Stan Washington

Stanley Washington (born January 23, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player for the Washington Bullets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] He played college basketball for the San Diego Toreros,[2] and left as the school's career scoring leader with 1,472 points, a record that stood for 34 years until it was broken by Gyno Pomare in 2008.[3][4][5] Washington's career total of 451 assists was also a Toreros record until 1996, when it was broken by David Fizdale.[6]

Stan Washington
Personal information
Born (1952-01-23) January 23, 1952
Washington, D.C.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpingarn (Washington, D.C.)
CollegeSan Diego (1971–1974)
NBA draft1974: 4th round, 66th overall pick
Selected by the Capital Bullets
PositionPoint guard
Number20
Career history
1974Washington Bullets
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Washington played high school ball in Washington, D.C., where he was recruited by Marquette, Detroit and Loyola Chicago. He instead chose to attend the University of San Diego (USD), believing that he could contribute more as a guard at a small-college school, which did not depend as much on big, dominant centers.[7] Wanting to improve his skills to play professionally, he also thought that a large school would only value his shooting and not allow him to improve on defense.[8] At the time, USD was an NCAA Division II affilitate.[3] Washington played on the freshman team and then three years of varsity under Toreros coach Bernie Bickerstaff.[7] As a senior in 1974, he broke the school career scoring record of 1,234 set by Russ Cravens over four seasons (1959–1963).[8]

After college, Washington was selected by the Washington Bullets in the fourth round of the 1974 NBA draft with the 66th overall pick (the franchise changed its name from the Capital Bullets prior to the start of the 1974–75 season).[1] He was reunited with Bickerstaff, who had left USD to become an assistant coach for the Bullets in 1973–74.[9] Washington appeared in one regular season game for the Bullets on October 19, 1974,[1] when he was scoreless in four minutes while attempting one shot.[10] Four days later, he was released by the team so that they could sign Jimmy Jones, who had been a seven-year veteran and All-Star in the rival American Basketball Association (ABA).[10][11] After a few tryouts with ABA teams later that season, Washington retired from basketball.[4]

Washington is the only Torero to have played in the NBA.[12] He was inducted into USD's athletics hall of fame in 2010.[13]

References
  1. "Stan Washington NBA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  2. "Washington to direct USD attack again". Imperial Beach Star-News. 7 December 1972. p. B-10. Retrieved 21 March 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. Wesch, Frank (January 22, 2009). "Low-key Pomare gives USD high output". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D-1. Retrieved March 25, 2022 – via NewsBank. On Dec. 30, he passed the 1,472 that Washington put up from 1971 to 1974, scoring 10 points in a victory at Mississippi State that started USD on the six-game winning streak it takes into tonight's contest.
  4. "Washington Returns to USD as Part of Torero Legends". University of San Diego. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  5. "2008–09 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball" (PDF). West Coast Conference. January 7, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  6. Center, Bill (February 28, 1996). "Toreros survive Cal Poly SLO scare to even record". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. D-7. Retrieved March 25, 2022 – via NewsBank. Point guard David Fizdale, who a day earlier was named to the all-WCC team, had 10 assists to become the USD career leader with 452 -- surpassing Stan Washington by one.
  7. Finley, Bill (February 20, 1974). "Washington Wonders About His Future". Evening Tribune. San Diego, California. p. D-1. Retrieved March 25, 2022 – via NewsBank.
  8. Sawyer, Chuck (January 29, 1974). "Washington's Hope Rise". The San Diego Union. p. C-4. Retrieved February 25, 2022 – via NewsBank.
  9. "Bullets Tab Washington". The San Diego Union. May 29, 1974. p. C-2. Retrieved March 25, 2022 – via NewsBank.
  10. Jenkins, Lee (April 7, 2015). "'We can't play, but we can coach': The little school with the big NBA pipeline". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  11. "Jones Signs With Bullets". The San Diego Union. UPI. October 24, 1974. p. C-1. Retrieved March 25, 2022 – via NewsBank.
  12. Norcross, Don (February 22, 2019). "Senior Night bittersweet with Toreros about to lose nucleus of veteran team". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  13. Dinsdale, Nathan (Spring 2010). "Mr. Washington Goes to the Hall". USD Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
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