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With the beginning of faculty basketball season in early November, we’ll look at the convention as a complete and Indiana’s roster over the approaching weeks.
Immediately, our crew previews proceed with Washington.
Beforehand: Penn State
After seven primarily lackluster seasons underneath 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 match appearances in 2022 and 2023 earlier than taking Utah State to the match in 2024.
A local of Washington, Sprinkle has a tall process forward of him in his first season in Seattle. As is usually the case within the NIL period after a training change, the Huskies have a revamped roster and lots of new items as Sprinkle molds his first Washington crew.
Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings at present have the Huskies at No. 74 nationally, only one spot forward of Penn State with only a few weeks till observe 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 college. Ahead Nice Osobor, who reportedly acquired an NIL package deal value 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 must navigate the challenges of shifting up a degree that features coping with extra dimension and athleticism within the paint, however he seems to be 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 several other newcomers within the combine for potential roles.
Kepnang, a 6-foot-11 middle, averaged 8.3 factors and 5.9 rebounds final season however solely performed in 10 video games. Kepnang suffered a knee damage 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 sport final season and would give Washington a authentic 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, must also 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 crew that knocked off Kentucky within the NCAA match. Within the surprising win, he had eight factors, 4 rebounds, and three assists in 33 minutes.
Sprinkle has many guards and wings to type by means of 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 might 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 taking pictures 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 sport.
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 nicely from the perimeter (29.7 %). He did, nevertheless, 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 match appearances as a head coach, Sprinkle isn’t any stranger to success. He’s a west coast man who has grinded his manner by means of the career and at last has his probability on the high-major degree at 47 years outdated. Having Osobor is a good place to begin along with his first roster, however it’s going to take time for this Washington crew to return collectively and gel. The Huskies want dependable post-play subsequent to Osobor and should settle right into a guard rotation by the point Huge Ten play arrives. An NCAA match look in yr one appears unlikely.
Quotable: “(I believe we’ll look) like typical Huge Ten groups. I need to play quick, like we did at Utah State on misses and on turnovers, but in addition I need to have a bodily mindset, too. I need to have a toughness, a defensive mindset, sort 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 house 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 model of play.
Filed to: 2024-25 Big Ten preview, Washington Huskies
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