Ohio State basketball: Duane Washington sets Pacers record

The Ohio State basketball program was certainly hoping that Duane Washington was going to come back for his senior season this year. He would have been their best guard and probably would have made this team a top 5 team in the entire country.

Instead, Washington decided to leave early for the NBA. While he went undrafted, he did sign a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers. Because of COVID and a rash of injuries affecting the Pacers (yet again), Washington has gotten significant playing time this year.

Last night, he didn’t let that playing time go to waste. Washington led the Pacers in points, scoring 21 off the bench of 7/12 shooting. All of those shots were from behind the arc. The seven threes he hit set a new Pacers franchise record for most threes hit by a rookie.

Even though the Pacers lost by four to the Pelicans, Washington needed a game like this. He had been struggling recently. In his last 9 games before last night, he’d only been averaging 8.7 points and was shooting a poor 36% from the field. Last night should boost his confidence.

The Ohio State basketball program should get a boost in recruiting with Washington’s performance in the NBA. If he has more games like this, it’s going to be hard to keep him out of the rotation. That also helps recruits take a deeper look at Ohio State.

Chris Holtmann loves Washington and has said so many times. It’s good to see a former Buckeye have success at the next level. E.J. Liddell will be hoping for similar success next season once he is also in the league. It’s only a matter of time before that happens.

Hopefully, Washington can build off this performance and keep contributing at the highest level.