Men’s Basketball: Q&A with 2023 recruit Ethan Brittain-Watts
By: Greg Levinsky
With the early signing day for high school seniors opening roughly 24 hours ago, the Boston University men’s basketball team picked up its first recruit for the class of 2023 in Ethan Brittain-Watts, a 6-foot-2 point guard out of Culver Academies in Culver, Ind.
Brittain-Watts took the time to catch up with WTBU Sports about his decision to commit to Boston University
Question: Describe the way you play, is there anyone in the NBA that you model your game after or would compare yourself to?
Ethan Brittain-Watts: I mean there’s no particular one guy. I just like to watch all the good guards out there: Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, John Wall, Chris Paul, guys like that. I try to take pieces of their game and implement them into my game. There’s not one guard, but I try to learn from all of them. I think I’m a scoring guard that can do it at both ends. Score and defend my position well. If the team needs me to be a pass-first guard, I’ll be that too. Whatever coach needs. I can be off the ball, on the ball, doesn’t really matter.
Q: When did you realize a Division I basketball scholarship was a reality?
EBW: I think switching from Team Teague to Indy Heat the summer of my ninth grade year. Just getting a lot of exposure on the EYBL circuit, having coaches come at me and being in the position on that circuit was when I realized this was something that could actually happen. Prior to that, it was always a dream to play D1. Definitely my ninth grade summer was when everything really started to kick into gear.
Q: What other schools were you considering, and what made Boston University your top choice?
EBW: University of Dayton, South Dakota, IPFW and a couple of Atlantic 10 schools, but BU was the final choice because coach Jones, coach Corbean and the players made me feel at home. Going up there and seeing the kind of culture they have is a lot like Culver where I go to school now. It’s very family oriented. The academics are good and basketball is going up. It made sense. It was the right situation to be honest with you, with everything they want me to do and with the values they have their in the program.
Q: How are you planning to prepare for college over your last year of high school?
EBW: To get stronger, that’s the biggest step from high school to college. Being stronger and continuing to develop my skills and learn the game more at that level. It’s obviously different. A different speed, different plays and stuff that you’ve got to learn in college. Just getting stronger and fine-tuning all the skills that I have so they can translate to the next level.
Q: What are your goals for this year on the court with Culver either personally or as a team?
EBW: We definetly want to win another state championship, that’s definetly first and foremost as a team goal. As far as individual goals, I want to be an Indiana All-Star. I want to break our school scoring record, definetly get over 1,000 points. That’s really it, win a state championship and being an Indian All-Star, those are the two biggest things.
Q: In the team’s current state, there are 10 underclassmen including three freshman guards, where do you see yourself fitting in next year?
EBW: Being there and hanging out on my official and seeing them practice, they’ve got a lot of talented guys there. Guys who can shoot it, score very well, distribute. They’re a very unselfish team. That’s kind of my style of play, so just going in and doing whatever coach Jones needs to me to do. Whatever they tell me to do is what I’ll do. I’m not looking for a set role or anything, just whatever they need me to do. As fas as the guys, I think I’ll fit in with them. They’re good guys, and they play the game the right way up there. I’m looking forward to it.
Q: What do you think you can add to program that they might not have at this moment?
EBW: I think just the toughness that I have, coming in every day ready to work hard. The fear no one mentality. I want to play the best, beat the best, win multiple championships there and get to March Madness. Those are the goals I have for the team. They’re not out of this world, I think we can accomplish them. Just that toughness and being able to do it on both ends, those are the things I think I can bring to the team.
Q: What team would you want to upset in the NCAA Tournament and why?
EBW: I’d want to upset Kentucky just because I was always a Kentucky fan growing up. My mom, she worked Pike and put me around Marquis Teague and Jeff Teague, the Teague family a lot. [Marquis] went to Kentucky so I was always a big Kentucky fan growing up. Now taking that step to the next level next year, actually being able to play those guys, that’s one team I’d want to upset because of the history they have. Why not BU? Why not be the team that can upset that kind of team?
Greg Levinsky can be reached at glevinsk@bu.edu. Follow him on Twitter @GregLevinsky
Note: Photo courtesy of Culver Academies