Jaylen Nowell is coming home and this time the Washington men’s basketball team will give him a proper send-off.
Before Saturday’s 5 p.m. game against Oregon State, the Huskies will give Nowell a framed No. 5 jersey during a ceremony paying tribute to the former UW star who led them to a 2018-19 Pac-12 regular season title and a 2019 NCAA tournament berth while capturing conference player of the year honors.
“Coach (Will) Conroy had been talking to him about coming back during NBA All-Star weekend,” coach Mike Hopkins said. “This gives us a chance to honor him in a special way and give him that senior night that he never had. It’s as much for the fans as it is for him. It’s a chance for Husky fans come on out and show that love and respect for Jaylen Nowell, one of the Husky greats.”
Four years ago, no one knew with any amount of certainty that Nowell was making his final Alaska Airlines Arena appearance during UW’s 55-47 loss to Oregon in the regular-season finale on March 9, 2019.
At the time, the Huskies ceremonially said goodbye to their quartet of seniors Matisse Thybulle, Noah Dickerson, David Crisp and Dominic Green while Nowell was undecided on his future.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard was putting the finishing touches on one of the finest seasons in UW history, which made him an intriguing pro prospect.
Nowell started all 36 games while averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 34.4 minutes while shooting 50.2% from the field, including 44.0% on three-pointers for a UW team that finished 27-9 and 15-3 in the Pac-12.
“We’ve been very fortunate and had a lot of great players, but he’s probably the best,” Hopkins said. “There’s so much we can all learn from Jaylen’s story. What I love about him is he wanted to stay home. Home meant a lot to him. Seattle meant a lot to him and the University of Washington meant a lot to him.
“He took a lot of pride in that. He stayed home and won a championship.”
Nowell had been a hometown prodigy since his school days at St. Therese School and Garfield High while gaining acclaim on the AAU basketball circuit with Seattle Rotary.
Still, the four-star recruit surprised many with the most prolific scoring debut in Husky history while tallying a career-high tying 32 points, including 27 in the second half to lead a late comeback that resulted in an 86-82 nonconference win over Belmont.
“You knew he could score, but you never know what’s going to happen when the lights go on,” Hopkins said. “Man, those lights go on and I’ve never seen a more focused individual. It was like a shark in the waters. He would get to a spot on the court and it was up and automatic. He knew how to use his body and take the hit.
“Then his sophomore year, he learned to be a really good three-point shooter so if you played off him he could shoot. And if you came up on him, then he would go and do his spin into his pull-up like Kobe Bryant. We would ask him about watching film and he said he watched Kobe on YouTube. He studied the great players.”
Hopkins likes to draw parallels between Nowell and promising UW freshman guards Keyon Menifield and Koren Johnson.
Menifield, who tallied a career-high 27 points, seven assists and five rebounds in Wednesday’s 72-71 overtime win against Oregon, is second among the Huskies in points (9.8 per game) and first in assists (2.8) while showing signs of becoming a star on par with Nowell.
Meanwhile, the defensive-oriented Johnson is a former Garfield High standout and the latest in a long line of prominent Bulldogs who have excelled at UW.
“Both of those young guys can learn a lot from Jaylen,” Hopkins said. “Two years ago, we had him at practice and he talked about not being a first-round pick who was guaranteed anything. Yeah, he had a four-year deal, but his story is all about persistence and hard work.
“The thing I love about him for our young players is his maturity. When he came in, he was all about his work. He did well academically. He worked on his craft every day. And he’s fearless. I’ve never had a closer like him. I learned from (Syracuse) coach (Jim) Boeheim a long time ago, get it to your best player in an area where he can operate and let him be an artist. I don’t know if I’ve seen an artist on the level of Jaylen Nowell.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves took Nowell No. 43 overall in the second round of the 2019 NBA draft and signed him to a four-year deal worth $4.7 million.
Following a slow start as a rookie and receiving inconsistent minutes his second season, the 23-year-old Nowell is enjoying a breakout year while averaging 11.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists that’s reportedly putting him in line to sign a free-agent deal this summer for about $60 million over four years.
Of course, Hopkins would have loved to have had Nowell return for another year considering the Huskies have fallen into a four-year malaise of mediocrity since he left. UW (14-13, 6-10 Pac-12) is looking to remain above .500 and avenge a 66-65 loss on Dec. 1 against Oregon State (10-17, 4-12).
“If he came back with J-Mac and Isaiah (Stewart), it would have been a national title type of situation,” Hopkins said smiling. “You see what Jaylen and J-Mac are doing with the Timberwolves right now.
“But as a coach, you just want to help guys make their dreams come true. He felt that was the best decision for him and it’s worked out pretty darn good. It’s all a perfect story. I just can’t wait to see him, hug him, tell him we love him and for Husky fans to give him that appreciation that he so richly deserves.”