This past week, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame also inducted basketball player Donald "Slick" Watts. The former NAIA All-American at Xavier University in New Orleans went on to become a cult hero in Seattle as a star guard playing for the Supersonics. Having gone undrafted in 1973, Watts was signed as a free agent by the Sonics thanks in part to then Seattle coach and general manager Bill Russell being the cousin of then Xavier coach Bob Hopkins. With his bald head and stylish headbands, Watts worked his way into the starting line-up for the Sonics in 1975 and wound up leading the NBA in both assists and steals that season. Midway through the 1977-78 season, Watts was traded to the New Orleans Jazz where he filled in for an injured Pete Maravich. Succumbing to his own injuries, Watts concluded his 6-year NBA career with the Houston Rockets.
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