Watson wants to help Eagles build winning culture

Sharif Watson was proud to be part of building a winning NBL1 East culture at the Maitland Mustangs and is hoping to do something similar with the East Perth Eagles in his first taste of playing in the NBL1 West.

It's been quite the journey for the 6'6 power forward to land in Western Australia, but after starting his sojourn down under with stints at the Newcastle Falcons, Maitland Mustangs, Albury-Wodonga Bandits and North West Tasmania Thunder, he has instantly settled in at the Eagles.

Watson has been the starting power forward over the opening four games of the season and averaging 11.8 points and 8.0 rebounds a game, but for him it's about more than just the production.

Having had a strong college career at Azuna Pacific University, the now 30-year-old had several stints throughout Europe before coming to Australia for the first time and he's never looked back.

Watson has found his home down under, but now in 2024 it's his first time coming west and he couldn’t be happier with what he's found both at the Eagles and to be living in WA.

Season so far at the Eagles

Watson is enjoying everything about living in Western Australia and playing at the Eagles so far, but a 1-3 record doesn't fully sum up the quality of the team and he hopes some wins will still start to give an indication of what they are capable of.

"I like the pace of the game on this side of the country even though it hasn’t been the start we wanted to be 1-3. But I'm enjoying the journey with my teammates and am hoping that we can turn this thing around and get back on the right track," Watson said.

"I think we'd probably be the best 1-3 in the league and we can't do anything about those games we've already played, but we do have a positive mood knowing we can still play so much better and are already in all these games. I don't think we're playing at our best yet so that's a positive to know."

How did it come about to join East Perth

Sometimes it's just fate that brings a club and player together. After injury robbed him of hitting the court in 2023, Watson wasn’t sure where his next basketball stop was going to be in 2024.

He did know he wanted to stay in Australia, but once he came to Perth for a conference through his work, he reconnected with Eagles guard Taylor Young who put him in touch with coach Carl Filpo, and the rest is history.

"It started just through an initial basketball connection. Taylor Young was playing here and he was mates in Queensland with one of my old teammates who I met through him, so we reconnected but I had come to Perth for something totally unrelated," Watson said.

"But I linked up with Taylor and we got to talking, and next thing you know I was on the phone to Carl and then the next thing you know I was moving over here, and here I am.

"I was over here for work, we had like a convention over here near the airport so I was only here for that and it turned into what it did, so it's amazing how things work out sometimes."

Injury ending 2023 before it started

Watson was looking forward to his next move in 2023 after being part of the 2022 Grand Final team in the NBL1 East at Maitland when he signed to play at the North West Tasmania Thunder in the NBL1 South.

However, his season ended before it started due to a wrist injury that required surgery, and then fate played its part for him to end up moving west and joining East Perth.

"Last season I had a season-ending injury when I was in Tasmania. I had signed to play down there in the NBL1 South but I had an injury to my wrist that happened prior to the season even starting," Watson said.

"I tore my scapholunate ligament in right wrist so I had surgery last April and it's almost a year now since I had that, but it took a while to recover and I had to sit out of playing all of last year."

How you ended up settling in Australia

After finishing his four years of college at Azuna Pacific in California, Watson's journey as a professional basketballer began with stints in Bolivia, Israel, Germany and Spain, but it was a call from a former college teammate that started the ball rolling to come down under.

Watson would initially play in the then Waratah League, now NBL1 East, at Newcastle and then finding his way to the Maitland Mustangs before a stint in the NBL1 South with the Albury-Wodonga Bandits.

It was then back to the Mustangs to help them to a Grand Final in 2022 and he's at a point now where Australia well and truly feels like home.

"I was playing in Spain at the time and the season was nearly ending, and I was talking to one of my friends, Tyler (Monroe), who ended up playing in this league as well for a while before getting injured," Watson said.

"He was playing at Maitland at the time and we were just talking and he was talking about the league, and mentioned there was a team called the Newcastle Hunters, they're now the Falcons who were looking for an import.

"So he sent them my tape and next thing you know I was on a plane to Australia, and I ended up staying.

"I met my ex-girlfriend there and we were together for about five years, and she played on the women's team as well so that's how I ended up staying out here for all those years. It's that typical story of meeting an Australian girl."

Having played at Newcastle, Maitland, Albury-Wodonga and then spending last year in Tasmania despite not getting to play, Watson has enjoyed wherever he's been in Australia but it's tough to top the lifestyle he's now found in WA.

On top of that, having helped establish a winning culture with the Mustangs, he hopes to do something similar with the Eagles.

"I've definitely enjoyed my time playing over in the East and I was lucky enough to be on some really good teams, very competitive teams and I'm hoping to bring that winning attitude to East Perth," he said.

"From what I've heard, they haven’t necessarily been known that in recent past but hopefully I can help change that because neither was Maitland going back a few years.

"Now they've been to back-to-back finals and they've started this season 3-0 as well so they've built that culture and are winning there now. Winning is expected there now so hopefully we can build that at East Perth too."

Finding a new home down under

Playing in Europe has its challenges, but Watson has found life much easier to adapt to in Australia and because of the cultural similarities to the United States, that's certainly a big factor.

That's why Watson is now so happy to settle in Australia and he can see why so many other imports have done the same, and the weather in WA compared with what he experienced in Tasmania last year is a pleasant change.

"Having played all over, when you're in Australia it's probably the closest thing you'll get to being in the States and in some ways, it's even better than the States," Watson said.

"I think that's why you see so many guys end up staying here because there's so much to like about living out here. There's some beautiful women just to start with and then you have the lifestyle and the culture and everything so there's a lot of reasons why guys stick around as long as they do.

"I'm enjoying the warm weather over here for sure. I was in Tasmania last year so it was the complete opposite and it was pretty much cold the entire time so I'm loving the weather and everything over here."

Juggling work and basketball

It was that original conference for work that brought Watson to Perth in the first place and he has continued working that helps individuals set up their living options as a leading NDIS provider, which is something he enjoys with the chance to help people.

"I work remotely for a company called My Supports. We're ILO provider which is Individual Living Options and I work with the ILO team so I'm able to do that wherever I've been playing," Watson said.

"But they are actually based in Perth and I was able to work with them still from Tasmania last year and have been able to keep doing it from here. That was what the conference was that I was over here for so it's funny how everything works out."