Back then, Watts only stood 5-foot-9 and was still in the midst of transitioning from football — where he picked up his distinctive moniker — and getting his bearings on the hardwood. At Detroit’s Allen Academy, a pair of future mid-major signees in point guard Jason Williams and Danny Pippen served as veteran buffers.
“Rocket didn’t have to do much,” said then-Allen coach Craig Covington Jr. “All he had to do was catch the ball and score it wherever he was at.”
Today, Covington, who brought Watts along with him to their current home at Old Redford Academy, assigns considerably more tasks to his lead guard.