Neville Waters

NEVILLE WATERS FEATURE STORY: “NW in Northwest”

Neville Waters grew up in Georgetown, and played basketball at Sidwell Friends in the mid-1970's on some very good teams with the likes of Steve Johnson, Charlie Watkins, and Duplain Gant. More recently, he operates his own marketing and entertainment company, The Waters Group (http://watersgroupdc.com). He has also served as V.P. of Marketing & Business Development for the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and Marketing Director for the Columbus River Dragons of the NBDL (Development League for the NBA).

He was kind enough to share his memories of the local game with DC Basketball-

DCB: Where did you grow up, and what playgrounds/recs did you frequent?

NW: Rose Park, Luzon, Sligo Creek & Candy Cane City

 
DCB: What do you remember about the Power Memorial/DeMatha game?

NW: I recall how long Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) was & yet how agile & athletic he was. But my confidence in a DeMatha victory never wavered...although what could a 6 year old really know (smile).  I remember that Morgan Wooten had his players simulate Alcindor's presence during practice by holding broomsticks to shoot over.
 
DCB: Who does your dad say are the best players from his day?

NW: My dad was always partial to the skills of John Austin and Jim McBride. But James Brown and Bernard Williams were players that I recall he thought had the most promise. Of course, he dug "Rabbit" aka Elgin Baylor & had admiration for that great Carroll HS team led by Monk Molloy, John Thompson, George Leftwich & Tom Hoover.


DCB: What players in the IAC impressed you?

NW: Billy Green (1974 All-Met at St. Alban's)
 
DCB: Did anyone in particular work with you in the aspects of your game as a young teen?

NW: Besides my father, the Morgan Wooten/Joe Gallagher Metropolitan Basketball Camp shaped my early years by instilling the right practice foundation; learn the fundamentals

 
DCB: What kind of non-conference schools did Sidwell play during your time?
NW: SFS (Sidwell Friends) played lots of local schools from among Mackin, John Carroll, Wilson, O'Connell & Gonzaga; we also played some teams from out of town, Mercersburg, Germantown Friends, Episcopal, St Somebody from Baltimore 

DCB: Thank you Neville

NW: You're welcome