By Bryce Miller | [email protected] | The San Diego Union-Tribune

The moment Earl Watson fully realized Steve Lavin was something meaningfully more than a basketball coach came when he had exhausted his eligibility as a four-year starter at UCLA.

The hoops capital was gone. Watson was NBA-bound.

He was projected to be a second-round pick in 2001, so not in line for the immediate life-changing money of first-rounders. Truth is, he was broker than broke in Los Angeles from June until a potential paycheck landed four or five months later.

"My UCLA scholarship ran out," Watson said Tuesday. "I moved into a bedroom in the basement of his house. That's when I realized it wasn't about eligibility, it was about family."

That explains why Watson -- a 13-year NBA veteran and former coach of the NBA's Phoenix Suns ­­ -- has agreed to join the University of San Diego's men's basketball program as an assistant under Lavin.

Watson, 45, takes over the role of Tyus Edney, who moved into the same spot at Pepperdine.

"Coach Lav is the best recruiter in America," Watson said with a chuckle. "He recruited me twice, at UCLA and here."

There was no doubt Watson felt a connection long before he snagged a room at the home of his former coach, though.

When his travel-ball team took an unofficial visit to UCLA, the players met Lavin. The coach who was handed the keys to the Bruins after the program won the 1995 NCAA championship asked every one of the young players their names and high schools, making even the non-stars feel special.

Though not being recruited by the program, Watson made it his goal to land a scholarship offer.

Once on campus, Lavin connected him with Mount Rushmore coaching legend John Wooden. Watson began visiting the icon once or twice a month, soaking up the stories and wisdom.

Lavin also asked his team to write down what the next 50 years would look like for them beyond the court.

"It planted a seed that we had to be more than basketball players," Watson said. "Sometimes God redirects you into different spaces. It's not until you get there that you realize that's where you're supposed to be.

"I really believe I'm supposed to be in college basketball, no matter what my role is."

Lavin provided an opportunity no one else could.

"Home is where family is," Watson said. "That creates a healthy environment and sense of peace. I don't think I could've went to just any college and start coaching. I think it had to be with family. You can have tough conversations because you have a history of love and hard conversations.

"Power 5 or not Power 5, I don't really care about that."

Lavin thinks differently. Acts differently. Imagines differently.

Watson saw it firsthand at UCLA.

One day, the coach told Watson and future NBA player Baron Davis that he was trying to add a third point guard to a lineup that already was sorting out how to play with two.

The duo was the first all-freshman backcourt at the program since 1979.

"Coach Lav said he got a commitment from a point guard," Watson recalled. "He felt like we could play three point guards at one time. Playing two is risky. I'm thinking, 'It's not possible.'

"We asked who and he said it was a kid out of France named Tony Parker (later a four-time NBA champion and finals MVP). We said we don't know who he is, but let's do it. It'll be fun.

"That's the beauty of Coach Lav, his basketball imagination."

Parker was not cleared by the NCAA to compete in college, so the unique situation never materialized. Seeds were being planted, though.

Basketball can be a giant unpainted canvas. You decide the shapes and colors. Lavin kept showing that to Watson, time and again.

"I believe coaches coach, no matter what the platform or stage is," Watson said. "You're a teacher. You impact lives."

When Watson's playing career ended, he leaned on that mind-freeing philosophy as a coach.

As the coach of the Suns in 2016-17, he began to have deeper conversations with a young player named Devin Booker. Watson pushed for him to believe in something more.

"You encounter this young player and talk about he can do more than be a catch-and-shoot guy like he did in college," Watson said of the future four-time NBA All-Star. "I was trying to create this bigger picture and he checked all the boxes to do that.

"Quite frankly, I moved in the next offseason, too, to save money," he said. "I asked if the room was still available. The next offseason, he asked if I needed the room again. I told him I finally had enough money to live in my own place.

"My parents were grateful when they heard I took this job. They lived in Kansas City with a modest background and not a lot of money. When they found out I was going to join Coach Lav, they were ecstatic.

"The relationships he has with all of my family members, it's not something you can put into words."