TyTy Washington standing out among SEC's group of star-studded freshmen

TyTy Washington has become known as Kentucky’s “silent assassin”. Which works quite nicely considering he’s silently playing like the SEC’s top freshman in a league littered with future one-and-dones.

Washington picked up his third consecutive SEC Freshman of the Week award on Monday and his fourth already this season. Only Auburn’s projected top-five NBA Jabari Smith has earned the honors more than once this year.

Through 15 games in the 2021-22 season, Washington is averaging 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks on a shooting split of 49.4/40.0/82.4. The 6-foot-3 versatile playmaker has split time as Kentucky’s point guard and off-ball two-guard, flowing seamlessly between the two positions whenever asked. Washington possesses several NBA-level moves when he needs to get to the rim and is a smart and stout defender on the other end of the hardwood. Of course, his shooting prowess is what stands out, but 17 assists in a single game proved he’s so much more than a one-dimensional guard.

This brings us to the meat of our article. Is TyTy Washington the best freshman in a conference loaded with talented rookies? Let’s look at some data.

Including Washington and Jabari Smith, six different first-year hoopers have taken home SEC Freshman of the Week honors this season: Tennessee’s Kennedy Chandler, Alabama’s J.D. Davison, South Carolina’s Devin Carter, and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV. Only Carter and Taylor IV aren’t projected first-round picks this spring.

Take a look at their per-game averages.

Smith (15 games): 15.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks on a shooting split of 45.5/44.7/81.8 | Projected No. 3 NBA draft pick in 2022

Chandler (13 games): 13.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.4 blocks on a shooting split of 44.5/34.0/70.6 | Projected No. 21 NBA draft pick in 2022

Washington (15 games): 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks on a shooting split of 49.4/40.0/82.4 | Projected No. 10 NBA draft pick in 2022

Carter (13 games): 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks on a shooting split of 42.2/13.0/71.7 | Not projected to get drafted

Davison (15 games): 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks on a shooting split of 50.0/31.3/71.1 | Projected No. 13 NBA draft pick in 2022

Taylor IV (15 games): 8.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.2 blocks on a shooting split of 39.2/39.2/61.1 | Not projected to get drafted

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At this stage in the season, with intraconference play now officially underway, there are three legitimate candidates to win SEC Freshman of the Year, and all of them will likely hear their names called in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft: Washington, Smith, and Chandler. That doesn’t mean someone else can’t put themselves on the map, but the six freshmen mentioned above have separated as the top-tier talents in the league. LSU’s Efton Reid has also played well for the Tigers.

The frontrunner halfway through the regular season would be Auburn’s Jabari Smith. Not only is the 6-foot-10, 220-pounder the best player on a Tigers’ squad ranked No. 4 in the country, he’s also a consensus future top-five draft pick. He can drive, shoot, play defense, and is an incredible athlete. Smith has hit double-figure scoring in 12 consecutive games, including three quality displays against LSU, South Carolina, and Florida to get his SEC career rolling. Hell, he might even be one of the favorites to win SEC Player of the Year.

But Washington is still building his case, particularly over the last few weeks. His three straight SEC Freshman of the Week awards back up that narrative. He silently puts up insane numbers that become a lot louder once the game is over and everyone has time to assess the stat sheet.

“I think (head coach John Calipari) called him a silent assassin not too long ago,” UK guard Kellan Grady said on Monday about Washington. “For example, I had no idea he even had 10 assists. I looked up at the end of the four-minute media timeout and I think there was 15 assists next to his name. But he just repeatedly makes the right play, the easy play. It almost just goes unnoticed, you don’t necessarily realize the impact he’s having on the game. He was fantastic. That was one of the best performances I’ve seen and I’ve been in college for a while.”

Early on in the season, Smith stole the headlines for Auburn due to his unicorn-like abilities. Washington, not the uber-athlete or fastest guy on the floor, bided his time and is reaping the recognition for his steady play. Now he just has to keep it up.

With Sahvir Wheeler’s status sill up in the air for Tuesday’s contest against Vanderbilt, we could see another high-assist game from Washington. Kentucky will surely need it if it wants to keep the Commodores from hunting for an upset bid.

11 of the previous 17 SEC Freshman of the Year winners have been Wildcats. Washington is one pace to contend for No. 12.