PJ Washington’s dad explains why son’s entering NBA Draft is the right call

When asked why PJ Washington would enter his name in this year’s NBA Draft, his father answered with a question.

“I guess the real answer is, why not?” Paul Washington said Tuesday.

The NBA and the NCAA permit players to enter the draft and get a better idea of how they are appraised by professional scouts and teams.

“I think he’s utilizing the option that is available to him …,” Paul Washington said. “Either he’ll stay or come back. I think the best course is to go see what his market value is and see what the NBA thinks of him at this point. If it’s good, he’ll stay. If it’s not, he’ll come back. That’s kind of why you do it.”

Washington will not hire an agent, UK said in a news release. He will have until May 30 (or 10 days after the NBA Combine in Chicago ends) to decide whether to stay in this year’s draft or remain in college for a sophomore season.

Before announcing he will enter his name in this year’s June 21 NBA Draft, Washington met with UK Coach John Calipari. True to form, Calipari encouraged Washington to go through the exploratory pre-draft process.

“I want the fans to know that I love school, I love this program and I love Kentucky,” Washington said in the UK news release. “I’m not in a hurry to make any type of decision. But Coach believes I should evaluate where I am right now.”

During Calipari’s nine seasons as coach, Kentucky has had 31 of its players drafted (24 in the first round, 17 as lottery picks). He has consistently encouraged players to explore the NBA Draft option, dating back to facetiously (?) saying he would wrestle John Wall to the floor to make him turn pro.

Kevin Knox is widely expected to announce Thursday or Friday that he, too, will enter his name in this year’s NBA Draft. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will probably do the same no later than next week.

“I think it’s very important that each kid understands where he stands at this point in the eyes of professionals,” Calipari said in the news release. “He’s improved physically and mentally. His ability to play winning basketball isn’t even close to where it was at the beginning of the season. I’ve seen a tremendous growth in all those areas. Like all these kids, I would like to continue to coach PJ. But I’m going to support him as he goes through this process.”

Washington averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds this season. He finished on an uptick, scoring double-digit points in 11 of UK’s final 12 games.

The final game of his freshman season was a riveting drama. Having established himself as the team’s low-post presence, he carried Kentucky to the brink of victory by scoring 18 points and grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds.

But Kentucky could not overcome his 8-for-20 free throw shooting and lost 61-58 to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16.

“One of the things we were proud of is he left everything out there on the floor,” the player’s father said. “Win, lose or draw, he had no more ounce of energy after the game.”

Washington also handled postgame questions about his free-throw misses with poise.

“If I make the free throws, we win the game,” he said in the postgame locker room. “So that says it all right there.”

When asked about his son gracefully handling questions, Paul Washington said, “We’ve tried our best to train him up. He didn’t make any excuses.”

The elder Washington coached his son at Findlay Prep. His son played a wing position in high school: shooting three-pointers and bringing the ball up court against pressure when necessary.

“His versatility is his strength,” Paul Washington said. “He can pop out and shoot or dribble or pass. He can kind of do it all.”

This may surprise NBA scouts, the elder Washington said. “His vertical is just off the chain. If Hami (Hamidou Diallo) wasn’t on the team, he’d have the highest vertical on the team.

“People just don’t realize that. So I think he’ll be able to showcase that.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 6:02 PM with the headline "PJ Washington’s dad explains why son’s entering NBA Draft is the right call."