Darius Washington, Jr

Amateur career

An AAU national champion at age 10, Washington attended Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida. In his senior year, he played in an ESPN High School Showcase game against future NBA player Sebastian Telfair.

He went to University of Memphis, where he earned Conference USA Rookie of the Year and freshman All-American honors on averages of 15.4 points per game and a team-best 3.8 assists. In the final seconds of the 2005 Conference-USA tournament, Washington was given three free throws to overcome a two-point lead by the sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals. Although Washington was a 72-percent shooter, he missed two of the three foul shots.

In his sophomore season at the University of Memphis, Washington helped lead the #1-seeded Tigers to an Elite Eight appearance in the 2006 NCAA tournament, losing to eventual runner-up UCLA. He was named to the All-Conference USA first team and earned an honorable mention as an All-American by the Associated Press.

Professional career

On April 25, 2006, Washington declared himself as an early entry candidate for the 2006 NBA Draft. Confident he would be drafted, he signed with a sports agent on June 26, two days before the draft, losing his eligibility to play in college. With analysts being skeptical on his reliability to play point guard, he was not drafted. Although analyst Dick Vitale and others believed Washington had a shot to make an NBA roster as a free agent, he failed to do so after trying out with several teams during training camp.

Europe

He was later drafted by the Austin Toros of the D-League, but he instead chose to sign with PAOK Thessaloniki of the Greek League. In 2007, he led the ČEZ Nymburk team to the Czech Republic League title after leaving PAOK. He played in the ULEB Cup competition during the year with both clubs.

In January 2008, Washington signed a 2-year contract with the Euroleague club Aris Thessaloniki, a team that competes in the Greek League. He was released by Aris after one season. At the end of October 2008, he signed a contract with the Russian Super League club Ural Great Perm.

In July 2009, he signed a contract with Galatasaray Cafe Crown.

In April 2010, he signed with Lottomatica Roma until the end of the season.

In 2011, he joined the Piratas de Quebradillas.

In the summer of 2011, he signed a contract with Türk Telekom.

In January 2013, he joined Israeli side Hapoel Eilat, but only played 6 games with the team, averaging 11ppg and 1.3apg. Though highly praised in Eilat, his contract was bought out and in February, he moved to French side Le Mans. In July 2013, he joined Olin Edirne Basket in Turkey.

On June 23, 2014, he signed with his former team ČEZ Nymburk for the 2014–15 season.

Career statistics

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA

Washington signed with the San Antonio Spurs on October 1, 2007, and was assigned to the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League in late November. He was called up in early December to take Tony Parker's spot on the roster while he healed from an injury; however, Washington was waived by the Spurs on December 28. He appeared in 18 games for the Spurs where he averaged 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8.1 minutes.

He played with the Chicago Bulls during the 2008–09 NBA pre-season, but was waived by the team before the start of the regular season.

Macedonian national team

Washington was granted Macedonian citizenship, and he joined the Macedonian national basketball team.

In popular culture

The song "The Line" by Phish was written about the missed free throws at the conclusion of the 2005 C-USA Championship game. The song premiered in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 31, 2013. However, during the performance, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio mistakenly referred to Washington as having played for Michigan State, and the missed free throws as having taken place during the Final Four.