JJ Mandaquit Couldn't Avoid Being UW Freshman

JJ Mandaquit arrived at the University of Washington with a fairly sizable basketball reputation -- tested international player, unparalleled passer, point guard supreme -- and in five games he went from starter to coming off the bench.

The 6-foot-1 playmaker from Hilo, Hawaii, ran into something he probably wasn't totally expecting.

That is, being a card-carrying freshman and having to pay for it.

Now 20 games into the season, with the Huskies (11-9 overall, 3-6 Big Ten) playing at ninth-ranked Illinois (17-3, 8-1) on Thursday night, Mandaquit seems to have made the adjustment to big-time basketball, which is rarely an automatic for a first-year player, especially in this conference.

"I think the hurdle was he finally like just said, 'Screw it, I'm just going to play. I'm going to stop thinking. I'm just going to play,' " coach Danny Sprinkle said.

JJ Mandaquit looks for an opening against Michigan. | Dave Sizer photo

For the first time, Mandaquit probably got a little hesitant, a little indecisive, and that ran counter to his whole game.

The low point of his great learning experience came when he went from averaging 28 minutes per game through the first seven outings to pulling just seven and five against UCLA and USC as conference play opened.

He's back to a comfortable 20.1 minutes an outing now. He averages 5.3 points and 3.3 assists per game.

Mandaquit just turned in his top performance at the UW with a season-high 15 points against Michigan, with him hitting 5 of 8 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

As a playmaker, he had a season-high 8 assists in the opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and hasn't exceeded that.

"When you're thinking too much, you're just on your heels," Sprinkle said. "You can't be on your heels at this level as a point guard. You've got to go against Elliot Cadeau, Jeremey Fears, [Sam] Hoiberg. and it's on an and on and on. You've just got to go."

JJ Mandaquit sets the scene against Michigan State. | Dave Sizer photo

Entering the Illinois game, Mandaquit is one of just four Huskies from an injury-riddled team who has played in all 20 games so far. No physical setbacks for him. The mental part has been more than enough to deal with.

"The more experience from Baylor to Purdue, the more he's gone through, that's when he began making huge steps," Sprinkle said. "He's going to continue to get better through these lessons he's learned as a freshman."

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