Darius Washington Jr.

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Darius Myron Washington Jr. (born December 6, 1985, in Winter Park, Florida) is an American former point guard for the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team.

Washington attended Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida, where in his senior year, he played in an ESPN High School Showcase game against Sebastian Telfair of the Portland Trail Blazers, and currently the Boston Celtics. He is also known for missing two of three free throws in the Conference USA tournament finals against Louisville on March 12th, 2005 that would have either tied or won them the title outright, the only possible way the Tigers could have made the NCAA Tournament that year. Despite that setback, in his sophomore season he helped lead the #1-seeded Tigers to an Elite Eight appearance in the 2006 NCAA tournament, losing to eventual runner-up UCLA. He was named to the All-Conference USA first team and earned an honorable mention as an All-American by the Associated Press.

On April 25, 2006, Washington declared himself as an early entry candidate for the 2006 NBA Draft. Confident he would be drafted, he signed with a sports agent on June 26, two days before the draft, losing his eligibility to play in college. He was not drafted. Although analyst Dick Vitale and others believed Washington had a shot to make an NBA roster as a free agent,[1] he failed to do so after trying out with several teams during training camp. He was later drafted by the Austin Toros of the D-League but instead chose to sign with PAOK BC in Greece.