‘Ready for the challenges ahead.’ TyTy Washington says goodbye to Kentucky, hello to NBA.
Freshman TyTy Washington announced Wednesday that he will enter this year’s NBA Draft and not hold open the option of returning to play for Kentucky next season.
“The fans have supported me through the ups and downs of this past season, and I am proud to say I will always be a member of Big Blue Nation,” Washington said in a news release.
Washington said the decision came after discussing his basketball future with his parents, family members and UK Coach John Calipari.
“Leaving Kentucky won’t be easy, but I am ready for the challenges ahead and know I am ready based on my experiences here in Lexington,” Washington said. “Thank you again to the fans, the coaches, all the supporters of Kentucky basketball and most importantly the people who helped me get here, my mom and my dad.”
Calipari saluted Washington as a player who can have an NBA career.
“TyTy is a play-making guard who has the ability to play on the ball or off and still impact the game in a variety of ways,” Calipari said in the news release. “We’ve had a number of players leave here and be successful at the next level who are in a similar mode as TyTy. I’m excited for TyTy and his family because I know with his work ethic, his ability to play within himself and allow the game to come to him, that he will have the opportunity to be another one of our guys to find success in that league.
“TyTy’s best days as a basketball player are in front of him and he and his family know that they have my full support as he chases his dreams.”
According to various mock drafts, Washington is expected to be a first-round pick in the June 23 NBA Draft. NBADraft.net, The Ringer, Tankathon and Fox Sports all project him as a lottery pick.
The only other player with a UK connection widely projected as a first-round pick is Shaedon Sharpe, who joined the team at mid-season and only participated in practices. Sharpe has not yet announced his basketball plans for the future.
Coaches voted Washington to the All-Southeastern Conference Second Team and the All-SEC Freshman Team. He set a program record with 17 assists against Georgia. That broke John Wall’s record of 16 against Hartford on Dec. 29, 2009.
He was a five-time winner of the SEC Freshman of the Week award, and became the first player to win it four straight weeks since Devin Booker in 2014-15.
Washington was Kentucky’s second-leading scorer. He averaged 12.5 points.
Washington led UK and the SEC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.35-to-1. In league play, his ratio was 2.5-to-1.
Washington’s 2.35-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is the third-best among point guards who have played in Calipari’s time as Kentucky coach.
Only Tyler Ulis has had better ratios: 3.55-to-1 in 2014-15 and 3.57-to-1 in 2015-16.
Washington’s ratio ranked 32nd among Division I players this season.
Among SEC players, Washington was in the top 10 in average assists in all games (3.87) and in league games (4.0).
More than once this past season, UK coaches noted that Washington’s stats could surprise given the lack of flash in his playing style.
“TyTy, he’s like the silent assassin,” Calipari said at one point. “Quietly, he tiptoes in and gets 15 points and nine assists.”
A consensus five-star prospect from Phoenix, Washington missed three games because of injury. After missing late-February home games against Alabama and LSU, he had an uneven finish to the season.
In Kentucky’s final two games (losses to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament and to Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament), Washington made eight of 26 shots (two of nine from three-point range).
Washington made a season-high four three-point shots against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. But in the regular-season finale at Florida, he made only one of six shots (zero for two from three-point range).
Washington became the third UK player to announce a plan for his immediate basketball future.
On Monday, Keion Brooks announced that he will enter this year’s NBA Draft while keeping open the option of returning to play for Kentucky next season.
Earlier this offseason, Dontaie Allen announced he was putting his name in the NCAA transfer portal.
