Watford shines in April period

Alabama forward Christian Watford will be completely honest in his own assessment of how he played in the all-important month of April. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward says he couldn't have performed any better.

Watford shined with the M33M Ballers in Arkansas for the Real Deal on the Hill, the King James Shooting Stars and last weekend in Kansas for the Jayhawk Invitational.

"I think I did really good to be honest with you," Watford said. "I'm a little bigger and stronger. I think that helped me out a whole that. I don't think I could have had a better April.

"I thought I had a good showing at the King James tournament. I scored 38 points against the D.C. Blue Devils. In Arkansas, I thought I played well, too. I wanted to go out and play as good as I could. I didn't really shoot it that well there but I was able to do some other things when I was there. Most of my success came inside."

Take one look at Watford and it is easy to see why he feels so good about his spring. The combo forward is noticeably bigger and stronger. He says his new physique has helped him take his game stronger to the hole and also confound defenses on the wing.

"I felt like coming into the off-season that I needed to improve my strength more than anything else. I wanted to start lifting and put some pounds on," Watford said. "I think getting stronger helped me create even more mismatches."

His ability to go in and out has brought in a number of high-majors on the recruiting front. Watford said he is hearing the most from Indiana, Memphis, Alabama, Louisville, Kentucky and Missouri.

Watford said he has already been to Memphis "a ton of times." Alabama, of course, has hosted him several times and Missouri has welcomed the four-star prospect to campus before.

Watford said he will visit Indiana and Louisville this weekend. He will be participating in the adidas May Classic at Indiana as well. Despite his visits, there isn't a clear cut leader just yet.

"I'm not committed to anyone just yet and I'm still open," Watford said. "Those schools have a good basketball tradition and they've proven that they can develop players. I don't want to go anywhere that I stay the same. I want to go somewhere that they push me to the next level."