Concerning Trend for UNC Basketball Starting Center Jalen Washington

The UNC basketball junior began the season posting some promising stats, but he's been highly inefficient and largely ineffective of late.

UNC basketball forward Jalen Washington / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Jalen Washington has drawn a starting nod in all eight UNC basketball games as a junior. But across the three-game losing streak, dropping the No. 20-ranked Tar Heels to 4-4 overall, the 6-foot-10, 235-pound big man hasn't performed to the level of expectation that comes with being the storied program's full-time starter in the post.

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The 20-year-old Washington totaled only five points between the losses to Auburn, Michigan State, and Alabama, shooting a combined 2-for-10 from the field, 0-for-3 from deep, and 1-for-4 at the charity stripe.

Sure, his 14 rebounds in that stretch are respectable in light of the fact he hasn't logged more than 17 minutes in any of those outings. That said, one explanation for his limited minutes of late are his combined six turnovers against Auburn, Michigan State, and Alabama — equating to an average of one every seven minutes he's on the court — not to mention his low efficiency as a infrequent scorer down low.

Prior to the three-game losing streak, the former two-year UNC basketball reserve talent was averaging a highly encouraging 10.0 points and 5.2 boards while shooting 69.0 percent from the field.

Washington and Hubert Davis' reeling Tar Heels look to right the ship when they host the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-4, 0-0 ACC) in their ACC opener at 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ACC Network).

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