Privacy Reigns, But Speculation Breeds As Watson Leaves Titans

I used to root for Detroit Southwestern High School in basketball. It seemed like they were getting to the Michigan state hoops finals every year, and every year they'd lose. This is back in the 1980s. The Prospectors, in their familiar (to me) gold and blue unis, were always at Crisler Arena every March, trying to win the Big One. Sometimes the scores were close, sometimes they weren't. But the end result was always the same: "We're Number Two!"

The coach was Perry Watson, and he was the Susan Lucci of high school sports -- always getting to the final cut, but never taking home the hardware. Yet Lucci finally ended her Daytime Emmy drought. And so did Watson quench his thirst when Southwestern broke the door down and started winning state titles after years of frustration and tears.

I'm rooting for Watson again, only this time the stakes seem to be higher, although I hope they're not. I don't know, because he isn't saying.

Watson, now the coach at University of Detroit-Mercy, is taking an indefinite leave of absence due to what is only being described as "medical reasons." No one -- not Watson, nor anyone at the university -- is saying more than that.

It's a slippery slope to be so secretive -- kind of a two-edged sword, if you will. On the one hand, privacy is respected, but speculation gets ushered in. And with speculation usually comes worse-case scenarios.

But Watson, it was reported, has been attending Titans practices this week, and was even present at the team's shootaround yesterday, prior to the loss to Cleveland State at Calihan Hall.
I've seen Watson conduct practice and interact with his players, and there's still a lot of high school coach in him, and I mean that as a compliment. UDM, while a Division I school, still has that small town feel to it. Calihan itself is very intimate, and when Watson shows up to run practice, he's helping turn on the lights and the clocks and walking around in sweats and carrying a whistle, just like he did at Southwestern, I can imagine. An early-season loss of star forward Brandon Cotton from the team got things off to a rough start in 2007-08. It's still not clear why Cotton left the team, especially since he had just attended a sit-down with Watson and Athletic Director Keri Gaither the day before, and both coach and AD assumed Cotton was on board.

Regardless, Perry Watson is sitting out the games, and we can only wonder why. I'll eschew the drama of doomsday speculation and assume that all will be well in the long run, and that Watson will be back on the sidelines next season, if not later in this one.

Get well, coach.