Washington stood out with the type of play you want out of a point guard. A table-setter who drives with the purpose of creating for others, the 5-foot-9 junior brought breath of fresh air to the event with the way he reads the game. Lost arts such as post entry passes, simple drive-and-kicks after Washington established who his shooters were and forcing his man to turn multiple times while bringing the ball up the floor are all valuable things that aren’t emphasized enough in development. Washington can call his own number and get a bucket. He knows how and when to react to others touching the paint to free himself up around the perimeter and when he gets inside himself, he can convert high-arching floaters with regularity.

-A prospect that should rise in our next set of updated rankings, I thought that Washington turned in one of the best true PG performances as a prospect that can really make plays for others. Love the pace that he plays with in transition and coming off of ball screens as he used a stutter step to set up live dribble passes or crossovers to get to his spots in the halfcourt. Washington raced it in transition and froze the big with the hesi before hitting the layup off the window, used a wide crossover to set up the pullup 3 off the bounce that hit nothing but net, and used a high pickup euro step to lay the ball up off the window through traffic in transition to score the bucket for his team.  

Another prospect who should benefit off the tempo these events usually bring is Washington. A point guard with solid IQ and ability to read the floor thoroughly in transition, I expect him to be a guy that others are glad to play alongside. He can put the ball in the bucket when needed whether his opportunities come in catch-and-shoot form from the perimeter or straight-line drives using his quick first step to get to the cup for scoop layups.

It’s also a chance for Washington to show his worth defensively. As we’ve seen in the past, he can be a pest on the ball with active hands and quick feet.

12p 3a 2r 3s vs Catholic

-Undersized point guard with good feel that affected the game as a rising junior that will be a big part of what SP does this season. Love the way that Washington got downhill to generate paint touches for his team with or without a ball screen as he probed the most vulnerable parts of the defense. Washington hit a floater off the window, used a perfectly-timed high pickup step through to scoop a layup in off the glass, hit a smooth turnaround baseline jumper, and threw a nice array of post entry feeds (over the top, chest pass to the outside hand, pocket pass). Washington understands playing with pace and timing coming off of ball screens in the halfcourt. His feel for when to score and when to create for a teammate is accentuated by the ball-handling ability that allows him to improvise on the fly.