Hugh Watson, the people's coach

His Tennessee drawl as thick as his resume, former North Idaho College men’s basketball coach Hugh Watson offered his usual self-deprecating zingers Friday, the eve of his induction into the school’s athletics hall of fame.

“They must be hard up to find other inductees,” joked the 76-year-old who, 20 years ago, led the Cardinals to a conference title and fourth-place finish at the NJCAA tournament.

“Hey, did you know that the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga has a fishing team? If they had one when I was in college I would have been cum laude.”

The affable Watson will be inducted tonight at 5 p.m. at the Edminster Union Building along with Collese (Dornan) Seibel, an All-American for NIC’s volleyball squad in 2005.

It was only five years ago, though, when a Tennessee doctor told Watson he had just six months to live after being diagnosed with bone cancer.

He lost his hair. He found himself crawling around the house as chemotherapy took its toll. Watson, the man whose smile and charm can light up the dimmest of rooms, wanted to die.

There was hope, though, in the form of the Vanderbilt Center of Stem Cell Biology in Nashville, which was initially reluctant to take Watson as a patient because of his age.

Watson twisted enough arms to make it happen, though.

“About $500,000 in treatment later, I am still alive,” Watson said with a laugh. “I am the oldest person to ever be in the Vanderbilt stem cell program. I am up walking again. I’ve been running 4 miles a day.”

Some of his erstwhile players and assistant coaches have made the trek to Coeur d’Alene to see his introduction tonight, including College of Southern Idaho head coach Jared Phay.

Phay was a wet-behind-the-ears 20-something in 2002 when Watson offered him his lone paid assistant coaching gig.

With ample responsibility, Phay was his top aide for two years before Watson accepted the head job at NCAA Division II Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee to be closer to family. Phay was the immediate replacement at the tender age 28, a gig he held for 10 years before being named head coach at NJCAA power CSI in Twin Falls.

Phay credits Watson for his start.

“I owe him everything, really,” said Phay, who has reached the national tournament in two of the last three seasons. “The fact that he even hired me as an assistant was a dream come true. He gave me a lot of responsibility. He always trusted me and gave me confidence.”

A framed hunting photo of Watson and Phay with a slain elk currently hangs in Phay’s office. Watson insists it was his elk to shoot, but Phay was the one who took it down first.

“He knows it was mine,” Phay said. “One of the great things about Hugh is his energy. He can walk into a cafeteria on campus and make everyone feel like they’re the most important person on earth. He treats everyone the same.”

Winston Brooks, who played for Watson during the 2000-01 season before continuing his career at Gonzaga, appreciated Watson’s lax approach.

“He was definitely a player’s coach,” said Brooks, who is now a Spokane police officer. “He would come into practice wearing jeans and a collared shirt. He was the most Tennessee guy ever.

“He trusted me and let me play my game, and it really helped me as a player. He was a good dude to play for.”

Watson, who was also named to his alma matter Hiwassee College’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, took in the Lake City on Friday and stayed at The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

He’s happy to be alive.

He’s thrilled to be back in Coeur d’Alene.

“Idaho has always been my second home,” said Watson, who was also the top assistant at the University of Idaho in the early 1990s. “Even if some people kind of look at me like I am a crazy person because my accent and they can’t understand what I am saying.”

Ryan Collingwood covers sports for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can contacted at rcollingwood@cdapress.com