RALEIGH – Last week, Jalen Washington expressed how proud he was of Elliot Cadeau for making the game-winning play in a one-point victory at Notre Dame.
Washington said he was especially happy for Cadeau because the sophomore needed a confidence boost and the play likely infused him with some good internal vibes.
Saturday, sitting in North Carolina’s locker inside Lenovo Center, Cadeau said somewhat the same thing about Washington, who made two game-winning plays in the final 24 seconds for the Tar Heels in their 63-61 win over the Wolfpack.
First, Washington rammed home a dunk off a feed from Cadeau, then he blocked a shot with one second remaining, grabbed the ball, and the horn sounded. The dunk gave him 11 points, the block was his third of the day, and the rebound was the 6-foot-10 junior’s 12th, a career high.
“He’s very valuable,” Cadeau said. “That’s something we need him to do. I feel like if he’s doing this consistently, no team in the country can beat us. I’m really proud of him.”
In one week’s time, two of Carolina’s most important players, both of whom hadn’t been performing to justified expectations, had stepped up critical points and possibly steered the Tar Heels’ season into the right direction once and for all.
The difference is Cadeau had tasted personal success, Washington only in small bits and occasionally. And, the scorn sent his way by a dissatisfied fan base over him and that head coach Hubert Davis didn’t bring in another big man from the portal last spring, has been impossible to miss.
Yet, aside from the reasons Davis was choosey in the portal, one noted during the summer was the coaching staff thought the JWash on display here in Raleigh would have been a fairly regular thing.
They thought he was ready to explode.
They expected him to corral the starting job and keep it.
And they expected Washington to play a vital role in the positive outcomes of every game.
Only it hasn’t worked out that way, at least until this past week. The JWash given a “soft” label by Negative Nancys on social media has been nowhere in sight over the last three games. The naysayers’ finger tips have rolled off no criticisms of Washington because it appears the pieces are coming together. And each and every teammate in that room couldn’t be happier for the Gary, IN, native.
“One thing that people don’t understand is we hear all the things, the opinions, the negative comments,” RJ Davis said. “One thing I think he did a good job of, and the rest of our bigs, (is) just tune that out, understanding that we have a lot of trust and confidence in them. “I know sometimes as athletes, we can let stuff get to our heads, but I think he’s been doing a good job of just staying poised, staying humble, and staying confident even through the backlash, the non-believers, and negative comments.
“One thing about us is we always uplift Wash (and) he uplifts himself. He has a great circle, so just for him to finish off strong and execute the way he did at the end, is huge for him. At the same time, he’ll probably start hearing all positive things.”
Last week in South Bend, Washington blocked 5 shots while scoring 8 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and even registering a steal. In only 15 minutes against SMU last Tuesday, he handed out a career-high 3 assists and also blocked 4 shots.
And then today.
He isn’t exactly putting up Armando Bacot, Tyler Hansbrough, or Mitch Kupchak numbers, but that’s not anywhere near the point. The reality is Washington just looks different on the court and, therefore, he’s posting improved and noteworthy numbers. He is also reacting within games as a seasoned player, something he wasn’t entering this campaign by any means, in part thanks for a thousand knee injuries in high school.
“They broke off our play a little bit,” Washington said when explaining what happened leading to his slam for the game’s final points. “They guarded it pretty well. I just moved to the open spot and Elliot made an incredible pass behind the neck. I was able to finish it.”
And how about the block 23 seconds later?
“I just timed it up really well,” he said. “I saw Elliot kind of square him off a little bit and I knew Taylor wasn’t going to be able to get all the way to the rim. Once he put it up in the air, I just knew I was gonna go get it.”
He got it alright along with 11 others in the last eight days. Not to mention at least that many altered, and that could be a conservative guestimate.
It’s not yet time to proclaim Washington has arrived and this what the Heels (11-6, 4-1) will get the rest of the way. Consistency is king, and that’s his mission right now. But it does allow for another look at the Tar Heels.
Just think, if this JWash shows up the rest of the way, it changes how everyone should view the Heels. A lot.
