Talented Washingtons hope to get Western back in playoff hunt

Washington Avenue runs through Las Vegas only a couple of blocks north of Western High School.

It might as well lead directly to the Warriors’ gym.

Brothers Kentrell and Kenyon Washington, along with their cousin, Sir Washington, give Western’s boys basketball program one of Southern Nevada’s most talented teams.

“It’s like when we used to play back at home when we were little,” said Kentrell Washington, a junior swingman.

Only now, the Warriors (2-0) hope their family ties can net a return trip to the Sunset Region playoffs and maybe even a spot in the Class 4A state tournament.

Kentrell Washington will lead the way after a breakout sophomore season in which he averaged 20.6 points and 4.9 rebounds on his way to third-team all-state honors.

Western’s top perimeter shooter is sophomore wing Sir Washington, who averaged 11.4 points and was a second-team All-Southwest League pick as a freshman.

For rebounds and grit in the paint, the Warriors turn to senior post player Kenyon Washington, who put up 8.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last season.

Each of the three players is about 6 feet 2 inches tall, but they have distinctly different skill sets.

“They each bring a different part to the game,” Western coach Chip Nelson said. “With Kenyon, we know we’re going to get rebounds and physical play at the basket. With Kentrell, he’s smart and will take the ball to the basket. With Sir, he’s a lefty who can step out and shoot. It’s a unique situation we’ve got.”

Along with senior guard Aaron Buckley, the Washington family gives the Warriors four returning starters from a team that finished 16-9 last season.

Nelson said his players are hungry to advance through the playoffs after a controversial end to last season. Western forfeited four league games for using an ineligible player and missed the playoffs, and then had two of the forfeits overturned, only to lose in the first round.

“The end of our season was pretty disappointing just how everything went down,” Nelson said. “It’s not going to happen this year. What we really look to do is not get knocked out of the first round of the playoffs. I think we can go beyond that if we continue to improve.”

The Washington family tree branches through the history of Western’s program. Sir’s older brother, Melvin, is a 2009 Western graduate who is a sophomore center at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo.

“We always played each other on Thanksgiving, Christmas, all of that,” Sir Washington said. “When we were growing up, we used to play hard on each other, even in shootarounds.”

The early competitiveness has given way to an uncommon familiarity on the court. Interviewed separately, each of the three players gave an almost identical scouting report on each other’s style of play.

“We know how each other play the game,” Kenyon Washington said. “We know basically how each other think, and we can set each other up for plays.”

None of the three players have nicknames for each other, nor has Nelson nicknamed his team. How about the Washington Administration or Washington State?

“I just call them 'the Washingtons,’ ” Nelson said with a laugh. “They’re like, 'We’re individuals.’ I’m like, 'I need the Washingtons to step on.’ It just makes it easier.”

Sir Washington said the Warriors play for each other whether related or not. But the family ties can’t help but add incentive.

“It means a lot,” he said of this season. “It’s my cousin Kenyon’s senior year, and we hope to win for him.”