A top-10 all-time scorer, Hency Watt helped lead the New Haven men’s basketball team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1987 and 1988, while collecting a staggering four-year record of 87-35. He played in all 122 games during his four-year career, setting New Haven’s all-time record for games played – a mark that remains untouched more than 25 years later.
From his freshman to junior years, Watt nearly tripled his point per game average, starting his career averaging 5.7 points while shooting 46 percent. The next season he took on a much greater role, boosting his points to double figures with 12.8 per game. That same season, he led the team at the free throw line with a 72 percent average and was second on the squad with 89 assists.
As a junior, Watt scored 15.9 points per game and finished the season shooting over 50 percent from the field. He also led the team at the free throw line for the second-straight season and finished second with 105 assists. Before the conclusion of his junior season, he became the 18th member of New Haven’s 1,000-point club and just the fifth player in program history to score 1,000 points in his first three years.
The Bayonne, N.J. native closed out his illustrious career with some of the best numbers of his four years. He posted career-highs with 177 assists, 126 free throws made and 70 steals – statistics that remain among the top-10 in the single season record books to this day. He earned All-New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) First Team honors and helped lead the Chargers to an appearance in the conference championship game.
In addition to being the all-time leader in games played, Watt’s name can be found throughout the New Haven record books. He ranks second with 398 career free throws made, third in steals (198) and fourth in assists (399). At the time of his graduation, Watt ranked fourth in scoring average (13.6 points per game), sixth in free throw percentage (74.1%, 393-537) and eighth in field goals made (602).
Overall for his career, Watt helped lead the Chargers to four postseason appearances, including two trips in the NECC title game in 1987 and 1989. He anchored the Chargers to the program’s first back-to-back NCAA Division II tournament appearances and the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament victory.
