Buffalo guard gets attention
It's been a while since a highly recruited basketball player has come out of western New York. Not since Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris were teammates at Niagara Falls have high-major college coaches flocked to the area. Buffalo Canisius point guard Howard Washington is trying to make sure that changes as he's makes himself into one of the better point guards in the 2016 class.
Advertisement
Early in the process for Washington, schools such as Boston College, Boston University, Buffalo, Dayton, George Washington, Ohio, Siena, St. Bonaventure, UAB, Virginia and Virginia Tech have extended scholarship offers while top programs such as Ohio State, Syracuse and Texas are showing heavy interest.
The four-star guard says four schools seem to be putting the most pressure on him at the moment.
"I would say Virginia, Ohio State, Dayton and Syracuse are on me the hardest right now," Washington said. "Ohio State hasn't offered me yet, but I think we're going down that way to Dayton's team camp next month with my high school team and we'll probably stop at Ohio State. I talk to (Syracuse assistant) coach (Mike) Hopkins and I've talked to (Syracuse) coach (Jim) Boeheim a few times, but they haven't offered yet either."
If the Orange decide to offer Washington, the 50th-ranked player in the 2016 Rivals150, they might be tough to beat.
"I really like Syracuse," Washingotn said. "I've grown up loving to watch Syracuse play. A lot of people say I play like Tyler Ennis and we're actually really close off the court. Jonny Flynn came out of Niagara Falls and I'm pretty close with him too, so I grew up liking Syracuse."
Ohio State is starting to turn up the heat on Washington lately.
"It's a very good school. My dad and I were talking about how their offense is a great fit because it's not a set play every time down. They do a lot of pick-and-roll and have a very guard-oriented offense. (Assistant) coach (Greg) Paulus is stressing the fact their offense has really changed from being post-player dominant to now being about the guards."
Virginia came into Buffalo and signed Will Regan in the 2010 class and they are hoping to come back for more in the 2016 class with Washington.
"The Virginia coaches gave me an online tour to take and the pictures of the campus look really nice. They also run an offense for their guards to succeed and that's what I'm looking for," Washington said.
Dayton's run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament turned a lot of heads around the country, and certainly caught Washington's attention.
"They had a really big year. (Assistant) coach (Allen) Griffin played at Syracuse and played with Damone Brown, who was one of the few NBA players to come out of Buffalo, so he likes recruiting guys from back in this area. I've also talked to coach (Archie) Miller and they all seem like really down-to-earth coaches. They are younger and can really relate to me."
One school to keep an eye on with Washington will be Alabama. Just a couple months ago, coach Anthony Grant hired former Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon as an assistant, who Washington has known for a long time.
"I was actually just on the phone with Coach Witherspoon the other day and we were talking about USA Basketball tryouts. He's a really good guy. He said he definitely wants me to visit them down there and wants to get me on the phone with their head coach soon."
Having just completed his sophomore season of high school basketball, Washington doesn't appear to be in a rush to make a college decision, and when he does, he should have plenty of options.
Click Here to view this Link.
[rl]