Washington on West Side’s side
Cougars star ready to focus on senior season after committing to UNC
The moment was right for West Side’s Jalen Washington.
The 6-foot-9 senior forward had been fielding scholarship offers from Division I programs for months but hadn’t set a timeline for making his decision.
Washington said he was waiting for the right feeling. That time came July 9, when he announced his verbal commitment to North Carolina in a tweet.
“I always told people who asked that I was going to commit when it was time,” he said. “The circumstances were just right, just being comfortable with the coaching staff and the entire school.”
The five-star recruit is listed as the No. 21 prospect in the Class of 2022 by both ESPN and 247Sports. The long list of programs that were interested in Washington’s services included Illinois, Indiana, Purdue and Stanford.
But Washington kept coming back to the comfort level he felt after visiting Chapel Hill and meeting with new North Carolina coach Hubert Davis and the rest of the staff.
“I understand what they want from me, and they understand what I want from them,” Washington said. “I can play stressfree now. This is one thing that’s off my mind now so that I can focus a lot more on basketball itself.”
Washington said he enjoyed the recruiting process but is glad to have that part of his basketball career in the rearview mirror.
“I won’t have all these coaches hitting me up every single day now,” he said with a laugh. “I can really lock in because I know my situation is really good now.”
Washington will join Dana Evans and Lonnie Johnson as recent West Side student-athletes who competed for major Division I programs. Evans plays for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA after starring at Louisville, and Johnson played in all 16 games last season for the Houston Texans after finishing his college career at Kentucky.
West Side coach Chris Buggs raved about Washington’s work ethic both in the classroom and on the court, which helped create this moment for him.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for this young man and his family,” Buggs said. “I’m proud of him and what he’s accomplished. There aren’t many kids from this area who go to a school like that.”
With his long-term future set, Washington said he’s back to focusing on the short term, which includes a summer full of basketball with Meanstreets in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League.
Washington tore the ACL in his right knee as a sophomore. That and the coronavirus pandemic limited much of his summer basketball in 2020.
Washington said he’s been playing without a brace for the past month.
“It’s all good,” he said. “But it definitely gives me a new appreciation for basketball, knowing that I wasn’t in this situation a year ago.”
Later this year, the focus will shift back to West Side, which he hopes will improve on its 2020-21 season that ended with a 53-48 overtime loss to Carmel in a Class 4A semistate.
“I’m just trying to have the best year I possibly can,” Washington said. “Go out there and play stress-free, have fun and try to win.”