On the surface, there wasn’t a massive statistical drop-off in Nate Watson’s game last season. Watson was expected to be one of the top centers in the Big East as a junior in 2019-20, and was one of 20 players nominated for the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award by the Naismith Hall of Fame in the preseason.
A knee injury forced Watson out of virtually all of Providence’s October practices, as well as exhibition play, and the team’s first four games of the season. He returned strong by making six of seven shots from the field in his debut against Merrimack, but Watson did not enjoy the breakout junior season many had predicted.