Nathan Watson Named MVP at Auburn Basketball Awards Banquet 

April 12, 2005

Nathan Watson

AUBURN -- Senior Nathan Watson garnered three awards as he earned MVP honors for the 2004-05 Auburn Tigers at the 16th annual Auburn Basketball Awards Banquet Tuesday at Saugahatchee Country Club.  The Fort Payne, Ala., native walked-on his first two seasons at Auburn before earning a scholarship his last two seasons.

Watson averaged 11.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and a team-high 1.7 steals while shooting 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line.  He was named to the All-San Juan Shootout team averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds and had career-highs of 19 points three times this year, against LSU twice and vs. Delaware.

Watson was the recipient of Auburn's most prestigious award, the Paul Lambert/Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Trophy for Leadership.  This award is given in memory of Auburn's 15th head basketball coach, Paul Lambert, who died in a hotel fire June 6, 1978, in Columbus, Ga., and Tommy Joe Eagles, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack July 30, 1994, two months after becoming the head coach at New Orleans. 

Watson also earned the Outstanding Defensive Player as he was matched up each game against an opponent much taller than his 6-foot-3 frame.  He scored 15 points and had a clutch steal and layup with 1:41 left in Auburn's 62-59 victory over Tennessee, the Tigers' first SEC win of the season.  Watson scored five of his nine points in the last 1:20 in Auburn's upset 74-71 win at NIT Champion South Carolina and nailed a clutch trey in the 79-76 overtime win over Colorado State.  

Freshman Toney Douglas was awarded the Outstanding Offensive Player as he was ranked fourth in the SEC averaging 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 42 percent from the floor, 37 percent from 3-point range and 79 percent from the foul line.  The Joneboro, Ga., native was only the fourth freshman in Auburn history to be named to the Associated Press All-SEC team (third) along with Charles Barkley, Mike Mitchell and Eddie Johnson.  He also received awards for being a Freshman All-American first-team selection, Coaches Freshman All-SEC and NABC All-District 6 second-team.

Douglas tied an Auburn freshman record with 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds against Nicholls State, had 33 points vs. No. 24 Virginia, 32 points vs. Florida as he sent the game into overtime with a 25-foot three-pointer at the buzzer.  He was also the MVP of the San Juan Shootout, averaging 18 points and 4.7 rebounds and scored 20 or more points 12 times, including a 23-point, 10 rebound effort in Auburn's 77-73 SEC Tournament upset of Vanderbilt.
 
Senior Quinnel Brown took home the Outstanding Rebounding Award after averaging a team-best 6.0 rebounds, 11th-best in the SEC.  The 6-foot-6 Chicago, Ill., native averaged 12.8 points, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in starting every game as the Tigers "center" and was seventh in the SEC with 2.4 offensive rebounds per game.  Brown had three double-doubles on the season, including 19 points and a career-best 13 rebounds in the upset win at South Carolina.  He scored a career-high 23 points vs. Nicholls State and made all eight of his field goal attempts en route to 21 points and eight rebounds vs. Arkansas on Senior Day.  

Senior Ian Young won the Playmaker Award averaging 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists.  The Orlando, Fla., native was named the SEC Player of the Week after scoring 28 points and making the game-winning 3-pointer in the 80-78 season-opening victory at Temple.  He earned an honor for being Auburn's all-time career free throw pct. leader (.857).  This season, Young ranked 17th in the SEC in scoring, second in free throw pct. (.865), sixth in assists (4.0) and 3-point field goals made (2.3) and ninth in assist-turnover ratio (1.4).  He scored 25 points vs. UNLV, 22 points and sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer vs. Colorado State and had 20 points at South Carolina.

The Sixth-Man Award was presented to freshman Frank Tolbert.  The River Falls, Ala., native averaged 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 42 percent from the field.  He was named SEC Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range in Auburn's 90-76 victory over Mississippi State.  He had 21 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes vs. Furman and had 16 points at Georgia.

Sophomore Brett Howell received the team's Academic Achievement Award, and sophomore Moses Edun received the Tiger Paw award after playing in 23 games while averaging 5.8 minutes.  The Cedartown, Ga., was a valuable member of the scout team and totaled four points and two rebounds in five minutes vs. LSU.

A unanimous last place pick in the Southeastern Conference, Auburn went 14-17 overall (5-13 SEC) and advanced to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals by upsetting Vanderbilt 77-73.  The Tigers also won the San Juan Shootout, defeated Mississippi State 90-76 after the Bulldogs had handed them their worst SEC loss in the series in a 90-53 blowout in Starkville and defeated Arkansas 77-64 after the Razorbacks trounced Auburn 95-59 in Fayetteville.