With a big game Thursday night against Cedar Hill, 6’8″ Duncanville High School (TX) forward Julian Washburn was kind enough to give TheShiver.com a few minutes of his time to discuss his season thus far, his recruitment, and what he’s looking for at the next level.
To say that Washburn’s high school basketball team is loaded, might be an understatement. Four players on Duncanville’s roster are already heading to Big 12 programs in the coming years, including, for the class of 2009, Texas bound Shawn Williams and Oklahoma State bound Roger Franklin and Reger Dowell, for 2010, the #3 ranked center Perry Jones, who is committed to the Baylor Bears.
With a team like that it’s easy to see why Duncanville has established themselves as one of the top high school programs in the country, and possibly the best in the state of Texas. As for this year, Washburn is happy where his team is at.
“We’ve been doing good this year. It’s been kind of up and down, but we have a big game against Cedar Hill tomorrow night,” said Washburn.
With the playoffs coming up next week, Washburn hasn’t had a lot of time to put a lot of thought into his recruitment, but he does have a pretty good idea what he’s looking for.
“I think running teams fit me the best. Teams that get up and down,” commented Washburn. “As far as a coach, I want a coach that will make me work harder and make me get better,” added Washburn.
Julian has a few schools that stand front of mind to him right now. Six to be exact.
“Kansas, Texas, UCLA, Texas A&M, OU, and Oklahoma State are six that I think about right now,” said Washburn.
Having already made a trip to Stillwater to see Oklahoma State face Texas A&M, Washburn hopes to at least go on four visits this fall. As for Kansas, it’s certainly a place Washburn could see himself visiting.
“I do hope to go to KU in the fall,” said Washburn about a trip to Lawrence. “I like Kansas, it’s a really good school.” ”I am hoping to go on 4 or 5 visits this fall,” added Washburn.
As for his game, Washburn is long and lean with a great ability to slash to the basket and finish. Surprisingly, according to Washburn, that’s not the most impressive part of his game.
“I would say my post up game. I mostly play on the wing, but I like to post up smaller defenders,” Washburn said.
As for what he can improve on, Washburn has already singled out two areas that he feels he will need to improve.
“I need to work on my dribbling and on being aggressive,” said Washburn.
Washburn is rapidly turning himself into a great high major prospect. He not only has offensive ability, but he also has the ability to defend smaller players on the wing with his quick feet. He also shows great bounce and energy when going after rebounds. With work on his outside shooting and dribbling, Washburn will turn himself in to a match-up nightmare for opponents. In other words, exactly the type of player that coaches love to have on their roster.
