By Lauren Kirschman
The News Tribune
SEATTLE — Jamal Bey couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.
Last year, in his first season of collegiate basketball, Bey spent his time learning from a defensive phenom in Matisse Thybulle — the 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. Thybulle set the Pac-12 single-season (126) and career (331) steals records before being drafted No. 20 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Thybulle is a tough act to follow — and Bey isn’t trying — but head coach Mike Hopkins has still called Bey one of the Huskies’ best defenders, and arguably the best at the guard position. While Bey is still working to find consistency offensively, the 6-foot-6 sophomore has carved out a role for himself at the top of UW’s two-three zone.
“I think it’s a little harder, so you got to work a little harder up there,” Bey said of playing at the front of the zone. “I just like it there. You get to run a little more and you get warmed up faster.”
During an interview last January, Thybulle offered a glimpse inside his defensive abilities. While it would impossible to teach his athleticism and natural instincts, Thybulle was insistent that much of what makes him a strong defender could be mimicked. And he pointed to Bey as one of the young players with the most defensive promise.
“I just don’t think the things I see are obvious to other people,” Thybulle said then. “When they miss it, I try to make a point to tell them right after the play that there was something to see. So, that the next time they can be aware of it ahead of time and. when they see it, make a play on it.”
Bey remembers those conversations well.
“A lot of people yell at you if you do something wrong,” Bey said during UW media day in October. “(Thybulle) just pulled me to the side and said, ‘You know you can do this, this and this.’ I was like, ‘You’re right.’ Just feeding off him, studying what he does. Not trying to be like him, but just knowing where the places to be and just react when the ball’s in the air.”
So, what did he learn?
“Just be in your spot,” Bey said. “Usually people just throw it to a spot or shoot from a spot. So, go to the spot first and then if they go off that, just play them after that.”
Bey leads the Huskies with 16 steals on the season. He’s had at least three steals three times, including five against Eastern Washington. Like Thybulle, Bey brings length to the top of the zone. On the other end of the court, he provides versatility. He can play four positions for the Huskies, even seeing time as a back-up point guard.
Bey mostly come off the bench, but averages 22.7 minutes per game — the only UW backup averaging more than 9 minutes. He reached double figures in each of his two starts this season — wins over South Dakota and Eastern Washington — and shot a combined 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from the 3-point line. But on the season, he’s shooting 39 percent from the field and just 27.8 percent from beyond the arc.
“I think I can play both sides, defense and offense, pretty well,” Bey said. “I just got to show that at all times, just be confident on both sides. Defense, it’s not easy but sometimes I just feel like it’s a little bit easier. I just tend to pass up shots. I just got to be more comfortable playing both sides and slow it down a little bit.”
On Monday, Hopkins was quick to remind reporters that Bey is still developing. Offensive consistency, he said, takes time.
“Part of the process is is no one’s perfect,” Hopkins said. “He’s had great moments. … He’s a confident shooter and he makes others around him better. We’re excited about his growth and obviously we wish everybody would be consistent. It’s part of the growing process, but he’s taken a huge step forward.”
