Gonzaga's Anton Watson named WCC Player of the Week

Fifth-year senior was also tabbed to the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team

A career-night to cap off the Maui Invitational for the No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs earned Anton Watson the West Coast Conference Player of the Week award on Monday.

Watson's 32 points on 14-of-15 shooting from the floor fueled the Zags (4-1) to a 69-65 win over UCLA in the fifth-place game. That 93.3% shooting percentage ranks as the second-best by any individual player this season, as the 6-foot-8 forward also went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to go with seven rebounds. The day prior, Watson notched his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds in Gonzaga's 76-57 win over Syracuse.

With 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the three-game event, Watson was also tabbed to the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team. The Spokane native joined Kansas' Hunter Dickinson, Tennessee's Dalton Knecht, Marquette's Oso Ighodaro and Purdue's Braden Smith. Smith's teammate, Zach Edey, was named the tournament's MVP.

Following the three-day stretch, Watson leads the Bulldogs in scoring (16.8 points per game), field goal percentage (69.2%) and is tied with Graham Ike for rebounds with 8.0 boards per game. He's also second on the squad in assists (2.6 per game) and has attempted the most free-throws (15). Combine his stability on defense with his growth offensively, Watson is top five in the West Coast Conference this season in player efficiency rating, win shares, and box plus/minus.

Anton Watson carries Gonzaga past UCLA in Maui Invitational

When factoring in all his efficiencies on both ends of the floor, Watson grades as not just a top player in the WCC, but in the country as a whole. EvanMiya.com ranks Watson third in its MVP Rankings, which takes into account advanced box-score metrics, play-by-play data and historical information. The website also placed him fifth on its top 10 players list.

Watson's WCC award is the first weekly award for Gonzaga this season.

Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga No. 11 in AP Top 25 poll (11/27/2023)