Brandon Roy Jr. follows father’s footsteps to Washington men’s team

DerekJohnson

By Percy Allen Seattle Times staff reporter

More than 20 years later, there’s another Brandon Roy at the University of Washington.

Brandon Roy Jr. is following the footsteps of his famous father and has committed to the UW men’s basketball team with plans to wear his dad’s retired No. 3 jersey.

“In 2009, I watched my father’s jersey be retired at UW, not knowing one day I’d get to wear it,” Roy wrote on his Instagram account Monday morning. “Thank you coach [Danny] Sprinkle, staff and the University of Washington for giving me a chance.

“Thank you to my parents for believing in me.”

The elder Roy, one of the greatest players in Husky hoops history, was the Pac-10 Player of the Year, consensus All-American and national player of the year finalist as a senior following the 2005-06 season.

During his last year at Washington, he averaged 20.2 points on 50.8% shooting from the field, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists while leading the Huskies to a 26-7 record, their third straight trip to the NCAA tournament and a second straight Sweet 16 appearance.

Throughout his four-year (2002-06) collegiate career at UW, Roy averaged 14.4 points on 51.3% shooting on field goals, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while starting 71 of 103 games.

Roy was taken sixth overall in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He played six seasons and appeared in three All-Star Games before his career ended because of a chronic knee injury.

Brandon Roy holds his son Brandon Roy Jr. after a Trail Blazers game in Portland, Ore. (Don Ryan / The Associated Press, 2009)

Brandon Roy holds his son Brandon Roy Jr. after a Trail Blazers game in Portland, Ore. (Don Ryan / The Associated Press, 2009)

Roy is one of six former Husky stars whose jersey hangs in the Alaska Airlines Arena’s rafters. The others include men’s basketball players Bob Houbregs and Isaiah Thomas, women’s basketball player Kelsey Plum and volleyball players Courtney Thompson and Krista Vansant.

Roy Jr., who is nicknamed “BJ,” is a 6-foot-2 guard who played at Garfield High like his dad. The younger Roy is an unheralded high-school recruit who joins the Huskies as a walk-on.

His addition concludes an extreme makeover of a UW team that finished 13-18 and last in the Big Ten at 4-16 last season.

Sprinkle retained Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang and retooled the roster with 13 newcomers (Desmond Claude, JJ Mandaquit, Courtland Muldrew, Christian Nitu, Jacob Ognacevic, Quimari Peterson, Jasir Rencher, Lathan Summerville, Hannes Steinbach, Mady Traore, Bryson Tucker, Wesley Yates III and Roy).

New NCAA rules limit rosters to 15 players in Division I men’s basketball.

Percy Allen: pallen@seattletimes .com. Seattle Times staff reporter Percy Allen covers the Washington Huskies and Seattle Storm.