How the guy the Tar Heels call ‘J-Wash’ became the hero in win over Wolfpack

If he was the hero of the game, and he was at the end, North Carolina’s Jalen Washington was doing anything but gloating in the UNC locker room.

Washington stretched out in a seat, his face a blank, and spoke with little emotion as he described the last 41 seconds of the Tar Heels’ 63-61 win Saturday over N.C. State.

How he scored the last basket of the game.

How he then swatted away a shot by the Pack’s Jayden Taylor to seal it

His basket, Washington said, came almost by accident, after the play UNC coach Hubert Davis had drawn up during a timeout began to come undone.

“They kind of broke up our play a little bit and they guarded it pretty well,” Washington said of the Wolfpack. “I just moved to the open spot and Elliot (Cadeau) made an incredible pass and I was able to finish.”

A two-hand slam, that is. That kind of finish.

“It was kind of a broken play but Elliot was able to make a great pass to ‘Wash.’ and we got something out of it,” UNC guard R.J. Davis said.

After the dunk, the block sealed it

The Heels had the lead but there was work to be done. The Wolfpack, after a timeout, got the ball to Taylor, who made a move into the lane with Cadeau hounding him. Taylor got off the shot but Washington got off the floor quickly, knocking the ball away.

“I just timed it up really well,” Washington said. “I saw Elliot kind of square him up a little bit, and I knew Taylor wasn’t going to be able to get all the way to the rim. Once he put it up in the air I was going to go get it.

“As soon he put the floater up, I was going to go spike it.”

Wolfpack fans were steaming, believing it could have been goal-tending. NCSU coach Kevin Keatts also was upset on the sideline, but later said he was more disappointed the referees did not review the play.

Washington and the Heels celebrated as they danced their way to the locker room – Cadeau and Washington after a few “wolf down” gestures directed at the State bench – while the Wolfpack somberly left the court. Both teams had played hard, made it a 40-minute war. The Heels had survived and won.

“We knew this type of game, with this type of atmosphere, it was going to be an ugly game,” R.J. Davis said. “We just had to take it possession by possession, stop by stop. And when we needed plays to be made, to be executed, we did that.”

Double-double for Washington

Washington had his first career double-double – 11 points, 12 rebounds – to go with his three blocks in the game. The 6-10 junior battled the Pack’s Ben Middlebrooks inside much of the game, and a lot of hips and elbows were thrown in the mosh pit that was the paint.

“We’ve had a lot of tooth-and-nail games this year and that’s one of our rivals,” Washington said. “We know we’re going to get their best and they’re going to get our best, too. It was fun.

“That was one of the hardest-fought games we’ve had this year. We stayed resilient and stuck together.”

Washington has done the same this season. With Armando Bacot no longer filling the lane for the Tar Heels, much has been expected from Washington, Ven-Allen Lubin, Jae’Lyn Withers, Ty Claude and the UNC bigs that Davis has used.

After early season losses to Kansas, Michigan State and Florida, when rebounding was a game-to-game problem, much criticism was leveled at UNC’s big guys for not getting the job done on the boards and in protecting the rim.

“I’m doing my best to adjust and control what I can control, and let everything else fall where it will,” Washington said. “Just keep tunnel vision and run my own race.

“It would be easy to give in to the pressure and the criticism from fans. That’s nothing I can control. Just play my hardest and play my game and just play free and have fun.”

Fun? It’s scoring the winning basket and making the biggest defensive play.

It’s coming into the locker room after the game and being given a victory bath and sprayed with water by his teammates.

“Yeah, that was fun,” he said, finally showing a smile. “I’ll look back at this and really be proud of myself.”