Washington learning to impact games beyond scoring

Since his earliest days on the court at Ohio State, Duane Washington Jr. hasn’t been shy.

The junior guard has hoisted 290 three-pointers in 65 career games as a Buckeye. He hit six in his second ever appearance as a freshman. Washington's biggest asset has been his unwavering confidence.

Entering his junior season, however, the California native knew the time had arrived to become a more complete player.

When the shots aren’t falling, he wants to be able to impact the game in other ways.

“My ability off the ball to stretch the floor will always be a contributing factor when I’m on the floor,” Washington said, talking about what he provides beyond scoring. “Definitely that, and getting other guys open, cutting hard and creating diversions, setting screens, whatever the case may be on the offensive end.”

It has not been a pretty start shooting the ball for the junior. He has connected on only five of his 16 attempts from distance and missed his first five against UMass-Lowell.

That didn’t stop him from making the most important shot of the afternoon, a catch-and-shoot triple to put Ohio State up seven with just over a minute remaining.

For Washington, it’s not about the shots he has missed. It’s about the opportunities in front of him.

“I got some good looks during the game and unfortunately they didn’t go down, but the saying is ‘Shooters shoot,’ and you still gotta be confident in yourself,” Washington said following the victory over UMass-Lowell. “I believed in myself.”

He has the full confidence of Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann, who said he has been happy with most of the guard’s looks so far this season. Still, there remain decisions that leave the head coach scratching his head.

Holtmann said he wants his junior guard to develop as a passer and as a playmaker without the ball. The fourth-year head coach was quick to note that Washington has four assists to zero turnovers so far this year.

That’s a huge sign of improvement from the experienced scorer, who had registered just three more assists than giveaways entering the season. His decision-making in the paint remains the key to unlocking even more of that playmaking potential.

“I’m happy with a lot of his looks,” Holtmann said. “He’s gonna make those clean ones that he had. It’s the challenged twos at the rim, some of the contested ones, that he’s gotta find a way to spray or find other guys.”

When Washington is hitting his shots and finding teammates, he can act as Ohio State’s go-to player on offense.

However, it’s on the defensive end where he has shown the most growth this season.

As a sophomore, Washington was benched and subsequently suspended in mid-January for a lack of preparation and readiness to play, particularly on the defensive end. Holtmann hasn’t been shy about the need for his leading scorer to show consistency on defense.

That’s why his performance on that end of the court against UMass-Lowell was even more encouraging than the career-high 21 points he registered.

Tasked with guarding the River Hawks’ best perimeter scorer, Obadiah Noel, Washington locked in. He held Noel (who had scored 35 points one day prior to the matchup with Ohio State) to 5-of-21 shooting and four turnovers.

“On the defensive end, just continuing to communicate and lead my team,” Washington said. “I wanted to show that I got better on defense this off-season. That’s something that I really worked on hard this off-season.”

Washington frustrated the junior bucket-getter throughout, forcing difficult shots and staying in Noel’s jersey for the entirety of his time on the court.

Even his harshest critic had some kind words following the contest.

“I thought defensively, he competed, and he was really engaged in the game,” Holtmann said.

There is plenty of room to grow for Washington. To Holtmann, that’s the most exciting part. If the clear weaknesses in his game can turn into strengths, Duane Washington can become one of the Big Ten’s best all-around players.

His performance on both ends against UMass-Lowell was just the beginning.

“We’ve talked about Duane’s defense, his inefficiency and his efficiency, and we’ve gotta continue to help him get strides moving forward there,” Holtmann said. “But I really did think he was engaged in the game at a pretty high level.”