Deep down, the District of Columbia always knew what Andray Blatche was capable of achieving. They’ve simply been waiting the better part of five seasons for him to prove it.
But for those from outside of the Beltway, only seeing was believing.
“Woo, I knew he could play. But seeing him firsthand, he’s special,” said recently-acquired Wizard Quinton Ross after Blatche racked up 25 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s win over Chicago, his third double-double in four games. “He’s got all the tools in the world.”
Yet it’s the first time in his career that Blatche has sustained 25 points and 10.3 rebounds over four straight games.
“I didn’t know he was that good,” said another new teammate, Al Thornton. “I knew he was talented and had a world of potential, but he’s a player. Down the line, I think he can be an all-star. He can’t be stopped when he gets the ball on that block.”
Until the last week, Blatche still wasn’t getting very much of the ball at all, making just four starts in the first 49 games of the season. With 64 starts in his first four seasons (238 games played), his entire career has been spent in the shadow of Antawn Jamison, and he will continue to be compared to the recently departed All-Star and model of consistency.
“I knew I was playing behind an all-star so I couldn’t really argue with it,” said Blatche. “But now that he’s gone, I’m just taking everything that I was taught and everything he left for me, advice and all that stuff, and I’m just using.”
“When you got a guy that’s 20 and 10 in front of you for your whole career, it makes things a little more difficult,” said Wizards guard Mike Miller. “But this is about opportunity, and he’s stepping up. The whole thing is sustaining it. That’s the one thing you realize with Antawn Jamison was when he was here, it was 20 and 10 every night. You could bank it. If [Blatche] wants to take it to the next step, that’s where it’s going to be. But right now he’s playing unbelieveable basketball, for sure.”
In the vacuum created by the trades of Jamison, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson, Blatche, still 23 years old, also has found himself thrust into a leadership role as the longest tenured player in the Wizards locker room.
It was just last month that Wizards head coach Flip Saunders ripped him for his behind-the-back dribble in the lane two weeks after suspending him for a game for straight misbehavior.
“He has had a different attitude from the standpoint of a more serious approach prior to the game, during the game, and after the game,” said Saunders. “… As I’ve told him, ‘When you start playing like this, now your expectations become higher. Not only that, now teams are going to set their defense up to defend you and stop you from going into your key moves.’ It’s part of his whole progression.”
It seems like Washington has been waiting forever for it to finally happen. But they haven’t been the only ones.
Said Blatche: “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I’ve been in this league.”
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