Michigan freshman George Washington III breaks down his game, goals: 'I'm here to win'
Michigan Wolverines basketball freshman guard George Washington III was a four-star recruit ranked No. 127 nationally in the 2023 class per the On3 Industry Ranking. He arrived in Ann Arbor last month, has gone through practices and is working on becoming a potential impact player this coming season.
Washington, whose father is an assistant women’s basketball coach at Dayton, was once committed to Ohio State, but backed off that pledge and wound up at Michigan. His pros and cons list, actually, lined up with the place he felt most like home — Ann Arbor.
“I don’t think it’s possible to spend any time around these guys — [head] Coach [Juwan] Howard, the players, managers — and not just be drawn in,” Washington said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast with host Brian Boesch. “Everyone obviously loves what they do, they love to be here and everyone knows what they’re doing and has the best knowledge and skill set to help push you to be better, too.
“Just being on campus and seeing how beautiful it is, and then coming and seeing the basketball part, too, made it a really easy decision. It’s a family here, and that is obvious the second you see them interact with each other.”
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Washington, the lone member of the Wolverines’ 2023 recruiting class, should bring some shooting to Michigan, after he connected on 46.5 percent of his three-point attempts as a senior at Dayton (Ohio) Chaminade-Julienne last season.
“I’d say I’m a guard that loves to put the ball in the basket,” Washington said after being asked to describe his game. “I’m a combo, so I play the ‘1’ [and] the ‘2.’ But the thing that sets me apart from other players, especially at my position, is my ball-handling ability, my ability to shoot the ball and just my feel for the game in total.
“I’ve been around it for a long time and had the blessing to be around some really good guys and pick up things from them, so I feel like I already have kind of more of a pro-style game. I’m very excited to be in a system and a school that not only will really benefit us in winning, but also it’s also to push me to develop way farther than I’ve already come.
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“I’ve had some player comparisons like [Denver Nuggets guard] Jamal Murray or [Portland Trail Blazers star] Damian Lillard, just off of shooting ability. I expect a lot of threes, hopefully a poster dunk or two and good basketball. I’m here to win — that’s my goal.”
Washington knows he’ll have to acclimate to the college game, and that process has already started in his first several weeks at Michigan. Defense is an area of focus, as well.
“The first learning curve is definitely going to be speed of the game, just because college runs at a different pace,” Washington explained. “My defense has taken major leaps, especially from where I was at my junior year [of high school]. But once again, college is a different place.
“So I’d say for me, focusing on that part to where having me out there on the defensive end is a strength and benefitting the team. I want to be one of the top defensive guys in the Big Ten, especially on the freshman side, and that’s going to be one thing I’m really trying to lock into.”
