Star Basketball Player Leads Seawolves

Ben Washington is a self-described "laid back guy," but CCAA basketball opponents know him as one of Sonoma State's most dangerous weapons on the court.

The six-foot-two, 190 pound Sonoma State senior is  again among the team's top scorers this year, after coming back from a femur surgery last season. Washington led the team in terms of points, two years ago.  

"We really missed Ben last year," said Pat Fuscaldo, Sonoma State boys' basketball head coach. "In retrospect, it was a blessing because he's back, he's better, and he's a floor leader."

His presence on the court just gives everybody a lot more confidence, Fuscaldo said.

"He's so quick, he gets into the paint so easily and he opens everything up," said teammate Will Olsem. "Guys are forced to double him or to stop his penetration and it's opening up my threes and my shot."

As good as Washington is, sometimes his coach wishes that he would assert himself even more. 

After a late November victory over Notre dame De Namur, Fuscaldo told Washington "when we stop going to you that's when we fall behind."  

Washington said that his coaches often describe him as efficient, because he has a tendency to not hold on to the ball for long stretches of time.

The exploding popularity of international basketball intrigues Washington.  He has considered the option of playing professionally overseas.

"That's definitely something that's on my top pedestal," Washington said. "Just to push my basketball career further than Sonoma State, and I'm using Sonoma State to do that."

Washington has been playing sports since he was three years old, so he kind of expects injuries, although he said he tries to take it easy and keep up on physical therapy.

"I played basketball, football, baseball and soccer," he said. "I want my future to include sports."

Before he arrived in Rohnert Park, Washington lived in various locations in the East Bay, and finished high school in Newark, Calif.