Happy New Year to everyone. Hope your year is filled with peace and happiness. I am excited to announce that I have officially signed a contract with Aris Thessaloniki, an A1 Men's Team in Greece. They are an amazing team currently ranked at #3 in points behind Panathinakos and Olympiacos. I look forward to meeting and playing with their talented players and coaches. It will be an good opportunity for me to make an impact in their quest for the cup and continue to develop my skills as a point guard. I leave today at 4:30 from San Antonio and I will arrive tomorrow. It is a long flight and I have to prepare myself for the move.

I will write more when I arrive. Thank you for your continued support. Hope you check back often for updates on my team's progess in Greece.

Thank you,
D Wash

As some of you may be aware, there have been things said recently about me and my relationship with my son, Darius III that I think should be addressed head on. I have never been one to hide the truth and I think it is fair to say I am very upfront with what I am feeling and what is going on in my life. I try to keep my personal business out of the newspapers but unfortunately my son's mother has chosen to use the media to address our personal issues. I don't know what to say except that when relationships end, people get hurt and say and do things they do not mean and are untrue. I love my son very much and have and will continue to do what is best for him. My first and only priority is in my son's best interest. When I return this holiday, I will be asking the court to file a motion for joint custody. I want to be able to spend time with my son and be able to continue to care for him. 

I appreciate your support and respect for my privacy. 

Best wishes this holiday season,

Darius Washington Jr.

I am sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been in Dallas for the last 6 weeks training and working out. The coaches, players and staff have really treated me great. And, the city is great too. 

The Mavericks Training Camp starts tomorrow. I am really excited to be here and promise to keep everyone updated on my progress. Check back soon for any news and updates.

Special thanks to all my friends, family and fans for their continued support. I really appreciate it!

Thank you,

Darius

Undrafted by not Defeated.
 
As many of you know by now, my name was not called on draft night and as disappointed as I was that night in not having the prestige of being called I am not defeated. The dream to play in the NBA is still alive in me but instead of going in the draft like I had dreamed of doing I will have to make it as a free agent. Obviously, I still have a lot to prove. I know that but I will not let the draft discourage me.

I do not regret my decision to enter the draft and no one can say otherwise. There isn't one person that went in the draft that is guaranteed to be there in 5 or 10 years so lets say one of them doesn't get resigned down the road did they make a bad decision? Did the draft determine their future?

The draft wasn't the be all end all to my life story. I am just 20 years old and one night will not determine my future. It only changes the path I have to take to make my dream come true. When I woke up on Thursday, my dad came in and told me "Guess what? The sun came out this morning lets get to it." He's right. The only thing we know for certain is that the sun will come out everyday and as long as there is a tomorrow we got a chance. I got up, went to the gym and worked out. Life goes on.

Time truly will tell. I'm not going to give up because my name wasn't called. I am going to fight harder for my dream. It only fuels my motivation to make it. Who can say that the same thing wouldn't have happened after my senior year in college or after high school? I can sit here all day and think of all the what ifs but you know it doesn't change what happened and it doesn't get me any closer to playing in the NBA. Sometimes you just have to make a decision right and go for it.
 
Only time will tell.

I will continue to keep journal entries through the summer as a free agent on my personal website at www.DWash.net and will check back with CollegeHoops.net to let them know how I am doing from time to time.
 
Thanks for the support,
Darius Washington
 

These past several weeks have been an amazing journey. This will be my last entry before the draft Wednesday night. I have been to 6 cities in the last 6 days to work out for different NBA Teams and I am headed to city #7 now.

I definitely caught a glimpse of what the travel schedule is like during a regular NBA season and learned how to adjust to time changes, jet lag, climate differences and lack of rest. I tried my best to be prepared and to give my 110% no matter what.

My travel schedule was crazy--I started out in New Jersey and worked out for the Nets, the next day I was in Toronto and worked out for the Raptors, the next day I was in Oklahoma City and worked out for the Hornets, the next day I was in Sacramento and worked out for the Kings, then on to Seattle to work out for the Supersonics, finally on to Houston to work out for the Rockets and I still have one more team tryout to go.

I learned a lot seeing all of these different cities and arenas and working out with different coaches. It was my first time leaving the country when I went for my tryout in Canada. Toronto was a beautiful city.

It was really a neat experience traveling there and seeing another country. Every arena I went to was just amazing and the staff and the coaches everywhere treated me really nice and were all first class organizations all the way. I would love to play for any one of them. They were great.

Typical Day during Pre draft—
8 am wake up, shower, eat, get dressed, warm up
9 am – 12 pm team workout
12 pm – 1 pm cool down, shower, eat, pack, leave for the airport
after 2 pm board the plane and head to the next city
after 5 pm arrive in next city, check into hotel, eat, rest and get ready
for tomorrow
8 am do it all over again
 
I am headed to Dallas to tryout for the Mavericks for my last and final pre draft workout. As I write this, I am about 48 hours away from draft night and as I always say only time will tell.

Thanks,
Darius

I spent last week at the NBA pre draft camp in Orlando. The week went really well for me. I did what I needed to do. I went out there and played hard. I went 12-17 shots including 5 three-pointers and finally had the chance to display the different aspects of my game: shooting, defense, leadership and my overall will to win. I think there were some people that came out to the camp skeptical of what I could really do and I definitely feel that I made an impression on those coaches and showed them I am determined to fulfill my dream of playing in the NBA.

I didn't want to go to the camp at first because I thought my high school and college career spoke for itself and I've been working so hard this last month training at IMG and working out with Coach Lucas. It was hard to hear but my dad and my trainers were honest with me and told me I needed to go to the pre draft camp to prove myself to those coaches. As I've been told throughout my entire life, you can't be all things to all people so you have to go out there and show the skeptics a glimpse at what your coaches and supporters see in you and that is the mindset I have going into the next couple workouts I have coming up before the draft. Only time will tell.

Thanks for your support,
DWash

I’ve been really busy since I decided to enter the draft. I was really lucky to be able to spend a week with Coach Lucas in Houston who I really admire and then got to spend a couple weeks at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.

Doing everything from practicing drills, shooting, lifting,reviewing tape, listening to my trainers and learning as much as I can before the draft. I am happy to have my family close because at times it can be stressful. I am just trying to keep my head on straight and focus on the coming weeks.

At the end of the day I am like anyone else entering the draft—I have to prove myself and show everyone that I am willing to do more than the next guy to make it.

Q & A

Q: When will you decide if you are staying in the draft for good or pulling out? And, what factors will help you determine what you do?
A: I did not enter my name in the draft to test the waters. I am working really hard for the draft and as long as my coaches and advisors support mydecision I will continue. It was my decision to enter the draft and it is my job now to show everyone that I can and will do it.

Q: What do you think about your teammate Shawne Williams hiring an agent and staying the draft?
A: Shawne is doing what he feels is best for his situation and I wish him well.

Q: How has the training and preparation for the draft financially affected you?
A: I’m lucky because I have the support of my family. I don’t know how much my parents have spent but I know they both sacrificed a lot for me inorder for me to fulfill my quest to play professionally and always have.

Q: Some mock drafts have you projected as a 2nd round pick—what do you think about this?
A: I think that a lot can happen in the next couple weeks—only time will tell.