Suns’ Earl Watson surprised by management ‘right hook’

“I don’t have all the answers.”

The pregame shootaround is winding down and Suns coach Earl Watson leans against the scorer’s table at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I don’t have all the answers at all, and I don’t try to (act like) I do,” Watson continues. “But I do feel like what helps me is you come to a better understanding if you realize you don’t know.”

The Suns are out of playoff contention. Their season is winding down. And their second-year coach – at 37, the second-youngest in the NBA — still is trying to figure out how to best deal with management’s decision to shut down three key players over the season’s second half. He understands the importance of the big picture, it just clashes with his competitive side, one he molded over 13 years as an NBA point guard.

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“If it’s up to me, everyone would play,” Watson says. “They’d still be out there with our entire group, building.”

Throughout Phoenix’s recent six-game trip, Watson talked with azcentral sports about his past and his methods, how it shaped the man he became and how it continues to shape the coach he will be.

In Miami, Watson discussed how he found his voice in high school and how it led to confidence off the court. In Brooklyn, he talked about his UCLA college days, his post-workout drives through Beverly Hills with teammate Baron Davis and his conversations with legendary coach John Wooden. In Atlanta, Watson shared how Gary Payton cussed him out as a rookie and how the Hall of Fame guard shaped a work ethic that remains in place today.

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Each conversation shows a different side of Watson, a coach who may not know all the answers but is determined to find them.

In Miami, this reminds Watson of a story.

“Man, in high school, I used to be really shy,” he says. “I didn’t really speak in school. I barely said three words out loud in grade school. When I got into high school (Washington High in Kansas City, Kansas), I kind of just stayed to myself with a group of friends. I didn’t really like a lot of attention. I was always aggressive on the basketball court, but when the game was over, I put on my hoodie and stayed to myself.”

A school counselor, Ruth Goheen, saw leadership potential in Watson. She suggested he take a marketing class. As it turned out, Watson was among the youngest in the class.

“The teacher’s name was Mr. Piper, and one of the first things we had to do was write a paragraph on who we would become in the future,” Watson says. “Career, character, mindset. We had to read it to the class. I was so nervous, the day I had to read mine I acted like I was sick. My mom fell for it and I stayed home.”

The plan, however, backfired.

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Once Watson returned to school, he still had to read his paragraph. Only this time, Watson was the only one. He told Mr. Piper he didn’t want to do it. Mr. Piper gave him a choice. Watson could read it facing the class or he could read it with his back turned.

“Which do you think I chose?” Watson says.

He stood with his back turned, reading from his paper which described how he wanted to one day play basketball at UCLA and in the NBA – things no one believed but him.

“And I’m sweating as if I just played a game,” Watson says. “It was only like six sentences but it felt like an entire chapter. That taught me how to face my fear.”

Mr. Piper taught Watson one other thing, and this is the point Watson is trying to make. He told him: A smart man knows where to find the answer. Mr. Piper repeated this more than once, and one day during a test Watson challenged his teacher.

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“You always told us a smart man knows where to find the answer,” he said.

“That’s correct,” Mr. Piper said.

“So can I open up my book for the test?”

The teacher laughed. Watson laughed.

“That’s something I’ve never forgotten,” Watson says.

Over the summer, Watson might put Mr. Piper’s lesson in motion, contacting one of his mentors, someone such as former Memphis coach Hubie Brown, asking how he would’ve handled a situation such as this, trying to win in the short-term while management positions for the long-term. He’s done this in the past, evaluating his performance, then asking others for input.

For now, however, Watson prefers to learn in the moment, leaning on assistants Jay Triano and Tyrone Corbin, two coaches with NBA head-coaching experience.

“They’ve seen it all before,” Watson says. “They understand the bigger picture. They understand this happens. With me, I came into coaching, I didn’t have enough time to play this out in my mind because it happened so quick. I was like, ‘I want to play this way. I want to win. I want to get in the playoffs.’ I never thought about players sitting or the other side of the game. That was like a right hook I didn’t see coming. But I got back up. And I think our young guys have responded well.”

Coming Wednesday: Watson discusses his time with John Wooden and what’s on his bookshelf.

Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller.

Sunday’s game

Rockets at Suns

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena.

TV/radio: FSAZ/98.7 FM

Houston update: The Rockets are virtually locked into the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference playoff race, setting up a first-round series against either Oklahoma City or the LA Clippers. MVP favorite – and former Arizona State standout – James Harden was scoring 29.3 points per game entering Friday night’s action, but it is his 11.3 assists per game (leading the NBA) that is the biggest contribution to the Rockets’ big season. Houston coach – and former Suns coach – Mike D’Antoni will receive serious consideration for the coach of the year.