A small private school located in the Chicago suburb of
Westchester, Illinois, St. Joseph High School has created a prominent name for
itself on the basketball court. Having entered season after season with highly
competitive and talented varsity teams, the Chargers are most famous for their
legendary alumni. From Basketball Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas to the 2010
National College Player of the Year, Evan Turner, St. Joe’s has continuously
produced top notch players, and this year is no exception.
St.
Joe’s head coach Gene Pingatore, one of few high school basketball coaches to win
over 900 games and a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame,
has high hopes for his starting point guard, sophomore Glynn Watson who he
believes “has the potential to be one of the best point guards in the state.”
“He’s
not there yet. He still has a lot of work to do. Everyone thinks it’s just
automatic, but there are a lot of things that he still has to learn. That’s why
you don’t see the consistency that you would like to,” says Pingatore.
“On
the court, I just try to be a leader,” says Watson, “I’m a fast pace point
guard, and if we need to score at the end, I try to score and get my team
involved. I try to get everybody on the same page because, when we’re not,
that’s how turnovers happen. I want to create a relationship with all of my
teammates.”
Relationships
on the St. Joe’s basketball team, Watson says, are extremely unified. There is
no one person on the team that Watson feels he connects with more than others.
“All
of my teammates. We have a close relationship, so basically all of them.”
“My
coaches have done a lot to make me a better player. They push me more every day
in practice. Ping does a lot of yelling, so that gets me mentally tougher.”
Watson’s
relationship with Coach Pingatore is also very strong.
“It’s
really close because I’ve known him since my brother was here and all that, so
it’s close.”
Watson
is the younger brother of Demetri McCamey, a former University of Illinois
point guard and St. Joe’s alumnus. McCamey, who is now playing for the Erie
Bayhawks—the D-League affiliate of the New York Knicks—believes his
brother’s “potential is through the
roof.”
“He should be better than both my brother Dre
and I,” says McCamey, “At his age, I was stronger and more athletic, but he
[has a better knowledge of the game]. Physically, he has longer arms than me.
He’s just a little better in all aspects of being a true point guard.”
For
Watson and McCamey, basketball is “a family thing.”
Watson
says that he has learned a lot from watching his brother play and develop his
career in professional basketball.
“I’ve
seen him go through a lot of pressure so I know what to expect and all that
comes with trying to make it big. He’s taught me how to be a better point guard
and how to run a team and be a leader.”
“My brothers help me a lot because they
pressure me—especially in practice—to work on my game and get stronger every
day. We go to the gym every time they come home and just work on all the
aspects of our game every morning and afternoon.”
Although
he may be improving at a faster pace than his older brothers, when it comes to
a one-on-one battle, Glynn laughs, “I won a couple of them, but they’ve won
most of them.”
Both
Glynn and his brothers agree that Chicago is currently the location of the best
competition in high school basketball. Playing alongside elite class of 2015 players
such as St. Rita’s Charles Matthews, Simeon’s DJ Williams, and his own St.
Joe’s teammate Jordan Ash, Watson will have a lot of work to do in order to
continue his optimistic future.
“There are a lot of tough players in Chicago.
I just try to compete with them, too. It’s special playing at St. Joe’ because a
lot of players don’t get to play here and I get a chance to, so it’s special.”
Like
his older brother, Watson strives to continue to play basketball for a long
time.
“For
my team, I just want to try to go downstate and win the championship. In the
long term, I’d like to make it to the NBA someday.”
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