In Dreary Season, Emergence of Jamal Bey Gives UW Hope

The Husky junior guard leads the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting and is a player to build around.

Jamal Bey is a 6-foot-6 junior with a 3-point stroke unmatched in the Pac-12 Conference. 

If he's learned anything during a truly forgettable 5-20 season, the University of Washington guard finally understands he can succeed as a college basketball player.

He's not totally there, but Bey is finding his way.

His size and accuracy are a hard combination to beat.

The Huskies will be foolish if they don't build next year's team around him. 

Go to him.

Showcase him.

Let everyone else play off him.

Dare anyone to try and stop him.

Of course, Bey needs to understand this is his squad, much like Brandon Roy came to that realization 15 years ago after Nate Robinson left him.

"I wish he shot it more," Husky coach Mike Hopkins said of Bey. "He's too unselfish. He's a heckuva player and that's been one of the bright spots on the season — is his ability to hit the open shot."

With the UW off for 11 days from its regular-season finale to resuming play in the Pac-12 tournament, we're sizing up the play for each of the 11 players who has received minutes with a game on the line. Ten scholarship recipients and 7-foot-4 Riley Sorn. This is the 11th and final installment.

Jamal Bey has been waiting for his chance to shine :: Rebecca Sasnett/USA TODAY Sports

Bey finished the regular season as the Pac-12's leading 3-point shooter, hitting 50.7 percent (34-67) to barely edge Utah's Pelle Larrsson at an even 50 percent (23-46).

On Wednesday, the two top long-range shooters will be on opposite sides when the Huskies and Utes meet at 4 p.m. in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

On his own team, the Husky guard still ranks no better than fifth in 3-point attempts behind Erik Stevenson (36-118, 30.5 percent), Quade Green (34-110, 30.9), Hameir Wright (26-94, 27.7) and Marcus Tsohonis (27-72, 37.5).

Therein lies part of the problem with this team — Bey should be taking the most shots behind the line for this team.

The percentages point to him.

"I try to take the shots I feel I can make," he said. "If I don't feel comfortable shooting it, or another defender is coming, I'll always make the extra pass and make my team better and trust in my team. I know, if it's reversed, they'll find me every time."

However, Hopkins likely needs to wear a hat, one reminiscent to that of football coach Jimmy Lake's baseball cap with his rush-first suggestion on it, that says, "Shoot the damn ball."

The Huskies are a better team whenever Bey has his hands on it.

Utah knows this as well as anyone after he blitzed them for a career-best 28 points in January in an 83-79 victory of the Utes in Seattle.

Bey converted 10 of 11 shots that afternoon, and thought he got fouled on the lone miss. He swished through all 4 of his 3-pointers and made 4 of 5 foul shots. He threw in 5 rebounds and 4 steals. 

As a microcosm of this season, Bey scored just 2 points the first time the UW played the Utes, hitting just 1 of 6 shots — taking no 3-point attempts — in a 76-62 loss in Salt Lake City.

He now stands as the Huskies' third-leading scorer at 10 points per game, trailing Green (14.8) and Tsohonis (10.6).

Exceedingly polite, he has deferred to others since coming to Washington from Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School. No more.

As a freshman, he came off the bench in 30 games for the Huskies' Pac-12 championship team and took just 20 shots and scored 29 points.

Last year as a starter in 16 of 32 games, Bey averaged only 5.7 ppg per game and was hardly an outside threat. He drained just 25.4 percent (18-77) of his 3-pointers. 

Jamal Bey goes with his off hand to the basket.  :: Rebecca Sasnett/USA TODAY Sports

This season, he was still under wraps early, limited to single-digit point totals in each of his first eight games. 

Then somebody flipped the switch. 

Feeling much more confident in his abilities, Bey came up with 12 double-figure outings over the next 17 outings and he moved to the top of the conference 3-point shooters. 

"I looked in the mirror and said, 'I'm better than this. I can help our team win more than I have been,' " Bey recalled.

His emergence hasn't come too late either. He can play two more seasons for the UW using pandemic provisions.

Whatever is in that mirror, though, Bey needs to talk to it again and see if he can pull a bunch of wins out of it. 

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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