Playing through adversity, TyTy Washington told John Calipari to leave him in

It wasn’t a perfect first-half performance from TyTy Washington against South Carolina. In fact, it was arguably one of his worst in a Kentucky uniform. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard played just eight minutes of the opening half as he picked up a second foul with 10:29 left until the intermission. In that limited playing time, Washington posted two points (1-2 shooting), two rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers.

The early foul trouble killed his rhythm, which he wasn’t able to establish again until the second half began. But once he took the court, Washington was a key ingredient in the Wildcats’ 86-76 victory over the Gamecocks on Tuesday night. He wouldn’t pick up a single foul the rest of the way, playing 18 minutes in the second half.

This time, the script was flipped. Washington went for 12 points (5-8 shooting), one rebound, two assists, and one steal with just one turnover. He went from nearly getting benched early on to keying another closeout “roadkill” win for Kentucky.

“I went to sub (out) TyTy and he’s like ‘no leave me in,'” UK head coach John Calipari said postgame. “Because he knew he was struggling and he wanted to play through it and I said ‘alright let him in.‘”

The second half saw the TyTy Washington that Kentucky fans have become so familiar with. He was making tough passes look simple whether it was a lob to Keion Brooks Jr. or lookaheads to a rim-running Oscar Tshiebwe; pick-and-rolling his way to his usual spots on offense; quietly applying the same steady defensive pressure he has all season long. It was another bullet point in his ever-expanding NBA Draft profile.

When the final buzzer sounded, Washington finished with a stat line of 14 points (6-10 shooting; 1-2 from distance), three rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 25 minutes. The rookie hit big shots and made big plays when his teammates needed him to the most.

Big shots at big moments 🤩

14 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST for @tytywashington3 pic.twitter.com/yrtHaNuU0g

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 9, 2022

This wasn’t the first instance of battling adversity this season for Washington, either. The ankle injury he infamously suffered in the first half against Auburn on Jan. 22 kept him off the court for the next game against Mississippi State. Against Kansas and Vanderbilt (both Kentucky wins), Washington combined for just nine points on 4-16 shooting. In the win over Vandy, specifically, Calipari mentioned after the fact that Washington was still nursing his bum ankle.

The last two games though? Washington has refound his footing. The projected NBA lottery pick dropped 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists on the road against Alabama before showcasing a stellar second-half performance against South Carolina. Even in the wins over Kansas and Vanderbilt, in spite of his poor numbers, Kentucky was always in a better position with Washington on the floor.

The best remedy to break Washington out of a slump is by allowing him to figure it out on his own.