Taking time off from basketball is not something that P.J. Washington is used to doing. However, this summer he has no choice but to do that. Washington broke his left pinky finger midway of last season. He did not miss any games because of that but did need surgery recently.
“Physically I can’t really do anything right now. They said that if sweat I can get an infection. I have pretty much been staying in my room, doing my school work and watching these guys working out,” said Washington. “I try to stay around the gym a lot.
“Sitting out has been great for me because I have not had so much rest for as long can remember. Time off will be really good. I have not been able to recover and get my body right in a long time, especially with the NBA workouts. I was leaving for a different city almost every day.
“Being here and resting has been great. I got a lot of sleep and a lot of time in the training room to get my body back right. There just wasn’t a lot of time to take off, especially in high school. Every weekend I was somewhere at an event, so getting to rest has been great and should help me come back even better.”
Washington put his name into the NBA draft and worked out for various teams before deciding to come back to UK for his sophomore season. He averaged 10.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals per game last year while shooting 51.9 percent from the field.
Mike Pratt believes Washington made the right decision to return to Kentucky for his sophomore season rather than leave UK early for the NBA.
“It was a wise decision. The family held to its word and I respect that,” said Pratt, the UK Basketball Radio Network analyst. “He has a chance to really move up his stock and a real chance to help this team.
“Cal is talking about him being a leader, and he should be. He has the personality to do that. It took him a while to figure things out last year and then he did.
“Nobody is perfect. He has things to work on. But he has a chance to be a real influence on this team. He can be a go-to guy, make plays rebounding-wise, make plays defensively which is just as important as making plays on offense.”
Pratt says even though Washington played with the broken finger last season, the injury had to impact him.
“You become hesitant and kind of anticipate the pain,” Pratt said. “Once you get through that you are fine. You tape it up and go about your business. He played well down the stretch.
“Some guys have a tolerance for pain that is greater than others. That finger bothered him some and he worked through it. Now he gets a fresh start. Mentally that is like clearing space and will free him up so much. It will make a big difference next season.”
Washington says he knew the finger was “bothering me a lot” last season but also knew there was nothing he could do about it other than play through the pain — and he did that well.
“Just being able to get it fixed is a blessing. I can’t wait to be back normal and back out on the court with these guys,” Washington said. “I knew it (the finger) was hurting but at the end of the day I just had to come out here and help my teammates and try to do my best. At one point I just went out and did whatever I had to do. But getting it fixed is going to make playing even better.”