SEC coach believes TyTy Washington is an NBA Draft steal
TyTy Washington was a projected lottery pick for most of last season but didn’t hear his name called until almost the very end of the first round on Thursday night. TyTy’s injuries during the season and reportedly underwhelming performance in workouts caused him to slide to No. 29 to the Houston Rockets. While late first round certainly isn’t the top ten dream TyTy and his family had for the draft, there’s growing consensus that he may end up being one of the biggest steals of the night.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello asked coaches to share their thoughts on the draft anonymously. Both coaches that spoke about TyTy raved about him, with one SEC coach calling him the most complete player on Kentucky’s roster last season.
“He was a guy that was a lottery talent,” an SEC coach said. “He’s got good size, he was probably the most complete player on that Kentucky team. He played on both ends. Offensive end, he could drive it, set the table for guys, make 3s. Really good, really solid player. Part of the reason he fell is his injury. He wasn’t the same in the SEC games, SEC tournament and then the one game in the NCAA tournament. Thought he would’ve been 12-to-16 range if he stayed healthy. Not a top-10 talent, but borderline lottery. We’re talking about a minor injury, it’s not a lingering thing. Getting him at 29 because he came back too soon from an injury? That’s a steal.”
Borzello also polled coaches on Shaedon Sharpe, who was selected No. 7 by the Portland Trail Blazers. You can see those quotes over at the Worldwide Leader.
TyTy vows to “remember all the teams that skipped me”
In his single season at Kentucky, TyTy averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. Despite his injury, he scored in double figures 20 times, including five games of 20 or more points. On Thursday night, TyTy vowed to make the teams that skipped on him regret it.
“Every player wants to be a top pick, a high pick, stuff like that. So as I was falling, I wasn’t really stressing about it. It only takes one team to believe in you and you go out there and shock the world. That’s kind of my mindset on it. I always bet on myself. I’m just going to go out there with a chip on my shoulder and just remember all the teams that skipped me.”
While we’re sharing TyTy videos, this one of him reflecting on his journey to the NBA is pretty great.
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