Michigan basketball signee updates: George Washington III on fire, Papa Kante pops out'
Michigan basketball needs shooters, and head coach Juwan Howard seems to have found one on the recruiting trail. Dayton (Ohio) Chaminade Julienne’s George Washington III, a U-M signee, scored 16 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter last night to will his team to a comeback win over Alter.
RELATED
• Wolverine TV podcast: Rutgers loss, NIT (?) and what comes next for Michigan basketball
• Opinion: Michigan basketball — What needs to change in 2023-24?
Julienne trailed by 8 with 3.5 minutes remaining before going on a run to capture the regional final, 64-59 over its archrival.
“We just had to dig down to who we are and be us to the end,” Washington III told The Dayton Daily News.
Chaminade-Julienne, the state’s No. 2 team, will face Rocky River Lutheran West (24-3) at UD Arena. Columbus Bishop Ready (28-0) faces Akron Buchtel (21-6) at 2 p.m. in the other semi, with the final Sunday morning at 10:45.
With Julienne down 6, Washington III scored on a tough drive and finish and hit two free throws to cut it to 2. He then hit a triple after an Alter bucket to cut it to 1 and set up his brother, B.B. Washington, for a key triple down the stretch.
From the Daily News:
Washington III, however, played at a different level as usual. The Michigan signee made four 3-pointers and 14 of 15 free-throw attempts, and when he couldn’t get off a good shot, he often found the open man.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the best thing in the world to have a guy like that as a coach,” coach Charlie Szabo said. “He’s hit big shots all year. He’s hit big shots his whole career. He wants the ball in that moment.”
Washington III earned Division II Southwest Ohio Player of the Year in the regular season after averaging 25.3 points, shooting 55 percent from the field and 49.1 from three-point range. On3.com’s 3-star prospect appears to be underrated outside the top 150.
Washington scored 14 in a 65-35 district title win over Cincinnati Wyoming.
“George is good enough to take over a game when he wants to, but we’ve got other good players and it’s so much easier when we have balance,” Szabo said. “When we have those three guys we’re so much tougher to guard than when he has to get us tough buckets one on five or anything like that.”
He scored 30 points in a 65-57 win over Ponitz Feb. 24.
Michigan signee Papa Kante “pops out”
In Connecticut, South Kent big man and Michigan signee Papa Kante continues to shine, as well.
Kante, On3’s No. 55 senior nationally and a 4-star prospect, scored 19 points in an 88-64 win over Spire Academy March 8 at the National Prep Championships. They captured the NEPSAC AAA title March 5 with help from Kante’s 14 points.
He and Washington are Michigan’s two signees in the 2023 class.
