Jalen Washington commits to SEC school, reuniting with a former Tar Heel teammate

Washington will finish up his college career competing in the SEC.
Virginia v North Carolina
Virginia v North Carolina | Grant Halverson/GettyImages

Jalen Washington is heading to the SEC.

After three seasons with the UNC basketball program, Jalen Washington will transfer to Vanderbilt to close out his collegiate career. He'll be reunited with former Tar Heel teammate Tyler Nickel, both of whom were part of the Tar Heels 2022 recruiting class.

A highly-touted big man out of Gary, Indiana, Washington's career at North Carolina was hampered early on due to injuries suffered in high school. Considered to be a player who can do more than just impact a team offensively in the post, Washington showed flashes of his offensive skillset while serving as the backup for Armando Bacot.

With Bacot exhausting his eligibility last season, Washington was projected to be the team's starter at the position for the 2024-2025 season. However, that wasn't the case, as he was outplayed by Ven-Allen Lubin and was relegated to a role off the bench once again.

Over 36 games played (16 starts) this season, Washington averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. While he didn't take many three-point shots, he didn't shoot the ball well from deep, regardless, only knocking down 27.8% of his attempts.

On the defensive end, he struggled, especially against bigger post players. Given his lack of offensive contributions, combined with some defensive woes, Washington's minutes started to decrease as the season went along, as Lubin was the best option among the frontcourt options that this year's team had available.

Unfortunately, Washington just didn't live up to his potential in Chapel Hill. A fresh start might be what Washington needs, as a move to join Vanderbilt could provide him with a more meaningful role to showcase what he can do on the basketball court.

Both former Tar Heels who entered the transfer portal have now committed, as Washington joins Elliot Cadeau (Michigan) among the players who are officially departing the program this offseason. North Carolina has added two incoming transfers, including Arizona transfer big man Henri Veesaar.

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