Washington Added to KU Women’s Hoops Roster
LAWRENCE, Kan.– Kansas women’s basketball head coach Brandon Schneider continued his trend of bringing talented players to Allen Fieldhouse in the first few months of recruiting with the addition of Jessica Washington to the Jayhawks’ roster.
Washington, who was ranked among the top guards of the 2013 recruiting class, heads to Lawrence with NCAA Tournament experience after playing the past two seasons at North Carolina. She is the second transfer and third addition for Schneider and his staff since taking the helm of the Jayhawk program.
“Jessica is a floor general with great vision and a high basketball I.Q.,” Schneider said. “She is an outstanding playmaker who can create shots for both herself and her teammates. Her ability to stretch the defense with her range and play off the bounce make her a very tough cover. She’s exactly the type of addition we need as we strive to build our program into a perennial NCAA tournament participant.”
A 5-8 guard, Washington was a 2013 McDonald’s All-America selection and ranked the No. 14 overall player and No. 2 guard in her class by ESPN HoopGurlz. She becomes the second KU women’s basketball player to earn McDonald’s All-American honors out of high school and first since 2003 when Lauren Ervin garnered the accolade.
Washington participated in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) High School All-America game after averaging 23.8 points and 7.7 rebounds during her senior campaign at Jenks High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Washington was a 2013 Oklahoman Super 5 selection and named the 2012 Tulsa World All-Met Player of the Year. During her junior season, she averaged 18.4 points per game. Washington won a gold medal with the United States U17 National Team at the 2012 World Championships.
Last season, Washington played in 35 games for the Tarheels and averaged 18.3 minutes per contest. She registered 7.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 37.4 percent from the field. Washington tallied 37 assists, 26 steals and three blocks as a sophomore, while connecting on 36.4 percent of her shots from beyond the arc.
During the 2013-14 campaign, Washington appeared in all 37 games and made 13 starts for North Carolina. She averaged 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. She scored in double figures seven times, including a season-high 16 points in a road win at UCLA (11/17). On 11 occasions, Washington led the squad in assists.
Washington will sit out during the 2015-16 season to comply with NCAA transfer rules and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The Jayhawks begin their 2015-16 campaign with Late Night in the Phog, which is hosted along with Kansas men’s basketball, on Friday, Oct. 9, inside Allen Fieldhouse.
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
