ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Versatile Watterworth shining bright for Golden Grizzlies

MULTI-FACETED: OAkland University sophomore Bethany Watterowrth is versatile enough to play all five spots on the floor and has become one of the top players in the Summit League. Courtesy Photo / Oakland University.

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — If there is a fault in Bethany Watterworth’s basketball game, it’s that’s she’s tough to label.

Put her in the post, then she’ll pull a quick spin move and go up hard for the basket, or she’ll quickly kick the ball back out to open teammate.

Put her out on the perimeter and she’ll burn you with a three-pointer or feed a laser back into the post.

If her coaches need an additional ball-handler, then she’ll step into the backcourt to try to break a press or bring the ball upcourt.

So that begs the question: What position best describes Bethany Watterworth?

“I just do whatever my team needs me to do,” said Watterworth, a 6-foot sophomore for Oakland University’s women’s basketball team, laughing about what her true position really is out on the court.

Only half way through her sophomore year, and she’s already become one of the top rated players in the Summit League. Named to the First-Team All-Conference Preseason list, Watterworth is a likely first team honoree this season along with being a candidate for Player of the Year.

WELL ROUNDED

There’s still plenty of work to do, according to the humble Watterworth, a devout Christian who spends her free time in God’s Word, studying for her classes or playing or practicing basketball.

After church on Sundays, she will often be found in the gymnasium with her father and siblings working on her game.

“I think I’ve really work hard on my three-point shot and ball-handling,” said Watterworth. “I feel more confident and am able to knock down threes.

“I’ve also been getting more aggressive, something that I worked on since last year, even coming out of high school,” she continued. “We play the motion offense, so you have to play hard to get the b all and the open shots,” she continued. “When people collapse on you, I’m able to get assists. It’s kind of the perfect offense for me, and my teammates do a terrific job setting screens for each other. I think the one thing I need to do is get to the (foul) line a little more, just attack a little more.”

Watterworth began her prep career at tiny Lake Orion Baptist, where she played varsity ball in both the eighth and ninth grade under the state’s sub-100 student rule. After the fall 2005 season, she transferred to Lake Orion High School, where she became a three-year starter and arguably the best player to ever come through the Dragons’ program.

Watterworh led Lake Orion to its first-ever Class A district championship in the fall of 2006, and then to the Class A state semifinals in 2008-2009 as a prep senior, scoring 28 points in a Final Four loss to Benton Harbor.

Recruited by many Division I programs, Watterworth stayed close to home at Oakland, where her coach and several teammates are also Christians — and Watterworth felt right at home in that atmosphere.

As a freshman at Oakland, Watterworth made the All-Newcomer team in the Summit League and has progressed ever since.

“She’s been great,” said Beckie Francis, Oakland head coach who tabbed Watterworth out of high school as one of the school’s better recruits in some time. “She’s so versatile, and she can do so much out there on the court. She’s been so valuable, especially considering the injuries we’ve had the past couple of years. Bethany has been asked to do a lot and she’s stepped up.”

RISING STAR

Watterworth came up through the AAU system and played for the Detroit Shock team in her age group. But she comes from a highly athletic family, too. Sports are the common topics of discussion around the Watterworth household in Orion Township.

Bethany Watterworth is the fifth of seven children, all whom have excelled in sports, in particular basketball. Her two youngest siblings, Bradley Watterowth and Breanne Watterworth, are also suiting up in varsity uniforms this winter.

Bradley is a 6-fot-6 junior at Lake Orion High School, where he transferred this season and is trying to crack the lineup. Breanne is a 6-1 freshman center averaging a double-double at Lake Orion Baptist.

Bethany’s father, Brad Watterworth, was a two-sport, all-state standout in the early 1970s at Oregon (Ohio) High School near Toledo, where he set records in both football and basketball as a post player and defensive lineman. He later played as a scholarship football player at Georgia Tech and even played in the famous Rudy game with Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, later turned into a blockbuster movie in the early 1990s.

Her older siblings, Brent (6-7), Brooke (6-1), Brittany (5-11) and Brandon (6-4) also excelled in numerous sports at various high schools, although Bethany is the first sibling to land a college scholarship.

She has started all 20 games for the Golden Grizzlies this season, sometimes playing all five positions on the floor during a given game. She is averaging 34.2 minutes, 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 3.6 assists a contest. Watterworth is also shooting .783 from the foul line, .502 from the floor and .375 from 3-point range.

Last season she averaged 13.6 points, second the team, 5.8 rebounds, and 26.8 minutes while starting 29 of 30 games.

“I feel my game has come a long ways, even since last year,” offered Watterworth.

TAKING CHARGE

Last season with 6-3 Brittany Carnago missing the season with a torn ACL, Watterworth was forced to playing the post much of the time. With Carnago back this season, that gives her the versatility to play both in the post or on the perimeter.

She is used to being a leader and a go-to player.

As a member of the Detroit Shock AAU program, she helped that squad to several top-10 finishes at high-profile tournaments and even to a third-place finish at a national tournament in the summer of 2006. She was given the freedom to play multiple positions on that team, which helped her develop for the college arena, in particular the motion offense.

Now, Watterworth is trying to lead Oakland to a high finish in the Summit League and hopefully an NCAA berth in early March.

“Coming in last year, I really had no clue what was going to be expected,” admitted Watterworth. “I just in and played how I did in high school.  I was aggressive and got my hand on the ball a lot.

“This year I knew that I needed to be a leader, a (go-to) scorer, that type of player,” she continued. “I am comfortable with that. That’s really my game, being the go-to player and playing multiple spots (on the floor). In high school I was needed more as a post player, but now with the motion offense, I get to do almost anything. I can post up, I can go out and shoot a three or I can drive or bring up the ball. When we have another post player on the floor, I can do more.

“I think this team has (big) goals,” she added. “I think we want to have a better showing in the conference tournament this season and hopefully make the NCAA tournament.”

With or without that NCAA appearance, teams in the Summit League are still trying to label Watterworth, perhaps the league’s most versatile player.

Bethany Watterworth’s game has developed into a complete package. If you spend some time trying to figure out what position she plays, by then she’ll have already have burned you on the court in more ways than one.

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Category: BWW Athlete of the Week, Campus Clips, Oakland University, Where Are They Now?