Making a name for himself

The football star and basketball standout you know about.

He're some other things you might not know about Coeur d'Alene High senior Deon Watson Jr., who recently signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Idaho:

• When his playing days are over, he wants to become a dietitian. He says food has always "intrigued" him - and we're not talking the usual teenage fare of pizza, burgers, fries, etc. When coaches stressed the importance of diet at camps he attended through the years, he actually paid attention.

Still ...

"If you see me with a candy bar, don't judge me," Deon says with a laugh.

• Once Coeur d'Alene High's basketball season ends, he'll start training in preparation of joining the Vandal football team this fall. But he still wants to enjoy his senior year here, so first, the 6-foot-4 Watson and his 6-5 basketball-playing buddy are considering trying to form an imposing doubles duo for the Coeur d'Alene High tennis team.

"I talked to my buddy Ty (Higbie) and I think we're going to play tennis this spring, just to try something new," says Deon, who admits he's never so much as picked up a tennis racket before. "We're going to try it out."

• During his free time, Deon likes to listen to music - on the Internet, anywhere.

"I probably listen to music 30 minutes to an hour a day, listening to new types of trends in music. I'm a big music person, but I can't sing it," he admits.

• In an interview-type setting, he comes across as soft-spoken, well-spoken and mature beyond his years - and he won't turn 18 until July. That may be true but, as his Viking basketball coach Kent Leiss says, "around his friends he's more of a comedian."

• If you flub a sentence in Spanish, there's a good chance Deon can correct it for you. That's from living overseas the first five years of his life, and taking four units of Spanish since moving to Coeur d'Alene at age 6.

• And, yes, if you're of a certain age, you may remember his father, Deon Watson Sr., who starred in basketball at Idaho from 1990-94. Deon Jr. says people make the connection between father and son more so when he is down in the Palouse - not so much up here.

Either way, he's cool with it.

"I understand he was a pretty big deal down there (in Moscow), but I try to make a name for myself at the same time, though," Deon Jr. says. "I enjoy the compliments to my dad, because I'm proud of him also, as he's proud of me, but I have to make a name for myself."

This just in - Deon Watson Jr. has indeed made a name for himself.

On the football field, the wide receiver/defensive end helped Coeur d'Alene win the last two state 5A championships. As a senior, he caught 54 passes for 931 yards and 13 touchdowns, was a first-team all-state wide receiver and was second team on the defensive line. As a junior, he was second-team all-state on the defensive line.

In basketball, Watson, is a four-year varsity player, was an all-league selection each of the past two seasons, and was second-team all-state as a junior.

He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career last month, and is now at 1,068 points for Coeur d'Alene (13-4, 4-1 5A Inland Empire League), which is ranked No. 2 in the state, and can win the league title with a victory Wednesday at No. 3 Post Falls (16-2, 3-2).

"Deon's a really nice kid, comes from a great family," Leiss said. "And I think it helps that his dad is a former Idaho Vandal and professional athlete, and his mom (the former Anna Hegbloom) is from Mullan. She's really fiesty, and between the two of them they do a pretty good job of keeping their thumb on top of him. And he's turned out to be a good kid."

Watson received scholarship offers to play football from Washington State and Idaho. The Vandals offered during the winter of his junior year - Idaho football coach Robb Akey told Watson he was the first player the Vandals offered in this class - then WSU offered. He said both schools had their benefits, and he liked the chance to play in the Pac-12 at WSU. But he kept his mind open.

Then Cougars went through a coaching change following last season, and Watson said he didn't want to take his chances with a new coaching staff, and verbally committed to Idaho shortly before Christmas. Watson wanted the option to walk on to the Vandal basketball team as well, and Akey gave his blessing.

Akey said Watson would play either at receiver or on the defensive line; Watson said he would prefer offense, but said he would play wherever he fits in.

At first, Watson didn't think football would be his path to being a Division I athlete - growing up, his dad said he assumed his son would end up with a basketball scholarship, just as he did. But then college football coaches kept asking Viking football coach Shawn Amos about him.

"Coach Amos said the way the college coaches were coming into the high school, and responding to him, that it could be my chance to play a D-I sport," Watson said. "At first I was a little hesitant ... I was like, I'm not THAT good, am I? And going to some camps, I realized that I was getting better, and that I could compete with these guys."

In the state championship game against Eagle, in November at Bronco Stadium, Watson caught five passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings' 49-28 victory. His first touchdown pass, a 31-yarder, gave Coeur d'Alene a 21-7 halftime lead.

His second TD pass came on third down and 7 from the Viking 23, after Eagle had scored twice to close within 28-21 late in the third quarter. Sprinting down the right hashmark, Watson caught a pass from quarterback Chad Chalich in stride, and outraced the defenders to complete the 77-yard scoring play. Like Watson, the Vikings never looked back after that.

In basketball, he arrived on the varsity scene as a 6-3 freshman, and played mostly in the post his first two seasons. He was moved to wing as a junior, and shined at state in leading the Vikings to a third-place finish. Leiss said he had to juggle what might be best for Watson's prospects for college with what was best for that year's Viking team. This year, with no other experienced ballhandlers on the roster, Leiss moved him to point guard.

"Deon's got pretty good court vision and we thought that might work," Leiss said. "To be honest, it's still a work in progress. It's not an easy position to all of a sudden take up. ... He's our point guard, and we've still found ways to get the ball inside to him, because that was people's concern - is he going to be 20 feet from the basket all night?"

So basically, Watson was asked to bring the ball up, get the Vikings into their offense ... then go down to the block, post up and score. This year's he's averaging 12.2 points per game.

"It was a rough transition at first, but the more and more I learn about point guard the better my teammates adapt to it, and the better I adapt to it," Watson said. "I'm learning just as much as they are, and progressively I think we're getting better together."

Growing up, Deon Jr. lived in Israel, Spain, Argentina, Poland, Belgium and Argentina again while his dad played basketball professionally after starring for the Vandals.

When basketball was over, the family moved to Coeur d'Alene - right next door to Anna's grandparents. Her parents still live in Mullan, and the Watsons visit often.

Deon Jr. says his dad has tried to teach him about the mental part of athletics, as well as about life in general, in addition to teaching him about basketball.

"I try to be a dad instead of a coach, and that seems to work best with us," said Deon Sr., now 39 and a supervisor for a food distribution warehouse in Spokane. "Early on, I tried to give the postgame analysis, and my wife told me 'You can't do that anymore. You're not his coach, you're his dad.'"

Deon Sr. said he was 6-6, 185 pounds as a high school senior in Mississippi, and football coaches were interested, but his basketball coach would have none of that.

When Anna was pregnant with their first child, Deon Sr. said he had about 20 different first names under consideration. But when the baby was born, he said "Deon" was the only name that came out of his mouth.

"I wasn't thinking 17 years down the road," Deon Sr. said.

He joked that, with his son's notoriety in recent years, Google searches for "Deon Watson" now turn up stories on his son, pushing old stories on dad further down.

Once a year, at a random time of the year, father and son will play one-on-one. The last time, in the spring of 2011, Deon Jr. finally beat his dad.

"One thing about Deon, since he was old enough to talk he said he was going to beat me," dad said. "But now the old man is getting older, and the young man is getting stronger. He finally beat me last year at the Kroc Center, and I told him I don't like to lose."

Deon Jr. says father and son will play again before the son heads off to college.

"I want another shot at him before he leaves, but I've got to get in shape," Deon Sr. admits.