Jamal Bey adjusting to new role as Huskies’ point guard
Jamal Bey is a point guard now, at least for the time being.
It’s not a position that comes naturally. Bey played it sparingly while in high school at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, but never for extended periods of time. And while he occasionally assumed the role behind Quade Green earlier this season, Green was averaging 30.5 minutes per game. Split between Bey and fellow sophomore guard Elijah Hardy, there weren’t that many minutes to fill.
But now Green is academically ineligible, and it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that’s changed everything for Washington. It’s certainly changed everything for Bey. Head coach Mike Hopkins has often praised his ability to play four of the positions on the floor. Now, he’s being asked to focus on one.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle right now,” Bey said Wednesday. “Just trying to figure out what to say, what not to say, how to talk to different people. I think I’m getting better each game.”
With Green out for the winter quarter — he could potentially return for the postseason if UW makes it there — Hopkins said the Huskies will have a point guard by committee. He’ll use a combination of Bey, Hardy and freshman Marcus Tsohonis to help fill the gap left by Green.
But it appears most of the burden will fall to Bey, who started and played 33 minutes — including all of overtime — in last week’s loss to Cal. He finished with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two turnovers.
Bey is the most experienced of the trio, even if the majority of those minutes came at other positions. Cal marked Bey’s third start of the season, but he replaced forward Hameir Wright in the line-up against South Dakota and Eastern Washington. He’s taken advantage of each start, averaging 12.3 points and shooting a combined 11-of-25 from the field.
But the transition to full-time point guard will be a process. Asked what the hardest aspect has been, Bey shook his head with a laugh.
“Honestly for me,” he said, “it’s just knowing when coach calls a play on the fly. I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I know this one or not.’”
Bey had to know a few of the plays in his previous role as a spot backup. But this is different. Now, he has to know them all — and he has to be able to tell his teammates where to go, too.
“I feel like we all have to gather around and support him,” said redshirt freshman forward Nate Roberts. “This is a new role that he’s going to have to fulfill and I feel like we all have to support him and have his back at all times. Coach talks about it all the time, having next man up and having each other’s back.”
Bey hasn’t been completely without guidance in the process. While Green can’t play with UW, he can still practice. His presence has been a valuable resource not only to Bey, but also to Hardy and Tsohonis.
“It’s been really great,” Bey said. “He’s a very smart player. He knows where the plays are or where people are open. That’s just something for me to pick his brain and get really good at for us to win.”’
Roberts added that Green can also offer outside analysis on the Huskies’’ performance. That’s something Roberts learned during his redshirt season last year.
“You get a third eye for the game,” Roberts added. “Now from him, you kind of get that outside perspective from what you can see from being right in the game that we might need to be better. So, it’s great to have him around like that.”
But even though Green isn’t away from the team completely, UW still won’t have him not the floor for the rest of the regular season and the Pac-12 Tournament. That means he won’t be there to help in a pair of crucial conference games against Oregon State and No. 8 Oregon this week.
UW has now had more time to process the news of Green’s eligibility — it was announced just hours before the game against Stanford — and learn how to play without him. The Huskies didn’t just lose their point guard, but also the top three-point shooter on the roster. It wasn’t surprising that their offense looked so disjointed during the road trip.
But the time to dwell on what UW doesn’t have is over, Hopkins said. Now, it’s all about moving forward.
“This is what we’ve got,” he said. “This is who we are. This is how we have to win. Sometime, things like this happen. They’re great learning experiences. We got to rally. We’ve got good players in the program. We should be able to win. Sometimes it’s position by committee. It’s a big loss, but everybody’s got to pick up and do a little bit more.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 5:36 PM.
