BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood and Fairfield County know basketball coach Ezekiel “Zeke” Washington very well. Over Washington’s 38 years as coach, Washington won a 3A boys state championship at Fairfield Central in 1998, and brought the Blythewood boys team to the 5A state final in 2017 and again last March.
At a ceremony in Greenville July 29, Washington and three other coaches were formally inducted into the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
“I am reminded of all the people who have been a part of my journey,” Washington said before the induction. “This is not just for me, but for all the players I have coached and all the coaches I have had the privilege to work with.”
Washington, who was inducted along with Keenan High School’s Reggie McLain, Wade Hampton’s Darryl Nance and Westside High’s Jackie Roberts, has a long line of success that started when he was head coach at Branchville at age 23. That first year Washington led the Yellow Jackets to a region championship, the first of many honors his teams earned in the decades that followed. He also won Region Coach of the Year.
Washington went on to serve as an assistant coach at Dreher, where he learned more about coaching and basketball sharing the hardwood with the best coaches in the area such as Eau Claire’s George Glymph, Keenan’s Ben Trapp, and Carl Williams, who won state titles at Booker T. Washington, A.C. Flora, and Lower Richland high schools.
Washington took the job at Fairfield Central in the mid-1990s, and in short order made the boys basketball team a contender. His Griffins struggled early on in the 1996-1997 season, but caught fire in region play and reached the third round of the 3A playoffs.
The next year Fairfield Central breezed through the competition at all levels, earning a 29-2 mark and outscoring Newberry 75-55 from the tip-off in the 3A championship game. The Griffins won 27 straight games that year.
Washington moved on to Chester, where he served as athletic director, girls basketball coach, and football assistant coach. He became the fourth coach in state history to win both a girls and boys state basketball title when his Cyclones beat Dreher 51-43 in the girls’ 3A final in 2004.
Washington went to Lower Richland in 2007-2012 and rebuilt the boys’ team. The Diamond Hornets won five straight region titles and made appearances in the upper and lower state championship games.
Since 2012 Washington has been at Blythewood, where he led the Bengals to the state championship in 2017, falling to Dorman 54-53 by a last-second bucket.
The Bengals returned the favor in the upper state championship last March, when Blythewood’s beat Dorman 46-45 in the upper state championship game last March. T.J. Lewis sank a game-tying 3-pointer with 25 seconds left, and Lewis made the winning foul shot with 2.7 seconds left to seal the win.
“The fellas just pulled it out and didn’t give up,” Washington said after the game. “I was just sitting there, going along for the ride. I still can’t believe that we’re in the state championship, but we are. I wish I could take some credit, but it’s all on those guys. They just did not give up and made some shots. It’s a testament to them.”
Unfortunately for Blythewood, a talent-loaded Ridge View team ran past the Bengals 71-47 in the championship game.
With Washington as coach, the Bengals can look for more good things to come.
His teams have racked up a 578-278 record, 14 region championships, two upper state and two lower state championships, two state championships, and 28 playoff appearances. In the process Washington has earned Region Coach of the Year honors 13 times, and three Sports Report State Coach of the Year awards.
Through all of those teams and throughout all of the years he has coached, Washington has stressed pride in school and community, and personal accountability to his players.