Freshman guard George Washington III enters season with veteran confidence

Everything is still pretty new for George Washington III. 

The freshman out of Ohio’s Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School is new to Michigan, new to college basketball, new to his teammates, new to the system — the list goes on. 

And that’s normal, everyone starts as a freshman, and everyone has to figure things out and learn as they go when adjusting from the high school to college game. What isn’t normal for Washington is who he’s going through the learning process alongside with: not a single scholarship freshman. 

Sure, there’s walk-on freshman Harrison Hochberg. Sure, there are plenty of transfers also adjusting to Michigan. But he’s the only one who’s adjusting to Michigan, adjusting to college, and expected to contribute this year. 

And he’s taking it in stride. 

“To be honest it was something that I was calling my parents and calling one of my best friends about,” Washington said at Michigan Media Day Oct. 17. “After like three weeks here I was like I don’t even feel like a freshman. … It’s been a really helpful experience. It’s kind of just pushed me to not even see myself as a freshman. On the core, I have to mature, I have to mature really fast and catch up to everyone else, and I’m still working on catching up to everyone else.”