Even as Team Underachieves, Mulcahy Finds Benefit in Year at UW

The Rutgers transfer has no regrets in coming to Montlake.

Dan Raley | Mar 10, 2024

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Washington Huskies

While the University of Washington basketball team underachieved with a veteran roster, resulting in a coaching change before the season even ended, Paul Mulcahy saw benefits in coming three time zones away to finish his college career.

The 6-foot-6 Rutgers transfer from Bayonne, New Jersey, said he learned a lot more about basketball by coming to Montlake and having the opportunity to play in a Pac-12 conference not only coming to an end but presenting him with a different style of play.

"In the Big Ten, the big men are the main guys on every team," he said. "Here it seems it was more the guards on each team, which was cool."

Entering the Pac-12 Tournament, Mulcahy has started in the Husky backcourt for all 30 games in which he appeared, averaging 5.7 points and 3.4 assists per game, numbers down slightly from his time at Rutgers.

Curiously, he went scoreless in five games for Mike Hopkins' team, becoming less of a point-maker than he was at his previous stop. For each of his past 10 games, he scored only in single digits. He just adjusted to the landscape.

"We've got a lot of good scorers on the team," he said. "So I just tried to do what I could do to fit in."

Husky guard Paul Mulcahy waits to be introduced before the UCLA game as the lights go out and the arena fills with purple lights and smoke.

Gaurd Paul Mulcahy gets loose before the Huskies take on UCLA in a game they won at Alaska Airlines Arena at the end of February.

Paul Mulcahy assumes the role of point guard for the Huskies as he sets up the offense. The Rutgers transfer has averaged 3.4 assists per game.

Paul Mulcahy, who averages 5.7 points per game, fires up a shot against UCLA as his teammates and Mike Hopkins watch him let it go.

Paul Mulcahy dribbles past UCLA defenders as he moves the ball up court in their late-February game, which was won by the Huskies 94-77.

Paul Mulcahy and his UW teammates signal a teammate's shot is good as they watch from the bench at Alaska Airlines Arena.

In his trademark headband, Paul Mulcahy dribbles up court and looks for someone to pass to during the UW-UCLA game on Feb. 29.

At Rutgers, Mulcahy started 81 of 121 games over four seasons and twice was named All-Big Ten honorable mention. Two years ago, he averaged 9 points and 5.3 assists per outing as his role continued to evolve.

While the Huskies went 17-14 and never gained the momentum they were seeking to have an exceptional year, leading to Hopkins losing his job in his seventh season, Mulcahy and his teammates seemed to enjoy playing with each other and they've made the best of it.

"I think down the line I'm going to see a lot of long-term effects from this decision," he said. "I grew a ton as a person. I learned a lot about basketball. I mean, I love basketball a ton. Not that I lost my love for it — I think I kind of found it more here. It'll help my professional career and as a coach, for sure."

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Published Mar 10, 2024

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.