Utah Utes basketball: Inconsistent play dogs Washburn

SALT LAKE CITY— It's been three seasons since we first saw him at the end of the Utah bench, a gangly kid nearly 7 feet tall, whoopin' and hollerin', waving a towel above his head and acting all crazy every time one of his Utah teammates did something exciting on the basketball floor.

Jason Washburn was a freshman at the time, but he never played because the Utes had a 7-foot center named Luke Nevill, who played 30 to 35 minutes a night and would go on to become the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year that season.

Now in his fourth year at Utah, Washburn has finally earned the starting center spot and is doing his best for what is perhaps the worst team in Ute basketball history. Washburn is the Utes' leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker as well as the best field-goal and free-throw shooter on the team.

But after 31/2 seasons at Utah, Washburn is still a bit of an enigma.

Obviously it's been a tough go for the Michigan native, who is one of the only two veterans on the Ute team and the only tall guy — at least the only one over 6-foot-6 — playing this year. He has smooth moves around the basket and a soft touch on a sweet hook shot.

There are also times when he's nearly invisible out on the court.

Take last Thursday's game against Arizona, when he had all zeroes on his stat line through the first 12 minutes of the game. Then he suddenly scored a burst of baskets and ended up as the team's leading scorer and rebounder on the night with 14 and six, respectively. Two days later in a win over Arizona State, he had eight points and five rebounds the first half, but only two points and one rebound in the second.

Even his coach, Larry Krystkowiak, says "sometimes he'll disappear and not demand the ball," and adds "he doesn't run the floor consistently hard enough, getting back."

And while Washburn's defense has improved this year, sometimes opponents blow right past him for easy baskets. His reputation as a soft player has been hard to live down.

However, Krystkowiak believes Washburn's defense is getting better and says "he's pursuing rebounds a lot better than he has in the past." On the whole, he's pleased with Washburn's "maturity" and overall play.

"He understands our schemes real well," Krystkowiak said. "He's kind of the quarterback, he sees the whole floor and does a good job directing traffic. I'm really pleased with his effort."