Washington (17-15, 9-11 Pac-12)
It’s a new era for Washington, which parted with Mike Hopkins following last season and another year without an NCAA Tournament bid. In his place is Danny Sprinkle, who has made a rapid rise through the coaching ranks and came to Washington after one magical season at Utah State that included a Mountain West regular-season title and NCAA tourney bid. He’s facing major roster turnover in his first season as the Huskies move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten with only two players returning who saw significant time on the court.
Players to watch
Great Osobor (senior, F, 6-8, 17.7 ppg). Osobor was the Mountain West player of the year last season and followed his head coach to Seattle. He flourished in Sprinkle’s system with Utah State and nearly averaged a double-double with 17.7 points and 9 rebounds per game.
DJ Davis (senior, G, 6-1, 13.5 ppg). Davis started every game last season for Butler and played nearly 30 minutes per contest. He provided scoring pop from the backcourt and led the nation in free throw shooting percentage at 95%.
Zoom Diallo (freshman, G, 6-4). One of Sprinkle’s biggest victories was convincing Diallo to keep his commitment to the Huskies. Diallo was the top recruit in the state of Washington and one of the top 50 in the country.
Departures and arrivals
Front court players Franck Kepnang and Wilhelm Briedenbach are the only returners who played significant minutes last season. Diallo and Osobor will grab the headlines among the new additions, but the Huskies will also be counting on contributions from Mekhi Mason (Rice), Davis, Chris Conway (Oakland) and Tyler Harris (Portland). The Huskies lost nearly 60 points per game of offense with the departures of four other players.
Top games
Washington opens the season on Nov. 5 hosting UC Davis and Big Ten play on Dec. 3 at UCLA. The Huskies host in-state rival Washington State and in-city rival Seattle for consecutive games in mid-December but the schedule picks up steam in January with a road trip to Michigan State and Michigan, home for Purdue and at Oregon. Washington plays two of its last three at home against Indiana and Oregon before the Big Ten tourney in Indianapolis.
Facts and figures
Sprinkle has long ties to Washington as his father Bill played football for the Huskies in the 1960s. … Washington’s first season in the Big Ten features just two trips to the Eastern time zone. … One of Sprinkle’s assistants is Tony Bland, one of the key figures in the 2017 FBI probe designed to clean up college basketball. Bland had a three-year show-cause penalty that expired earlier this year.
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