Lessons Learned from the UNC basketball program's bounce-back win over American

Jalen Washington is hulking up

It was a career night for the junior center: 18 points on 6-6 field goals and 6-7 free throws. That's pretty efficient! More important than the raw number of contributions was the fire that Washington showed. It's the most fiery we've ever seen him in a Carolina jersey.

Washington is a quiet professional who carries himself well. During his freshman season, he was on a strict pitch count, as he was still recovering from two ACL surgeries in high school. Last season, he still didn't get a lot of court time as Armando Bacot was manning the center spot and gobbling up most of the minutes.

This season, Washington's role is elevated, and he is letting his personality show a bit more. After ending another UNC run with an emphatic dunk, Jalen started jawing to his own bench, getting his team hyped up. It was a bit shocking, as we've never really seen this side of him before. I really liked it, though. Let's see if he can keep that fire going into UNC's trip to paradise next week.