With the beginning of school basketball season in early November, we’ll study the convention as an entire and Indiana’s roster over the approaching weeks.
Right this moment, our group previews proceed with Washington.
Beforehand: Penn State
After seven primarily lackluster seasons beneath Mike Hopkins, Washington dismissed Hopkins final spring and employed Danny Sprinkle away from Utah State.
Sprinkle, 47, led Montana State to back-to-back NCAA event appearances in 2022 and 2023 earlier than taking Utah State to the event in 2024.
A local of Washington, Sprinkle has a tall activity forward of him in his first season in Seattle. As is often the case within the NIL period after a training change, the Huskies have a revamped roster and plenty of new items as Sprinkle molds his first Washington group.
Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings at the moment have the Huskies at No. 74 nationally, only one spot forward of Penn State with only a few weeks till apply begins.
Luckily for Washington, Sprinkle was in a position to lure his finest participant from his stops at Montana State and Utah State to his new faculty. Ahead Nice Osobor, who reportedly obtained an NIL bundle price as much as $2 million, is coming off an incredible season at Utah State.
The 6-foot-8 ahead, a local of England, averaged 17.7 factors, 9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals in 33.6 minutes final season. Osobor should navigate the challenges of shifting up a degree that features coping with extra dimension and athleticism within the paint, however he seems the a part of Washington’s go-to man from day one.
The remainder of the frontcourt rotation has query marks with two returnees – graduate scholar Franck Kepnang and senior Wilhelm Breidenbach – and a number of other newcomers within the combine for potential roles.
Kepnang, a 6-foot-11 heart, averaged 8.3 factors and 5.9 rebounds final season however solely performed in 10 video games. Kepnang suffered a knee harm in December and missed the season’s ultimate three months. If he’s wholesome, he figures to get the primary shot at beginning alongside Osobor. Kepnang blocked 1.7 pictures per recreation final season and would give Washington a reliable shot-blocking presence.
Breidenbach started his profession at Nebraska. He’s a 6-foot-10 ahead who finishes effectively, can step exterior and hit the occasional 3-pointer. He made 67.1 % of his 2s final season and 12 3s, averaging 5.3 factors and three.4 rebounds in 15.5 minutes.
KC Ibekwe, an Oregon State switch, and Chris Conway, who arrives from Oakland, also needs to be within the combine for rotation roles up entrance. The 6-foot-10 Ibekwe, a junior, is a succesful shot blocker who began 22 video games final season at Oregon State and averaged 5.1 factors, 4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Conway is a 6-foot-9 senior and starter final season on the Oakland group that knocked off Kentucky within the NCAA event. Within the surprising win, he had eight factors, 4 rebounds, and three assists in 33 minutes.
Sprinkle has many guards and wings to type via on his first roster with a mixture of freshmen and portal additions. The Huskies had been in a position to retain top-40 recruit Zoom Diallo, who dedicated to the earlier teaching workers and could possibly be the start line guard as a freshman. Washington additionally added 6-foot-4 Jase Butler, the No. 114 participant within the 2024 class, after he parted methods with Illinois.
Washington welcomes DJ Davis (Butler), Mekhi Mason (Rice), Tyler Harris (Portland), Luis Kortright (Rhode Island) and Tyree Ihenacho (North Dakota) from the switch portal.
Davis, a 6-foot-1 senior, averaged 13.5 factors, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals whereas capturing 35 % on 3s for the Bulldogs. Mason is a 6-foot-5 junior who can play a number of positions and will begin on the three. At Rice, he averaged 14 factors, 4 rebounds and a pair of.8 assists final season in 30.6 minutes per recreation.
Harris is an extended wing who’s 6-foot-8 who battled ankle points final season at Portland and began 21 video games. Harris, a sophomore, averaged 12.1 factors and seven.3 rebounds and shot near 36 % on 3s. He’ll be one of many first gamers off the bench if he doesn’t begin.
Kortright and Ihenacho are each seniors who present expertise and high quality depth. The 6-foot-3 Kortright is a bodily guard who doesn’t shoot it notably properly from the perimeter (29.7 %). He did, nonetheless, common double figures final season within the A10. Ihenacho is an athletic guard who excels in transition and has good dimension at 6-foot-4.
Sprinkle’s groups at Utah State and Montana State closely emphasised drawing fouls and attending to the road. In his 5 seasons as a head coach, Sprinkle’s groups have completed within the high 50 nationally in free throw charge. With a big contingent of guards and Osobor, search for the Huskies to prioritize attending to the road.
Backside line: With three straight NCAA event appearances as a head coach, Sprinkle isn’t any stranger to success. He’s a west coast man who has grinded his manner via the career and at last has his probability on the high-major degree at 47 years outdated. Having Osobor is a good place to start out together with his first roster, however it should take time for this Washington group to come back collectively and gel. The Huskies want dependable post-play subsequent to Osobor and should settle right into a guard rotation by the point Massive Ten play arrives. An NCAA event look in 12 months one appears unlikely.
Quotable: “(I feel we’ll look) like typical Massive Ten groups. I wish to play quick, like we did at Utah State on misses and on turnovers, but additionally I wish to have a bodily mindset, too. I wish to have a toughness, a defensive mindset, form of that tradition the place even once you’re not making pictures you continue to have an opportunity to win whether or not it’s at dwelling or on the street. That’s how my groups have been in my 5 years as a head coach.” – Sprinkle to Rick Pizzo of BTN this offseason on his expectations for Washington’s fashion of play.
Filed to: 2024-25 Massive Ten preview, Washington Huskies
