TyTy Washington's ability to fill in at point guard an "added luxury" for Kentucky

When TyTy Washington first arrived on Kentucky’s campus, he quickly became known for his incredible jump shot.

He won the three-point shootout at the Iverson Classic as a high school senior and then did it again at the Fan’s First Fan Fest as a freshman during the offseason. Only CJ Fredrick could best him during the Big Blue Madness three-point contest.

Through 15 games for Kentucky, Washington has proven he can hit those same shots when it matters most. He’s up to 40 percent shooting from distance on over three attempts per outing. If anything, he should probably shoot even more from beyond the arc. But after breaking the program’s single-game assist record with 17 against Georgia on Saturday, it’s time to think of him as more than just a smooth scorer.

In reality, it’s long past that time.

“17 assists in college is ridiculous because of the rules,” UK assistant coach Jai Lucas said on Monday. “In the NBA you have different rules where you get extra dribbles and still get assists. Now college, 17 assists in a game is really impressive. It’s extremely hard and I don’t think people understand–because you have to rely on the other people too to make shots. It’s not like they were all drop-offs to Oscar (Tshiebwe) for layups, so that just shows his willingness to pass and how good we did play down the stretch.”

TyTy Washington broke @JohnWall's @KentuckyMBB single-game assist record in Kentucky's 92-77 win over Georgia 🔥@tytywashington3: 17 Pts | 17 Ast | 5 Reb pic.twitter.com/7GlaXmVE5S

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 9, 2022

Washington was forced to step in as the Wildcats’ primary playmaker against the Bulldogs. Sahvir Wheeler was sidelined following a neck injury he suffered in the loss to LSU earlier in the week where his status moving forward is still day-to-day. Facing Georgia at home wouldn’t pose nearly as much of a threat as the Tigers on the road, but it was still a new challenge for Washington that he hadn’t been tested with up until then.

Instead of rushing himself and trying too hard to get others involved, Washington played like a four-year veteran; under control, making the easy play, picking his spots. He put on a passing clinic, spreading the love to all his teammates.

“It was huge for us,” Kellan Grady said on Monday of Washington’s performance against UGA. “TyTy, he’s a point guard/combo guard and he’s played the point when Sahvir (Wheeler) is out of the game most of the season, and we all know he’s plenty capable. And then you guys saw how awesome he was in what he demonstrated out there. It’s just an added luxury for us to have.”

Eight of Washington’s 17 assists against Georgia went to Tshiebwe (three of them pick-and-roll jump shots), four to Keion Brooks Jr., three to Davion Mintz, one to Kellan Grady, and one more to Lance Ware. Six of his assists came in the first half with the other 11 in the second half. His playmaking was well-distributed.

But, in what has become a common trend for Washington’s big games, you never even notice it’s happening. He dropped 17 points and 17 assists with just two turnovers on 8-13 shooting, but the calmness with which he ran the offense made it look more natural than impressive.

“I think (head coach John Calipari) called him a silent assassin not too long ago,” Grady added. “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.”

The simplicity with which Washington plays the game is a result of his maturity. Outside of the season-opening loss to Duke, not once has he looked out of place. He’s one of those unique five-star, one-and-done-types who is perfectly fine playing second fiddle if it results in wins.

“It’s very rare,” Lucas said of Washington’s ability to adapt so quickly to the college game. “Because the biggest thing about being a freshman guard is understanding the pace and the change of play you have to have from high school to college. And he’s one of those guys that just goes out and plays.

“He never complains about shots or wanting to play more point guard or anything like that, he just plays the basketball game and you never really know what he’s done in a game until you look at the stats and he’s averaging like 14(points)/5(assists) and shooting 40 (percent) from the three. You’ll go through a game and think he only has six points and taken two shots. That’s just a compliment to the way he plays and the things that he’s able to do.”

Washington has also had the benefit of learning the intricacies of the point guard position playing alongside Wheeler. The former plays a more methodical style of basketball while the latter beat his opponents through speed and craftiness, but both have led to winning basketball. If Wheeler is to miss any more time, Kentucky won’t feel any less confident having Washington run the show.

“Playing with two point guards, this is the benefit of it,” Lucas added.