Honors & Awards

  • adidas Nations Counselor (2017)
  • Big Ten Freshman of the Week (2/15/16)
  • Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2015; Spring 2018)
  • Three-Time Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2016, 2017, 2019)

2018-19 (Outlook)
Glynn Watson Jr. returns for his fourth season as the starting point guard for the Huskers. The 6-foot senior has made 98 appearances, including 77 starts, entering his senior campaign. Not only did he become Nebraska’s 29th 1,000-point scorer last season, but Watson is on pace to finish in the top-10 on NU’s career lists in both assists and steals. When he reached the 1,000-point mark, he became the third Husker from Winchester St. Joseph High School to reach 1,000 points at Nebraska, joining Carl Hayes (1990-92) and Clifford Scales (1988-91).

Last season, Watson averaged 10.5 points per game and set career highs in both assists and rebounds, while improving his assist-to-turnover ratio. He also became a much better defender, keying a Husker defense that ranked second in field-goal percentage defense and first in 3-point percentage defense. A prolific scorer with 11 career 20-point games, Watson makes great decisions with the ball and has a career 2.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Throughout his career, Watson has shown the ability to rise to the occasion when the Huskers need a big play in the defining moments, a trait that NU will rely on with its senior leader.

2017-18 (Junior)
Watson played in all 33 games and made 32 starts, coming off the bench for the Huskers’ Senior Day game against Penn State. He was one of three Huskers to average double figures on the year, ranking third on the team with 10.5 ppg, while also pacing the Huskers in both assists (3.2 apg) and steals (1.4 spg). Watson ranked sixth in the Big Ten in steals per game, eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2-to-1) and 13th in assists, as Nebraska went 13-5 in conference play to tie for fourth in the conference. He reached double figures 17 times on the year, including four 20-point games.

Watson turned in his best performance of the year in a win over No. 14 Minnesota on Dec. 5 with a season-high 29 points, a career-high nine rebounds and three steals. He also had 26 points and a career-high six steals against Long Beach State in the AdvoCare Invitational on Nov. 26, and 21 points at Penn State (Jan. 12) and against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 11). Watson keyed NU’s comeback wins against Northwestern on Jan. 2 with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists and at Wisconsin on Jan. 29 with 15 points and five assists. He also played a pivotal role in NU’s win at Rutgers on Jan. 24, hitting two big baskets after the Scarlet Knights cut the deficit to two and took a charge with 14 seconds left to preserve NU’s 60-54 win.

2016-17 (Sophomore)
Watson was one of the top young guards in the Big Ten, starting 29 games and averaging 13.0 points, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Watson not only finished second on the team in both scoring and assists, but placed among the Big Ten leaders in steals (third), free throw percentage (.810, seventh) and scoring (18th) during his sophomore campaign. Watson totaled double figures 21 times, including seven 20-point performances.

He provided two of the most memorable moments for the Huskers in 2016-17, hitting a pair of free throws with 8.8 seconds left to give Nebraska the lead in an 80-78 win over Dayton and converting a 3-point play at Ohio State with 11.3 seconds left to give NU the margin of victory in a 58-57 win.

In Big Ten action, Watson finished 18th in the conference in scoring at 13.4 ppg, while finishing among the Big Ten leaders in steals (1.4 fifth), 3-pointers per game (1.9, 15th) and 3-point percentage (.425, 11th).

Watson reached double figures 13 times in conference play, including a trio of 20-point efforts. He sparked NU's win over No. 16 Indiana in the Big Ten opener with a game-high 26 points along with four assists and a career-high five steals, scoring 19 of his 26 points in the second half. He led NU to a 3-0 start in conference play, capped by a career-high 34-point effort in the win over Iowa. Watson went 11-of-18 from the field, including a blistering 7-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. His seven 3-pointers was one off NU's single game record, while his .875 percentage was the fourth-highest total in school history. Watson also shined in a loss at Michigan, scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half.
Watson started 12 of NU's 13 non-conference games and showed his ability to impact the game at both ends. Not only did Watson post four 20-point games in NU's first seven contests, but he had four games with at least four steals, including a career-high five steals on two occasions. He opened the year with a then-career-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting along with a season-high six assists and five rebounds against Sacramento State on Nov. 13. Watson shined in NU's win over Dayton at the Wooden Legacy on Nov. 24, recording 20 points, a career-high five steals and three assists. One night later, he poured in a then-career high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting against No. 24 UCLA. Watson scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, as the Huskers trimmed a 15-point deficit to two before UCLA pulled away late. Watson added another five-steal performance against Virginia Tech on Nov. 27, as he averaged 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds 3.3 steals and 3.0 assists per game in three games at the Wooden Legacy. His fourth 20-point game of the year came at Clemson on Nov. 30 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, when he also matched his career high with six rebounds and added four steals and four assists.

2015-16 (Freshman)
Watson proved to be an impact newcomer in the Big Ten, playing in all 34 games for the Huskers, including 16 starts. The 6-foot guard averaged 8.6 points, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Watson ranked fourth among Big Ten rookies in both steals and assists, and earned a place on NU's freshman top-10 lists in points (292, eighth), assists (83, fifth), steals (40, fifth) and field goals (115, sixth). He posted a 2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which was the best by any Husker guard in the last decade.

Watson came off the bench in the Big Ten Tournament, averaging 10.6 points per game, closing his freshman campaign with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in the loss to No. 18 Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament. Watson played a major role in NU's win over Wisconsin in the conference tournament, finishing with 16 points in the win over the Badgers.

In Big Ten play, he started 15 games, as he averaged 9.1 points and 2.3 assists per game. Watson reached double figures eight times, including a season-high 17 points and three rebounds at Illinois on Jan. 16. That performance began a streak of six straight games in double figures for the freshman. He also had 13 points, two steals and two assists in NU's win at Michigan State on Jan. 20, and he added 13 points against Michigan on Jan. 23. He totaled at least four assists four times, including a career-high nine assists in a win over Rutgers on Feb. 6. That was the most by a Husker freshman since 2008. He also performed well in the first meeting at Wisconsin on Feb. 10 with 16 points in a losing effort. His last start of the season came in an overtime loss to Ohio State on Feb. 20, when he had 10 points and a season-high six rebounds.

Watson proved to be a valuable scorer off the bench early on, reaching double figures five times in his first 12 games before moving into the starting lineup. He had 12 points in a loss at No. 11 Villanova on Nov. 17, while showing a knack for heroics, as his 3-pointer with 18.3 seconds left sent NU into overtime with No. 21 Miami on Dec. 1. His biggest heroics came against Rhode Island on Dec. 13, when he scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half to lead the Huskers to a 70-67 win. He also had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists against Southern Louisiana on Nov. 22.

Before Nebraska
Watson was one of the top point guards nationally in the class of 2015, playing for legendary high school coach Gene Pingatore at Saint Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill. A consensus four-star prospect, Watson was ranked among the top 100 players in the country by every recruiting service and was ranked as high as 66th nationally by Scout.com, which also ranked him as the seventh-best point guard in the class of 2015, and No. 71 on ESPN.com’s top-100 seniors.

As a senior, he led St. Joseph High School to a 29-6 record and the school's second state title. Watson averaged 15.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game during his senior season. Watson, who earned an invitation to the 2014 USA men’s U18 National Team training camp, was at his best at the state tournament, averaging 23.5 points on 55 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He had 28 points, six rebounds and three assists in the semifinals before a 19-point, five-rebound, four-assist performance in a 67-63 win over Althoff Catholic in the Class 3A state title game. In all, Watson had nine games of at least 20 points as a senior, including a season-high 38-point effort in the regular-season win over Althoff Catholic. For his efforts, he earned first-team all-state honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and Champaign News-Gazette in 2015. In addition, he was a second-team choice by the Chicago Tribune (all classes) and Chicago Sun Times (Class 3A).

A two-time first-team All-Catholic League selection, Watson earned third-team Class 3A all-state honors from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association and all-state special mention by the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette as a junior. That season, he averaged 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals per game, while leading St. Joseph to a 25-8 record and the Class 3A Sectional semifinals. As a sophomore, he garnered honorable-mention Chicago Catholic League honors in his first season as a starter, helping St. Joseph to an 18-13 record and a sectional finals appearance. Watson also played AAU ball for the Illinois Wolves and Head Coach Mike Mullins. Watson also looked at Creighton, Maryland, Purdue, Tennessee and West Virginia before choosing NU.

Personal
Glynn Juwan Watson is the son of Sabrina Watson and Glynn Watson Sr., and was born on March 9, 1997, in Chicago, Ill. He has two older brothers, Demetri and DeAndre McCamey, and two sisters, Kiera and Monique. Demetri and DeAndre McCamey both also starred at St. Joseph. Demetri was a three-time All-Big Ten pick at Illinois, earning first-team honors in 2009-10. Watson majors in sociology at Nebraska.