Former Carver standout and defensive specialist Solomon Washington returns home, bringing his high-effort grit to the Big Easy as the Pelicans evaluate the versatile local championship hero.
The New Orleans Pelicans will bring a former high school basketball star back on a pre-NBA draft on Friday, as Maryland Terrapins forward Solomon Washington comes back home, per Vince Wolfram.
Washington is from New Orleans and attended Carver. He was named Louisiana's 2022 Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year. That year, he led his school to a state championship, dominating in every phase of the game.
He originally went to the Texas A&M Aggies out of high school as a three-star prospect, before quickly earning minutes. While he didn't put up big numbers, he was a high-effort player and always came through on defense.
The Terrapins brought him in as a four-star transfer this past season. They unfortunately had a very poor season as a team, but Washington still showed up and did the dirty work during games.
The forward played the most minutes per game on the team at 31.9, but was the fifth-highest scorer. He rather focused on having a more well-rounded game. Washington averaged 9.8 points, 9.2 rebounds (3.`1 offensive), 1.0 assist, 1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks per game.
Everything about this being the first pre-draft workout of the Jamahl Mosley era makes sense. The entire organization has been preaching that they are going to focus on being a good defensive team first, and then worrying about everything else.
Washington is someone who will show up every day and give effort in whatever role possible. Getting a hometown player back is also always a bonus. He is one of the best basketball players to come out of the state in the past few years.
If the Pelicans end up sticking around and picking somewhere in the second round, Washington would certainly be and intriguing choice. It would be an easy sell to the fanbase and give a local player a shot.
