Washington prepares for his final home men's basketball game for Air Force

Evan Washington remembered the first time he played in front of a packed house for Air Force at Clune Arena, and started laughing at the memory.

The details came back to him quickly. All the cadets were there for an early season game against Radford. If Washington wasn’t shaky enough as a freshman guard playing major minutes, he got fouled with 3 seconds left and the Falcons down two points.

“I was so nervous,” Washington said. “I didn’t want to lose the game. I was actually trying to pass the ball to Tim Anderson, but they fouled me first.”

Washington hit both free throws to send the game into overtime, and Air Force won. Knowing how Washington’s story unfolded the past four years, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Through some rough years, Washington has been a steady hand in the Falcons’ program.

Wednesday night’s game against TCU is Washington’s last at Clune Arena. Nobody in Air Force men’s basketball history has started more games. He broke that record on Saturday against Colorado State.

“He has been our one solid force for the last five years,” said Reynolds, counting Washington’s year at the prep school. “I have a sincere spot in my heart for Evan, because he’s gone through some ups-and-downs, but he never wavered.”

Washington’s career started at the end of Air Force’s glory days. He watched the Falcons go to the NIT Final Four as a prep school student. Air Force hasn’t replicated that success since Washington got to the academy, including a 1-31 record in Mountain West regular-season play over his sophomore and junior years. Throughout it all, Washington has enjoyed it.  

“Definitely. It’s college basketball at the highest level,” Washington said. “The Mountain West is one of the best leagues in the country, and it has been an experience for me.”

Washington went from a freshman just trying to avoid mistakes to perhaps the team’s top leader on a team that has surprised many by winning five conference games. He’ll take another step in his basketball life next year when he is an assistant coach at the prep school. He’ll coach a year there, then start his Air Force job in space and missiles.

Reynolds thinks he can be a good coach because of his personality. He told a story about Washington from Air Force’s home game this season against San Diego State, when Reynolds was called for a technical foul.

“We come out of the timeout and he looks at me and says ‘Coach, was that technical on you?’” Reynolds said. “I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he said ‘Shut the heck up so you don’t get another one.’ He and I have that type of relationship. I’m going to miss him.”

Reynolds also said Washington had some fun at practice recently, pulling his shorts way up like assistant coach Steve Snell, then mimicking Snell to the other players.

“He’s come out of his shell a whole lot,” Reynolds said.

No longer is Washington the freshman hoping to just follow the lead of the older players. He said he really doesn’t know what to expect Wednesday night, on Senior Night. He is sad to see his playing career winding down, but maintains perspective on that.

“That’s part of life,” Washington said. “Everything comes to an end. But I’m definitely going to miss it.”