West Side sophomore Jalen Washington is staying humble and grounded.

And he’s working hard.

The 6-foot-8 forward made waves across the state last month when Indiana and Purdue offered him scholarships.

Few players in Northwest Indiana receive offers from Big Ten schools. It’s unheard of to get one after an injury-plagued freshman season.

But Washington turned the heads of the Purdue and Indiana coaching staffs in back-to-back weeks at their team camps.

Indiana offered first and Purdue followed. West Side coach Chris Buggs said Washington also has an offer from DePaul.

If Washington’s upward projection continues, he’ll be recruited by just about every major program in the country.

Washington is flattered by the attention.

“It’s an honor to be looked at by that caliber of schools,” he said. “I’m just want to keep working hard.”

Washington only played five regular-season games and two in the state playoffs, according to Buggs. The Cougars (16-8) lost to Hammond in the Class 3A sectional semifinals.

Buggs said he fractured his shoulder in the first game of the season, which caused him to miss the majority of games. He averaged 10 points and seven rebounds.

The breakout moment for Washington was when he went head-to-head against Trey Kaufman, a 6-7 junior forward from Silver Creek.

Kaufman has offers from Indiana, Purdue and Butler, according to Rivals.com. Buggs said Washington played well against Kaufman.

Buggs confirmed he has been surprised by Washington’s rapid progression.

Buggs was conservative last year about bringing Washington back too soon from his injury. Buggs wasn’t sure how the summer would go.

He knows now.

“He showed some sparks and flashes of what he could do, but he wasn’t really in top shape,” Buggs said of Washington. “I didn’t have any knowledge that he’d be this good. I knew he’d be a decent player, but I didn’t know how early it would be.”

Buggs said he will play Washington at multiple positions. Washington will likely play power forward in college.

He’s already proficient at making 3-pointers. He just needs to get stronger. Washington weighs around 200 pounds.

Buggs said the best part about Washington is he’s an excellent role model.

“I’m humbled to coach someone as talented as he is,” Buggs said. “He’s a great student and a great kid.”

Wheeler’s new coach: Steve Baumgartner has been hired to replace Mark Anderson at Wheeler. Anderson resigned after one season. Baumgartner, who was an assistant for Anderson, slides into the head coaching chair much sooner than he had anticipated.

He was at St. Joseph in South Bend as the junior varsity and freshman coach for eight years.

Before coaching at St. Joseph, Baumgartner was a head coach in college at Holy Cross for two seasons when it became an NAIA school in 2008.

He connected with Wheeler athletic director Randy Stelter when he was at Holy Cross, and Stelter offered him the assistant’s job last year.

When Anderson left, Baumgartner was the obvious choice. Wheeler finished with a 7-17 record last season.

Baumgartner said his goal is to get the young kids excited about playing. The Bearcats have some tradition. They won a 2A state title in 2010.

“I just want to bring some energy to the program,” he said. “I think we can do a lot of good things here.”

Letter-of-intent: Jimmie Washington Jr., Jalen’s older brother, has signed a national letter of intent to play at Central Methodist in Fayette, Missouri.

Washington, a 6-7 forward, averaged 10 points and five rebounds as a senior last season.