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District 1-6A: Washington, No. 14 Penn Wood roll No. 19 Norristown

02/17/2023, 11:30pm EST
By Joseph Santoliquito

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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YEADON — Major talents like Penn Wood’s Nasir Washington just don’t stumble out of the dark and drop bombs without a backstory attached. The 6-foot-3 senior guard has only been playing high school basketball the last two years. Before that, he spent two years as his mother’s  right leg and right arm, helping her recover from a stroke that paralyzed her right side.

That was his world, his everything, Renee Washington, 39, a teacher who has Nasir, his 14-year-old sister and 8-year-old autistic brother. It’s what drives him, who he plays for, and why he’s developed into one of the most prolific scorers in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Nasir proved that on Friday night dropping a game-high 37 in No. 14-seed Penn Wood’s 78-48 romp over visiting No. 19-seed Norristown in the first round of the PIAA District 1 Class 6A playoffs to advance to the second round.

The loss ended the season for Norristown (10-12), while Penn Wood (16-6) advances to play at No. 3 Plymouth-Whitemarsh Tuesday night at 7 p.m.


Nasir Washington (above) had 37 points as Penn Wood advanced in the District 1 6A Tournament. (Photo: Anthony Pompilii/CoBL)

If this version of the Patriots — led by Nasir Washington — shows up consistently, they’re going to a problem out for any team they face.

Washington had 25 points by halftime on 9 of 13 shooting, and he was 12 of 17 for the game, hitting nine of his 12 makes from three-point range. He actually had a three taken from him on an off-ball offensive foul in the second quarter, otherwise he would have tied his career-high mark of 40.

Nasir’s journey has been a difficult one. He missed large amounts of school his freshman and sophomore years taking care of his mother and aiding her with the care of his younger autistic brother. It was a lot to handle for a 14 and 15 year old.

Washington is thinking about petitioning the PIAA to return to play one more year of high school. He’s received an offer from Fairfield and Harcum College. But because his freshman and sophomore years were academically stunted by his mother’s stroke, his academic transcripts became muddled.

“I had to take care of my mother,” said Washington, who wears a tattoo of his deceased maternal grandfather Lonnie Brown Jr. on his left calf who drew Nasir to basketball. “I have grades issues. In ninth and 10th grade, I wasn’t really in school because I was taking care of my mom. I had to be home. I’ll take care of my family before everything, even if it hurts me.

“Because of the stroke, we had to do certain procedures to get my mom back to normal. She lost all control of her right side. My mom is everything. You only have one of them. I want to play another year here at Penn Wood. I want to appeal to the PIAA after this year, and I think it’s what’s best for me. I want to get better. I’m learning sets and learning the game. I want to be a pro. I want to take care of my family.”


Penn Wood's Nasir Washington shows off the tattoo of his deceased maternal grandfather Lonnie Brown Jr. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito)

Washington certainly has enough film to pass along to any college recruiter interested in someone who can not only create his shot off the dribble, but has a sweet shooting touch from distance.

“Nasir could have scored 50 and he said Thursday to the team that he wouldn’t let us lose, and make sure of that,” Penn Wood coach Matt Lindeman said. “As a team, we’re getting better. We learned a lot during the regular season. When we do the right things, and with Nasir, we could be good. We want to always play our best in February.

“Nasir works hard. The reason why he makes shots in games is because he practices hard, he shoots it like every shot matters. That’s how he is. That’s what you like about Nasir. We’ll focus on everything else after the season.”

Linderman made some changes and has enabled Washington to get into better spots to shoot.

That bore out Friday night.

Norristown led 4-0 and the game was tied 7-7, before Washington broke the tie with the second of his four first-quarter threes and the Patriots went on a 20-6 tear to take control of the game.

Portions of the game were played with a running clock.

“Washington was on fire,” Norristown coach Rick Bell said. “This is it for our season, but we came further than I thought. Our kids had fight in them and we fought all year. Give them credit. That’s a really good basketball team. They won 16 (games) but they could have won 20. They’re good.”

Penn Wood senior guard Sadiq Fountain added nine points in the Patriots' win. (Photo: Anthony Pompilii/CoBL)

Washington went from someone in October and November wanting the ball and not reading the court. Now, he’s evolved into calling out plays and seeing defenses develop.

“I do want to come back another year, and I realize I came on the radar last year,” Washington said. “I got a call from Florida State, but for me right now, I’m just playing, worrying about getting a district and state championship.”

If he continues to play like he did Friday night, it could be closer to a reality.

By Quarter
Norristown:   13  |   6   |  14  |  15  ||  48
Penn Wood:  27  |  19  |  16  |  16  ||  78

Scoring
Norristown: Myon Kirlew 19, Jaden Wise 14, Roddy Gaymon 7, Miles Daniels 4, Andre Gordon 2, Kevin Bonds 2.

Penn Wood: Nasir Washington 37, Mekhi Shillingford 9, Sadiq Fountain 9, Donald Hairston 7, Kivale Clarke 5, Prestin Washington 4, Stevie Hopkins 4, Jayden Thompson 3.

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District 1 6A First Round (Boys)
20) Abington 45, 13) Pennsbury 42 (OT)
18) Neshaminy 62, 15) Boyertown 48
17) West Chester Henderson 66, 16) Pennridge 52
9) Methacton 48, 24) Conestoga 38
11) Coatesville 56, 22) Harriton 38
21) Haverford 60, 12) William Tennent 46
14) Penn Wood 78, 19) Norristown 48
Upper Darby vs. Cheltenham (3 PM 2/18)

District 1 6A Second Round (Boys) — Tues., Feb. 21
1) Spring Ford vs. 17) West Chester Henderson
8) Garnet Valley vs. 9) Methacton
4) Central Bucks East vs. 20) Abington
5) Downingtown West vs. 21) Haverford High
2) Lower Merion vs. 18) Neshaminy
7) Perkiomen Valley vs. TBD
3) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. 14) North Penn
6) North Penn vs. 11) Coatesville

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.


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