CBS Sports named Miami point guard Tru Washington third nationally among the point-of-attack defensive stoppers in the article "Ranking college basketball's best defenders by position: Top shot-blockers, wing-stoppers and shutdown closers" by Isaac Trotter.
Washington transferred to Miami from New Mexico during the 2025 offseason. In two seasons at New Mexico, Washington averaged 1.7 steals per game. Washington tied for 26th nationally in 2024-26 with 71 steals for a career-high average of 2.1 per game. Defense will be prioritized at Miami under new head coach Jai Lucas.
Lucas was the defensive coordinator as an assistant coach at Duke under head coach Jon Scheyer.