Sierra Canyon senior Duane Washington Jr.’s impact is much deeper than clutch shots

In June of last year, notable boys basketball players and incoming underclassmen Cassius Stanley, Terren Frank and KJ Martin made it clear they would be transferring to Sierra Canyon this season. Stanley and Frank came from Harvard-Westlake and KJ Martin from Chaminade. Later, Scotty Pippen Jr. arrived to join the other three as starters.

But the transfer that’s made the largest impact on the Trailblazers is senior guard Duane Washington Jr., who joined the team from Grand Rapids, Michigan..

The Ohio State commit’s transfer was official in August, making an already talented team better, but his late addition created more expectation. Whether the expectation has been met yet or not, that’s up for debate.

On one hand, there was a heart-breaking loss to Mater Dei in the CIF Southern Section Open Division final — leaving Sierra Canyon with no hardware to show for its season, yet. On the other hand, there have been two monumental wins over defending CIF State Open Division champion Bishop Montgomery in which Washington Jr. made shots in each game during pressure situations to save the Trailblazers from gut-wrenching losses.

Both shots came from beyond the 3-point line, both makes came with his team trailing late in the game and both forced overtime in eventual victories, giving the Knight their only two losses of the season. His latest shot came in Sierra Canyon’s 72-70 victory over Bishop Montgomery in Tuesday’s regional semifinal.

Now, the Trailblazers will play Etiwanda on Saturday at 7 p.m. at The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach in the CIF State Open Division Southern California Regional Final.

Washington’s contributions grow much deeper than his March Mardness-like plays. He’s made his mark as an instant leader.

“Being a leader always keeps me in check because you can’t give input and then not do it yourself,” Washington Jr. said. “I’ve grown so much more as a leader here, and it’s great to see some of the younger guys I’ve helped out this season come along.”

Despite being thousands of miles away, friends and family from his hometown, including mother Therese Washington, watch all his live-streamed games.

“I always want to (represent) my city. In Michigan, I think only a couple of our games were on TV or even streamed online,” said Washington Jr.. “Out here, almost all of our games can be watched somehow. I always get texts from friends and family after my games. It feels great to know they can watch me.”

Of course, Martin Jr., Stanley, Pippen Jr. and even L Simpson, another transfer from Harvard-Westlake, have been key contributors to a season that could see Sierra Canyon win an Open Division state title.

“It’s been a group effort from the last man on the bench to the starters to get to this point,” Washington Jr. said. “Etiwanda is a great defensive team and we are ready for a grit and grind game.”