Wayne Washington on Canada and making it the hard way

2011-08-21T22:53:00.016-04:00

As most of you know from my rampant Twitter spamming ways, I spent my weekend at the National Basketball League of Canada's draft combine at Seneca College in Toronto. It was split over two days: day one was a "free agent" camp designed for American prospects, and a Canadian-only camp on day two.

One player present at day one noticed my tweets, and before I knew it we were discussing the weekend as a whole and his experiences. That player was Wayne Washington from Woodbridge, Virginia. Wayne's a 6'1" point guard that has overcome numerous obstacles in his career. I found his story fascinating, and decided I had to interview him.

I went to his website, Wayne Washington Hoops, and noticed that Bethlehem Shoals of the now defunct FreeDarko had met Wayne as well and expressed a similar interest in his story. Wayne ran a feature on FreeDarko highlighting his experiences as a basketball player trying to make it from the bottom, eventually being noticed by ESPN's Henry Abbot.

As much as he tried to convince me otherwise, he's gained a cult following. He's even been featured in a comic strip by the talented Bx3.

I'll stop rambling now. Here's the interview.

Tell me a bit about your playing history.
I was what you’d call a late bloomer. I never really had a mentor. You know, a dad or uncle that was a coach, so I’d just watch the NBA or go outside and play. I played one year in middle school. I played in high school but I wasn’t really recruited like most guys, so I went to junior college at Fredrick in Maryland. Pretty competitive place. Played there, did alright, had to adjust to more organized basketball, and then I went to Shenandoah University and played there.

What happened with the team you were on last year?
We started off, we played about 3 games. After that, we got that bad news that, it wasn’t our fault but the team was folding, he said the owner didn’t wanna pay anymore I guess. It was in the AC PBL. It was pretty abrupt (laughs). By text message actually.

What are some of your goals for the future?
Right now, the main goal is just to get a job playing basketball. To get on a roster for the 2011-2012 season. That’s the main goal. I mean, if it’s in Canada, if it’s anywhere, if I have to try out for the PBL, doesn’t matter, I just need to play somewhere.

How’d you first hear about the NBLC?
I go on US Basket all the time. It’s basically the source for basketball overseas, all basketball in other places really. I follow the PBL, and when I heard that the PBL was breaking up, I heard they were coming up with a new league. Three teams were coming together to form their own league: the Mill Rats, the Kebs, and the Rainmen. I also followed the PBL because I had a friend who played on the championship team, the Rochester Razorsharks, so once I heard they were breaking up and forming a new league, I kept tabs on it.

What was your experience like at the combine?
It was professionally run as far as the media, you know, and the competition was good. I wish we would have gotten more time to play 5 on 5, but it was an alright experience. I got my face out there.

How do you feel about your performance?
I feel like I played solid. I wish I would have known that my last 10 minutes were my last 10 minutes. They said to play every play like it was your last, I guess I should have done that. I played defense, I did well, so I’m content.

Have you been to Canada before?
This is my first time. It’s interesting. I was surprised by the demographics of the community. A lot of Asian people, a lot Indian people, nothing wrong with that, I just didn’t expect that. For some reason, when you think of Canada, you think of Caucasians. That wasn’t the case here in Toronto. I did some walking around, went to the mall and stuff. Just seen some things like the gas, they do it in liters (laughs). I went into that store, I didn’t pay attention, ‘cause you guys have a two dollar coin and I didn’t know that (laughs), so I actually gave the guy more money than I should have and he was like “You’re not from Canada, are you?” and he gave me back what I needed.

Have you seen milk in bags yet?
What’s that?

When you buy milk, it’s not in a carton. It’s in a bag.
Really? I went to a grocery store called No Frills but I didn’t see that. I see you guys still have Fruitopia though. I’m jealous.

How about ketchup chips?
No! (laughs) The flavor is ketchup? I might actually like that, I put ketchup on everything (laughs).

You’ve been through a lot, what keeps you going?
I love to play. It’s a goal. It’s a personal challenge. When I got out of college, my goal was to get a check playing basketball. So I got that, I did get a check. I was like, “Wow, someone paid me to play.” You have to be talented. This is all I ever wanted to do.

What’s your biggest “wow” moment in basketball?
I went to the NBA HOF ceremony last year when they inducted The Dream Team, Scottie, Karl Malone…

You were there?
Yeah, that was the second part of that thing I did with Shoals. Yeah, him, Bobby Hurley, the high school coach in New Jersey. I saw a lot of guys walking around, man. In the hotel, I saw David Aldridge talking to Ric Bucher. When I got on the bus, I was with Pete Myers and Randy Brown. They played with the Bulls with Jordan and Scottie. I saw a lot of faces in person that I watched growing up. That was definitely my biggest “wow” moment.

What's the worst moment in your basketball career?
Not making the team. I made varsity in my eleventh grade year, and I didn’t make it in my twelfth grade year. People don’t even understand that. They’re like, “What?” (laughs) It doesn’t make sense. I mean, I bet everyone at the combine played varsity in their twelfth grade year. It just doesn’t happen like it did for me.

Some quickies: Favorite ball shoes?
Ever? Nike Air Ultra Flight. I love the way they looked, and man were those light.

What music are you listening to right now?
J. Cole, Big Sean, and Rick Ross.

Favorite teams?
I don’t care for other sports to be honest. I’m a big Kobe fan, so you know I’m a Lakers fan. Of course I follow the Wizards heavily because they’re the closest team to Virginia. College? I like the way John Calipari does things so I guess I’m a Kentucky fan. I also have a hidden respect for Duke.

Doesn’t everyone have that? Don’t we just pretend to hate them?
I don’t pretend to hate them, I genuinely respect what they do.

So what's next?
It's pretty much back to the drawing board. I'll contact some teams and just take my training to another level. I'm really hoping to receive an invite to a NBL training camp. Hopefully one of the newer teams. Until then I'll be looking for more opportunities out there.

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Hoop Plus The Harm

Wayne Washington on Canada and making it the hard way