Mulcahy Left Comfort of Jersey To Challenge Himself With UW

The Huskies landed a well-rounded player from Rutgers who brings a winning mindset.

Paul Mulcahy is a Jersey guy who's never been part of a losing basketball team. He's played four seasons for Rutgers University in Piscataway, this after emerging as a schoolboy standout for Gill St. Bernard's School in Gladstone, 20 miles away.

The 6-foot-6 guard has left his comfort zone on the East Coast to come all the way to Seattle to play for the University of Washington and share his best basketball attribute. 

“I would definitely describe it as a winner,” Mulcahy said of his playing style.

A three-year starter for the Scarlet Knights under coach Steve Pikiell, Mulcahy decided in June to enter the transfer portal to use his extra COVID year of college eligibility elsewhere.

A multitude of schools, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Xavier among them, made a pitch for the graduate transfer. 

Washington won his services. Huskies coach Mike Hopkins made a strong impression on Mulcahy once the two began communicating over the summer.

Prior to signing the Rutgers transfer in August, the UW added five others as part of a roster overhaul. Mulcahy likes the collection of basketball talent. 

“It was hard to leave, but I did four [years] at Rutgers," Mulcahy said. "I think UW has a positive challenge ahead of me. I think we have a really good team. We have some really good pieces. We’re deep. We’re older. For the most part, we’re really mature. There’s a sense of urgency to win. I’ve been in New Jersey my whole life, so I might as well go as far as possible and see if I can make it work.”

Mulcahy joins fellow guards Sahvir Wheeler (Kentucky), Nate Calmese (Lamar) and Anthony Holland (Fresno State), and forwards Moses Wood (Portland) and Wilhelm Breidenbach (Nebraska) as the six transfer additions to the Husky program. 

"Paul brings veteran leadership and elite toughness to our program," Hopkins said. "He is a skilled ball handler and impact defender who will be a difference-maker for us this season."

As a junior, Mulcahy led the Big Ten Conference in assists with 169 while starting in all 32 games for the Scarlet Knights. He finished fourth all-time in Rutgers history with 457 career assists. 

For context, he would rank fourth all-time at the UW — even above Isaiah Thomas (415) — had he compiled his assists for the Huskies.  

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