Darius Washington Jr.

infobox Euroleague Player


name = Darius Washington Jr.
nickname =
league = NBA
team = Chicago Bulls
position = Point guard
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lbs = 195
number =
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1985|12|6
birth_place = Winter Park, Florida
college = University of Memphis
draft = Undrafted
draft_year = 2006
draft_team =
career_start = 2006
career_end =
former_teams = PAOK Thessaloníki (2006-07) ČEZ Basketball Nymburk (2006-07)
Austin Toros (2007)
San Antonio Spurs (2007) Aris BC (2007-08)
awards =

Darius Myron Washington Jr. (born December 6th, 1985, in Winter Park, Florida) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A former point guard for the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team. He played for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and for the D-League's Austin Toros in 2007.

Amateur career

Washington attended Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida, where in his senior year, he played in an ESPN High School Showcase game against Sebastian Telfair of the Portland Trail Blazers, and currently of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is also known for missing two of three free throws in the Conference USA tournament finals against Louisville on March 12th, 2005, that would have either tied or won them the title outright [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-cqlbqJFWM&feature=related Youtube: Washington misses free throws] ] , the only possible way the Tigers could have made the NCAA Tournament that year. Despite that setback, in his sophomore season he 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. He was not drafted. Although analyst Dick Vitale and others believed Washington had a shot to make an NBA roster as a free agent, [ [http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/060628vitaleundrafted.html ESPN.com - Dick Vitale - Vitale's 2006 All-Undrafted Underclassmen team ] ] 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. He then played for ČEZ Basketball Nymburk in the NBL Czech Basketball League 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 Aris BC of Thessaloniki, Greece, a team that competes in the Greek A1 League. Washington signed to play with Aris, one of the 3 major Greek League basketball powers along with Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.

NBA

Washington signed with the San Antonio Spurs on August 23, 2007, and was assigned to the D-League in late November. He played for the Austin Toros in the NBA D-League. 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. [ [http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/washington_waived_071228.html Spurs Waive Darius Washington] ] [ [http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/archives/2007/12/jeff_mcdonald_w_6.html Jeff McDonald: Washington waived] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/darius_washington/ NBA.com's Darius Washington Info Page]