‘They’re going to find it.’ Anton Watson optimistic about current Gonzaga team after watching 107-55 rout of Pepperdine

Anton Watson’s adjusting well to coastal life in a small town on the Northeast peninsula of the United States, roughly 2,800 miles from his hometown of Spokane.

One obvious sign? It only took the former Gonzaga standout a few months to land on his favorite lobster roll spot, identifying a neighborhood diner situated just 1 mile from the Portland Exposition Building, where Watson’s G-League Maine Celtics play their home games.

“I send everyone to a place called High Roller,” Watson said Saturday while visiting Gonzaga during an All-Star break for the NBA and G-League. “They’ve got all the sauces, they’ve got butter. It’s fire.”

Watson takes friends and family members when possible, which meant there was an obligatory visit when former Gonzaga frontcourt mate and close friend Drew Timme was in town for a G-League matchup between Watson’s Maine Celtics and Timme’s Long Island Nets.

“Drew’s my boy, so I took him to get a lobster roll and he liked that,” Watson said. “But anytime I see one of my (former) teammates, it puts a smile on my face because you kind of made it to that level and you get to compete against each other.”

Watson’s brief trip back home coincided with Gonzaga’s second-to-last home game of the regular season. The former All-West Coast Conference forward and 54th overall draft pick of the Boston Celtics sat a few rows behind Gonzaga’s bench with father Deon Sr. and brother Deon Jr., watching his former college teammates build an early lead before racing past Pepperdine for a 107-55 victory at McCarthey Athletic Center.

“It’s definitely different watching as a fan, but I’ve been watching the whole year so it’s not too different,” Watson said at halftime, with GU already leading 55-26. “They seem like they’re handling it tonight and the atmosphere is great.”

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for a Gonzaga team that’s already picked up seven regular-season losses – somewhat reminiscent of Watson’s fifth and final college season, when the Zags lost six games by Feb. 3 and sat on the NCAA Tournament bubble until securing a handful of Quadrant 1 victories down the stretch that more or less guaranteed an at-large berth.

The situations aren’t identical, but Watson believes the 2024-25 Zags are in a strong position with four regular-season games remaining, potentially needing to win all four to lock up a top-two seed and triple-bye at the upcoming WCC Tournament.

“Just like the team last year, you know we had our turning point against Kentucky,” Watson said. “I just feel like they’ve got to keep believing, keep trusting the coaches and they’re going to find it. They’ve got enough talent to do it and you’ve just got to take it one game at a time. These next few games, they’re going to be big. So I’ll be tuned into those.”

Watson’s found his groove in the G-League, averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for the Celtics. He’s developed his outside shot in his short time as a pro, attempting 5.9 3-pointers per game while shooting 32.1% from behind the arc. In his final season at GU, Watson shot 41.2% from distance, but on just 1.5 attempts per game.

“I’ve been taking a lot more 3’s and in college I never did that, high school I never did that,” Watson said. “I took 11 3’s in a couple games this year and people were looking at me crazy like, I’ve never seen you do that. But it feels good and my game’s changed and I feel like it’s evolved and it’s opened up a lot of things.”

Other aspects of life in the G-League have been unique for Watson, who was accustomed to playing in front of sellout crowds at the Kennel and traveling to WCC venues that routinely drew large crowds to watch top-ranked Gonzaga teams.

“It’s a little bit different, it’s small, a smaller city,” Watson said. “The food’s pretty good out there, but you play in a high school gym. The fans are actually pretty good out there, so shout out to them. But you go to some of these other G-League arenas and teams and it’s not the same. You might have like 10 people in the crowd, so you’ve got to create your own energy. But playing in Maine is nice I feel like. I’m blessed to be playing for them and even when I go up with the Celtics, it’s crazy to play in the TD (Garden).”

Watson’s no longer traveling on charter jets, either, and some G-League outposts are located hours from the nearest major airport.

“Sometimes you’ve got to fly commercial, take a bus five hours for a game,” he said. “It’s a lot different than college, it’s a lot different from being with the Celtics, but I think it’s just part of the grind and part of embracing it. It’s just all about your mentality.”

Watson’s yet to make an appearance for the NBA team, but he’s been assigned to a “stay-ready team” with other Maine players who could be called up at any time.

“You really don’t know until that time comes,” he said. “There’s injuries and whatever could happen. If someone gets injured on the Celtics, I’ve got to be ready. You really don’t know. There’s a ‘stay ready’ group, there’s a couple guys part of it but you never know.”

Gonzaga coach Mark Few stays in contact with Boston General Manager Brad Stevens to inquire about Watson’s development and progress with the NBA franchise.

“He’s doing great, he’s doing great,” Few said. “I talked to Brad a couple times and they’re happy with him, so he’s doing great. Really growing and he’s doing what they want him to do and I think he’s comfortable and hopefully gets a call up here pretty soon.”