Brew Hoop Community Draft Board - #17, TyTy Washington Jr.

I didn’t watch a second of Kentucky basketball this past year, but from my initial glance at the draft board, I know they produced the best first name on the board this year, with TyTy Washington Jr. going 17 in our community draft board. Can he play? I suppose that’ll factor into these rankings too, so let’s dive into it.

The Ringer compares him to Immanuel Quickley, but does say that he lacks athleticism and quickness, instead relying on craft and ball skills to be able to get to his spots. In his lone year in school, he shot 35% on 103 3-point attempts and 75% on his 64 free throw attempts. He averaged a tick under four assist per game, second on the team, but did boast the second highest usage on a Wildcats roster that lost in the initial round of the NCAA tournament.

The Quickley/Tyrese Maxey draft in 2020 may be an interesting parallel, but I always find it so tough to gauge some of these Kentucky players who are on a team rife with NBA talent. Could Washington have been underutilized and may be more potent at the next level? I thought this was a really interesting paragraph from Givony’s write-up on ESPN:

Outside of one week in which Sahvir Wheeler was injured (where Washington broke John Wall and Kentucky’s single-game record with 17 assists), we never quite got to see what Washington would look like as a full-time point guard, something NBA teams would surely like to know more about. Washington’s ability to make reads out of ball-screens is arguably his biggest strength, but he averaged less than six pick and rolls per game, ranked 467th among division one players, per Synergy Sports Technology. Prior to Washington’s injuries, he was the most efficient pick and roll player in college basketball, but he fell off the past two months.

With the dearth of pick-and-roll present in Milwaukee’s offense, I’m not sure he would find the opportunities to make those reads in the Cream City either. What worries me is whether his shooting would translate in an off-ball setting. Who knows, but some team will likely look back at the history of sometimes underdrafted Kentucky guards and hope this is another one that happens to hit rather than shoot a blank.

We’re inching closer to the finale of our community draft board. Here’s what we have so far:

1. Chet Holmgren
2. Jabari Smith
3. Paolo Banchero
4. Jaden Ivey
5. Keegan Murray
6. Dyson Daniels
7. Shaedon Sharpe
8. Bennedict Mathurin
9. A.J. Griffin
10. Jalen Duren
11. Johnny Davis
12. Jeremy Sochan
13. Ousmane Dieng
14. Ochai Agbaji
15. Mark Williams
16. E.J. Liddell
17. TyTy Washington Jr.

And here’s the usual spreadsheet from Adam Spinella. Let’s vote for 18.

This poll will close at 10 am central, June 11. I’m taking the weekend off, so you’ll spot your latest entry next week.