Jaylen Adams to 1-of-10 from the field, and 2-of-13 from three point range ... also had a career-high tying six assists ... grabbed a game-high nine rebounds vs. Saint Louis (1/28) ... played 37 minutes vs. Duquesne (1/18), scoring a game-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 3pt. FG)with five assists on one turnover ... scored 13 points, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, and had four assists vs. La Salle (1/15) ... tallied 15 points with three blocks and a career-high three steals vs. Richmond (1/8) ... played a team-high 34 minutes vs. Davidson (1/5), leading the team's defensive effort by holding Jack Gibbs to 7-of-19 shooting and racking up 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting (2-of-3 3pt FG), while also recording four assists, two steals and a block ... led the team in scoring with 15 points vs. Miami (12/22), coming off the bench to shoot 3-of-5 from long range, grab six boards, register three assists, and lead the defense with two steals ... registered a career-high 12 rebounds and scored 13 points in 37 minutes vs. Siena (11/15) ... the double-double was the first of his career ... tallied 18 points and six rebounds on a career-high 10-of-12 effort at the free throw line in the season-opener vs. MDES (11/11).
AS A SOPHOMORE AT GW (2015-16): Started 37 of 38 games ... led the team with 40 blocks, which ranked 8th in the A-10, and had 12 multi-block games ... fifth on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg) ... scored in double figures 12 times ... committed just one turnover every 24.4 minutes, the lowest rate on the team ... scored a then-season-high 19 points in a win over Gardner-Webb (11/24) ... hit a season-high four 3-pointers in a win over Penn State (12/8) to finish with 14 points ... notched double-figure points for the fifth time this season with 14 to go along with a career-high tying three blocks vs. Richmond (1/28) ... knocked down a career-high 9 free throws on 11 attempts while snagging a career-high eight rebounds at George Mason (1/31) ... scored in double figures for the third straight game with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting vs. Davidson (2/3) ... connected on 3 of 4 three-pointers and finished with 11 points vs. La Salle (2/21) ... set career highs in points (22) and assists (6) at Davidson (3/5/16), knocking down 7-of-11 shots including 2-of-3 from three-point range ... had 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three, against Saint Louis (3/10) ... reached double figures in scoring for the third time in four games with 15 vs. Hofstra in the NIT First Round (3/16) ... grabbed a career-high nine rebounds vs. Monmouth (3/21) ... had a career-high four blocks in the NIT Championship vs. Valparaiso (3/31).
AS A FRESHMAN AT GW (2014-15): Averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 22.5 minutes in 35 games played with 10 starts ... Closed rookie season with 15 points and four three-pointers in NIT second round matchup at Temple (3/22/15) ... Averaged 13.5 points in final two regular season games, including career-high seven threes and 21 points against UMass (3/7/15), to earn second A-10 Rookie of the Week nod. Seven threes matched the second-most ever by a GW player in a single game ... Member of Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll (3.5+ GPA) and GW's Athletic Academic Dean's List (3.0+ GPA) for fall 2014 semester ... Made GW's third ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays (#8) appearance in 24 days with tip dunk en route to nine points in victory over Richmond (1/15/15) ... Extended double-digit scoring streak to six straight games with career-high-tying 12 at La Salle (1/10/15). Also scored 12 in victory at Saint Joseph's (1/3/15) ... Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week (12/29/14) after averaging 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in three games as GW captured the 2014 Diamond Head Classic crown. Scored 10 points in a semifinal win over Colorado and title game upset of No. 11 Wichita State, including two 3-pointers in a decisive 20-6 game-ending run against the Shockers.
HIGH SCHOOL: Labeled "the Chosen One" by The Japan Times, Watanabe (you-tuh wah-tuh-nah-bay) is the fourth Japanese-born student-athlete in NCAA Division I men's basketball history (Michael Takahashi - Cal State Northridge, K.J. Matsui - Columbia, Taishi Ito - Portland) ... in his lone scholastic season in the United States in 2013-14, Watanabe averaged 13 points and six rebounds in helping St. Thomas More School (Conn.) to a 26-8 overall record and an appearance in the National Prep Championship game, during which he scored a team-high 25 points ... his ever-improving play throughout the season helped him earn NEPSAC Class AAA First Team All-League accolades and he was also named to the National Prep School Invitational All-Tournament Team ... before coming to the U.S., Watanabe led Jinsei Gakuen High School to second place in the 2010 and 2011 All-Japan Tournaments ... he has competed for the Japanese National Team - as an 18-year-old, he helped Japan to third place at the 2013 East Asian Basketball Association Championship for Men and ninth in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship ... he also played for the Japan National Team in Olympic Qualifying in the summer of 2016 ... Watanabe comes from a basketball family - both of his parents played in Japan's top leagues, his mother, Kumi, also played for the Japanese Women's National Team, and his sister, Yuki, played for Aishin AW of the Women's Japan Basketball League.