Washington Can See Himself Playing At UNC
For a lot of high school basketball prospects, there is a usual and customary adjustment period once they get to college. Many of them arrive and get a rude awakening when they go up against stronger, quicker players at the next level. For many of them it takes a season, and sometimes two seasons, to get fully acclimated to game speed. It may take even longer to become physical enough to hold their own.
PJ Washington isn’t one of those guys. He has the body, the athletic prowess and mindset to make an impact. An immediate impact wherever he chooses to attend college. The 6-foot-7 combo-forward from Las Vegas (NV) Findlay Prep can walk onto a college squad right now and he’d make an impact. He has all of the tools.
There are very few 2017 recruits that can match his physicality, his versatility and his alpha-dog demeanor. As most would probably imagine, he’s a coveted recruit. He recently took an unofficial visit to Chapel Hill and he’s working on planning the next phase of visits.
“Right now I am just focusing on getting my officials set up,” he told THI. “Four schools right now. It’s UNC, Texas, Arizona and Kentucky. Those are just the four schools that I have right now. Those are the four schools that I will take an official to, but I haven’t set the times yet.”
Now those aren’t the only four schools that Washington is considering, it’s just that those four are definitely going to get him on campus for an official visit. He would still have one more official visit left if he wanted to add it.
Digging into the plan for when he will take his trip to Chapel Hill, he said that the UNC staff has been throwing out some options. Basically, the versatile junior has the freedom to come when he wants.
“They said it’s mainly what I want to do, if I want to come to a football game, or a basketball game, it’s whatever I want to do,” he said.
Roy Williams and the UNC assistant coaches have a strong rapport with Washington and his father, Paul, who handles much of his recruiting. They’ve been to campus in Chapel Hill more than once and the staff has made trips to Las Vegas to spend some time in the presence of the family as well.
Washington says that all four of his schools that he plans to visit keep in close contact.
“They all contact me on almost an every-day basis. They just show loyalty to me, so it’s only right for me to show loyalty to them. “
As for what appeals to him about the UNC program, he has childhood memories of some pretty determined players and championship trophies.
“I really enjoyed watching North Carolina when I was younger, when they had Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson. They were amazing. Yeah and them winning. I just love winning. I love their program. They have a really nice basketball program and I can see myself going there.”
He says that the UNC staff pitches his role as a versatile forward. One who can play inside or outside. One that would have the ability to take advantage of whoever is guarding him.
“Just really use the mismatches, so if I have a guard, I can go down low," he said. "If I have a big on me, to go to the perimeter.
"They said just basically, they want me to do everything all over the court. I love it. Their bigs run and they score. I love that they get out in transition and just make plays.”