ABOVE THE COMPETITION.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

Brian McDermott figured he knew what he was getting when Shea Washington transferred to Southern Oregon University for his sophomore season.

"We thought from the moment he decided to come here that we had the best player in the league," said McDermott, now in his 10th season as coach at SOU. "Athletically for our level, he's different. There are not a lot of 6-foot-7 guys and he is one of the strongest people on the planet. He can run, jump and he has good feet and plays hard. He's a different animal for our level. Usually when you get guys who are 6-7 they are slow or something is wrong, but with Shea, he's the whole package."

Washington not only has been the best player in the Cascade Conference but possibly the best player in the nation at the NAIA level. He may also be the best player ever at the Ashland school.

In three seasons, the Thurston graduate has become the top scorer in school history with 1,881 points and holds the record with 168 blocked shots. He ranks fourth in rebounds with 884.

"It's gone by quickly, it doesn't seem like three years already," Washington said. "I didn't really know about the numbers I had put up or how close I was to those records until a couple weeks ago before I broke the scoring record."

Washington is averaging 19.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Raiders (23-7), who finished second in the conference at 12-6. He will lead SOU into the eight-team conference tournament Wednesday at home against Albertson College as the 10th-ranked Raiders look to clinch a berth in the NAIA Division II national tournament for the second year in a row.

"You can put it in the book every night, he will have something close to 20 points and 10 rebounds," McDermott said. "Doing that with all the double-teams is phenomenal. He fills it up a lot of different ways, too, with rebounds and blocked shots."

Washington has been doing that since he was a 6-5 freshman who played varsity for Thurston. As a senior in 2002, Washington led the Colts to an undefeated record in the Midwestern League and earned most valuable player honors after averaging 13 points and nine rebounds per game.

"He's special; I think he's the best all-around player we've had," Thurston coach Doug Piquette said.

"We've had guys who scored more points, but we've never had a better team player. He was so unselfish and a great defender. He's the epitome of what you try to teach."

Washington signed with Division I Montana State and started five games while averaging 7.6 points as a freshman, but decided to transfer to a school closer to home. Washington had an offer to sign with Eastern Washington, but he would have had to spend a year at community college first. He didn't want to play for three schools in three years, so he signed with Southern Oregon.

Washington was an immediate star as he averaged 18.8 points and nine rebounds per game as a sophomore when he became the school's first all-American since 1951.

He earned all-America honors again last year when he averaged 20.8 points and 10.0 rebounds per game to become the first player in conference history to average a double-double.

"Last year was when I started to figure things out," Washington said. "I started to feel comfortable and wanted to not only contribute, but hopefully be a determining factor in games as well."

Washington is shooting 59.4 percent from the field despite drawing multiple defenders and ranks fourth on the team with 54 assists. He has 37 career double-doubles.

"He is a special player," said senior point guard Steve Farley, who played with Washington at Thurston and currently averages 8.9 points and 4.7 assists for SOU. "He is far and away the best player that I have seen at this level.

"This year he has gotten frustrated at times and I've seen five guys collapse on him, but he's been great about it. He wants to win a national title."

Washington showed his skills against the state's two Pac-10 teams in November when he totaled 47 points and 24 rebounds in exhibition losses to Oregon and Oregon State. After Washington finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds in a 75-60 loss to the Beavers, OSU coach Jay John said "Shea Washington can play on any Pac-10 team and be good."

Instead, Washington is dominating the NAIA Division II level and adding to his school records every game.

"It will be nice to look back someday, but I'm sure those records will get broken some time," Washington said. "Hopefully, they will stick around for a while."

Washington has gained plenty off the court as well during his three years in Ashland.

The 21-year old is engaged to Rebecca Neilson, a Willamette High graduate who competes in cross country and track at SOU. He will graduate with a degree in communications and may seek his master's degree in marriage and family therapy at Oregon. Washington may also have some opportunities to play professional basketball overseas.

"You couldn't have written a better script for him," Piquette said.

"He is the happiest I've ever seen him, he's grown up a ton, and it is so neat to talk to him. He's going to graduate and get married and I couldn't be more proud of him. I think he'll get the opportunity to play overseas, so in all aspects of life he is doing well."

CAPTION(S):

Southern Oregon's Shea Washington (center) jumped at the chance to prove his ability against Oregon in an exhibition game earlier this season. He'll leave Ashland with school records for scoring and blocked shots. Wayne Eastburn / The Register-Guard Shea Washington (right) and coach Brian McDermott. SourceCaptionInfo: Shea Washington with SOU head coach Brian McDermott. University of Oregon Mens Basketball: Southern Oregon at McArthur Court (The Register-Guard/Wayne Eastburn) "Shea Washington can play on any Pac-10 team and be good." JAY JOHN OREGON STATE COACH