Why Jalen Washington’s long-awaited debut for UNC basketball is important for Tar Heels
The last time North Carolina freshman forward Jalen Washington played an organized game of basketball, in July 2021, he was considered a top 20 recruit in the Class of 2022.
By the time he arrived in Chapel Hill — after missing his entire senior season in high school due to a knee injury — he had fallen back to the top 50 according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings and was, for the most part, unheralded.
His return to action and lone basket in the final two minutes of the Tar Heels’ 75-59 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday may have gone unnoticed for casual observers. But it likely won’t stay that way for long.
“It’s been a long road, obviously this isn’t the finish line of where I want to be, it’s just a milestone,” Washington said. “It’s a big milestone and I’m glad that I could check the box of being able to play in my first game.”
The 6-foot-10 forward from Gary, Indiana is out to reestablish himself after two surgeries on the same right knee kept him out of the spotlight for too long.
“I missed out on a lot of accolades I feel like I could have got in high school, but it keeps me really hungry,” Washington said. “In my eyes, I wasn’t good enough for any of those things. That’s just kind of how my mindset is, just working and trying to get new accolades and get better as a player and grow as a person.”
Washington initially tore his ACL as a sophomore in high school and had surgery to repair it then. But he said the surgery “wasn’t performed properly.” He played his entire junior season on a bad knee, and the graft used to repair the knee gave out on him in July 2021.
Washington had to have a completely different operation done, which kept him out his entire senior year of high school. As long as the process was to get back, he said he never doubted that he would return.
“I’m sure for any teenager going through the same thing that I did is really hard,” Washington said. “But I feel like my situation — I’ve been blessed with having great parents, having good faith, I’ve been able to work back and just keep my spirits up the whole time.”
His teammates know how hard he worked to get back on the court. In the locker room after the Georgia Tech game, Steve Kirschner, Carolina’s sports information director, mentioned that Washington scored a career-high with his lone basket in the game. And the place went bananas.
Players doused Washington with water as they cheered and celebrated his return.
“For Jalen Washington to get in there, we know how hard he works every day and how hard he’s been working to get back,” forward Pete Nance said. “So it was awesome to see him score those points out there. You saw how excited everyone was for him.”
Head coach Hubert Davis might quietly be the most excited of them all.
Washington gives the Heels a third big for its rotation and will allow them to keep two bigs in the lineup as the situation dictates. Both Indiana and Virginia Tech exploited Carolina’s smaller lineup with Armando Bacot dealing with an injured right shoulder.
“Now we have another big guy that is versatile defensively, but can rebound the basketball,” Davis said. “Now we have another guy that can score down in the paint. The other thing that you guys didn’t see today, he can really shoot the ball from outside too. So his ability to stretch the floor and shoot from 3 is going to be great.”
It’s coming, but “when” is the bigger question. Davis has repeatedly said his plan for Washington was to bring him along slowly. He was only cleared for full participation in practice less than a month ago. He’s still learning nuances in the system and learning how to play with his teammates.
Washington also has to work himself into “playing shape,” but that shouldn’t take too long considering conditioning was one of the things he was allowed to do before being cleared for contact in practice.
“I feel as strong as I’ve ever been, fast as I’ve been, being able to jump as high as I can,” Washington said. “My knee feels great.”
Tipoff time + TV channel for Tuesday’s game
The game will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday and will air on ESPN2.
How to stream UNC vs The Citadel game online
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If your preferred method of watching games involves streaming, there are options for that, too.
ESPN2 is available on fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV and YouTubeTV. Or click here to view on the ESPN app.
Game day details: UNC vs The Citadel
Teams: UNC Tar Heels vs. The Citadel Bulldogs
Where: Dean E. Smith Central, Chapel Hill
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 13
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Series history: The Tar Heels lead the series 19-0. The teams last met on Nov. 24, 1991 when the Heels won, 97-58.
