Michigan signee George Washington III is ready for college ball

If there were any question as to what Michigan basketball coaches were getting in 2023 signee George Washington III, he answered them all this year. When the game was on the line, he was the one taking the shots — and usually making them. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard bonded immediately with the players at Dayton (Ohio) Chaminade-Julienne in his first year at the school and was the consummate teammate, and he was the presence on the floor at opposing gyms. 

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Not only did he not flinch on rival floors; he embraced it. 

That was the attitude he took, too, after he decommitted from Ohio State last year and started looking for a new program. The four-star prospect, the No. 123 player in the On3 Industry Ranking that includes the four major recruiting services, didn’t hesitate when rival Michigan called. He was looking for his best fit, and he seemed to know as soon as he got to Ann Arbor the first time that he might have found it. 

Asked how a kid goes from Ohio State pledge to Michigan commitment in a matter of months, he didn’t hesitate.

“You get some sense,” he said with a laugh. 

That statement alone should immediately make him a fan favorite, though he was quick to turn diplomatic. 

“Nah, I’m just playin’ … I committed early in the recruiting process, and a lot can change throughout the course of the year, especially in college basketball,” Washington said. “I kind of started to see that personally for my game and what I wanted to be, my goals. Ohio State stopped being the best fit for me. 

“I just felt like rather than putting myself in a situation where I felt like it might be wrong but saying, ‘Maybe it will still work out … maybe it won’t,’ and then possibly end up in the transfer portal, I’d rather just kind of remove myself and look for that best fit from the jump — a place I can walk in and produce. and I’ll be pushed to be my best and contribute to winning.”

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard built the relationship with Washington immediately, and he had a sense on his visit he knew he was home. Several weeks later, he became the Wolverines’ first pledge in the 2023 class — and when four-star big man Papa Kante of South Kent (Conn.) later asked out of his letter of intent, he was the only one. 

Howard and his staff continue to rebuild the team through the transfer portal, and there are still high hopes for the 2023-24 team as a result. They’ve added some impressive players, including North Carolina shooting guard Caleb Love, and continue to search for others. 

Washington has no doubt last year’s 18-16 season was a “fluke,” confident he and his new teammates will do what it takes to right the ship. The coaching staff has proven itself many times, and the environment, Washington said, is perfect for him. 

“It’s great. I absolutely love it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s possible to spend any time around them and not just love being around them. It’s an amazing environment to be in, not just as a basketball player but also as a person. 

“Watching the practices, it’s very obvious the level of detail they have for everything, the level of accountability for each other. On top of that, the fun they have being in the gym together … it’s a bond where you can tell everyone wants to be there and they enjoy being around each other. They’re all working for the same thing. They want to be in the same place, and they’re going to do what it takes to get there.”

Ready for his next chapter at Michigan

But they’re going to need some help. As associate head coach Phil Martelli said in a recent interview, everyone must improve, and that includes those like Washington who have yet to play a minute of college basketball. 

Michigan continues to recruit portal guards — you can’t have enough of them — but Washington won’t shy away from the competition. He hit several game-winners this year in proving his worth as a clutch player, and he’s confident he can do it at the next level, too.

“College is kind of like a new frontier, but it’s something you can’t really know until you’re there,” he said. “I think for me, the thing I’m kind of just looking forward to and expecting is just opportunity … to capitalize on the opportunity I’m getting. That’s all you can really ask for and do, especially coming in as a freshman. 

“But I feel very comfortable in my ability. I don’t think there’s a person that can stay in front of me to stop me from scoring or stop me from setting someone else up to be in a scoring position.”

That’s bold, but he’s backed it up this year with several huge plays. One of his biggest came Jan. 3 in a win over Wayne, when he hit a triple at the buzzer to cap off a 39-point performance in a 64-61 win. He averaged 24.1 points per game and shot over 45 percent from three-point range.

“At the end of some of our games, I felt very comfortable knowing that if the ball was in my hands, I could draw fouls, get to the line, and shoot a very high percent from the line,” Washington added. “If I took the shot, I knew I could make it. 

“They were going to have to stop me, or they were going to have to leave someone open. And if someone else was open, I knew they were going to make the shot.”

He had that kind of confidence in his teammates from the get-go, fitting in extremely well in his one and only year at Julienne. His teammates accepted him immediately, he said, and it was like they’d been friends who had played together for years.  

All of it led to great team success and his first team All-Southwest Ohio and Division II Player of the Year honors. He scored his 3,000 career point on Feb. 18 and participated in slam dunk contests following the season. 

Time will tell what kind of an impact he’ll have at Michigan. There are signs, though, that he’s exactly what U-M is looking for at the position.

“You have a lot of guys that want to take the last shot,” Martelli said. “They have to be willing to accept the fact they’re going to miss more than they’re going to make. That, to me, was a separator with [former Wolverine] Kobe [Bufkin]. Kobe not only wanted to take the shot, but he was willing to take the shot make or miss. 

“We saw that with George. Now that he is jumping a level, I have to see it. He has to be able to do this on this big stage. But certainly, when you walk in here with 3,000 points, you put the ball in the basket a lot … and he won.”

Something he plans on doing a lot of at Michigan, “no doubt.”

As for the so-called haters … he laughs at the thought of taking the court for the first time in Columbus. Buckeyes fans weren’t exactly kind when he defected to “that team north.”

“Oh, yeah, quite a bit,” he said with a laugh when asked if he got some social media blowback. “But I’ve always liked that villain role a little bit. It’s something I’ve always kind of liked to embrace. It’s what I loved about Kobe Bryant, love about Trae Young. I can see myself really embracing that in the next many years.”

Starting this fall, where the next step of his journey begins at Michigan.