By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — East Rowan High has announced that on Feb. 7 its gym will be named in honor of former girls basketball coach Jesse Watson.

Watson is at the top of the all-time wins list for girls basketball, not just at East Rowan, but for all of Rowan County. His record of 324-187 for 19 seasons at the helm of the Mustangs — a .688 winning percentage — has never been approached. Only three others — former Carson coach Brooke Stouder and current head coaches Ashley Poole (West Rowan) and Lakai Brice (Salisbury) have topped 200 wins.

Watson was inducted into the Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame in 2011.

While Watson’s coaching record was tremendous, it becomes more amazing when you look at where the program was when he took over. East basketball had started in 1950-60 and had enjoyed only one winning season. East had won 11 games — total — in the four seasons prior to Watson being named head coach.

He took over for the 1969-70 season. His first three teams weren’t all that good — eighth, seventh and sixth in the South Piedmont Conference — but the foundation for a perennially strong program was being built. His fourth team had a winning season. His fifth team won 21 games. His sixth team was one of the great teams in East and Rowan County history. That team was 24-3 and won the championship of the Western North Carolina High School Activities Association.

Watson’s 1986-87 team had an even better record — 26-2 — and was the first East team to go undefeated (12-0) in conference play.

Watson coached eight teams that won at least 20 games. He had 16 straight winning seasons. He guided six teams that won regular-season conference championships and seven that won conference tournaments. The 1973-74, 1974-75, 1979-80 and 1986-87 teams swept both titles. His final team in 1987-88 finished third in the regular season but gave him his last conference championship.

A social studies teacher who was educated at South Rowan and UNC, Watson stepped down from coaching when he was only 42 years old.

When Watson announced in the summer of 1988 that he would no longer be East’s coach, East’s principal Dr. Harry Starr told the Post, “He was a winning coach whose record reflected not just his knowledge of the game but his ability to motivate players. What his record may not have shown was his love for the players and the quiet, dedicated manner in which he did his job.”

In the big picture, Watson was a game-changer not just for girls basketball in Rowan County, but for all girls sports. He helped change the respect level for female athletes.

“When I started coaching, girls were still playing 6-on-6, with just the two rovers playing full-court,” Watson said at his Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame induction. “The thinking was that the girls couldn’t run up and down the floor, and the girls didn’t see themselves as athletes — just as girls who happened to play basketball. Well, we were able to convince them they were athletes.”