Lander Men's Basketball

 Tough, smart and skilled are all traits that Lander’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Omar Wattad, looks for in his players. These kinds of players along with his player-centered, process-oriented coaching style have allowed Lander’s men’s basketball team to climb up the rankings and make history over these past five years.

When it comes to finding players that fit his team, the coach stated in an interview, “I try to look for humility. I try to look for guys that I think would be able to be coached, coached hard, and have the ability to be over themselves and be humble and can be made fun of.” He went on, “And I mean that in the best way possible like guys that can take a joke and just not take themselves too seriously. I try to see if they have that in them. And also, competitive. I want guys that are competitive and have it in them and want to win.”

Coach Wattad came to Lander University during COVID-19 and was hired on April 6, 2020. Before coaching at Lander, Wattad played D1 for two seasons at Georgetown and then transferred to Tennessee-Chattanooga for his last two years.

It was there at Tennessee-Chattanooga where he compiled 820 points, 230 boards and 119 assists in two seasons with the Mocs as a two-time All-Southern Conference performer. Upon graduation, Wattad ranked fourth all-time at UTC for career three-point field goals, fifth in three-point field goal attempts and 30th in scoring in the program's D-I era according to his coach’s profile on the Lander Bearcats website. This collegiate success, along with his pro experience playing overseas in the Republic of Georgia and Israel, drove Lander to make him head coach.  

Coach Wattad said that the idea of coaching came to him in his freshman year at Georgetown. A difficult first season with limited minutes taught him the importance of good coaching and support from the sideline. Wattad talked about his first-year experience, saying, “I didn’t play a lot at all. I sat at the front of the bench near our Opps guy and the assistants. And I would sit there, and listen, and lock in.”

This tough experience turned out to be a blessing and allowed Wattad to realize his ability and desire to coach. He said that he learned, “If you do it the right way, you can have a profound impact on the game, specifically in the result, but also on young men’s lives.”

It was around then that his dream pivoted from the NBA to overseas, then overseas to coach. Wattad said, “I was fortunate enough to play overseas for a couple of years but then tore my Achilles. Then once that happened, I pivoted into coaching.” As he recovered from the tear, he volunteered at King University in Bristol, Tennessee for a semester. Then he went on to be a graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee. He had six great years there before coming to Lander where he and the team have found many successful seasons.

While many would describe them as being successful, Wattad said that he does not define success. Rather, he is more process oriented, making improvement day by day. He stated, “If you’re the best version of yourselves as a unit by March, you’ve had a successful season. How successful obviously comes down to Ws (wins) and Ls (losses). But if we maximize our potential because we have a really talented group and they’re good guys and they’re hardworking and they genuinely care, we will be “successful.”

Wattad continues to hold his team accountable while being cognizant of their legs as the team nears the backend of their season. Player health and performance go hand in hand. With a lot of new players in the mix along with some core players returning, Wattad believes that the team will reach their potential this season.