Washington Huskies
2023-2024 Result: 17-15 record (9-11 PAC 12)
Projected Starting Lineup
Head Coach: Danny Sprinkle (1st season)
Guard: Zoom Diallo (FR)
Guard: DJ Davis (SR)
Guard: Mekhi Mason (JR)
Forward: Great Osobor (SR)
Center: Franck Kepnang (5th year)
Key Additions
DJ Davis (Butler)
Mekhi Mason (Rice)
Great Osobor (Utah State)
Tyler Harris (Portland)
Luis Kortright (Rhode Island)
Jace Butler (4-star recruit)
Zoom Diallo (4-star recruit)
Key Losses
Braxton Meah
Koren Johnson
Sahvir Wheeler
Paul Mulcahy
Moses Wood
Keion Brooks Jr.
Another new coach. Danny Sprinkle made the move to Washington this offseason and with him came Great Osobor who played for him at Utah State. Along with Osobor, Sprinkle recruited transfers DJ Davis, Mekhi Mason, and 4-star recruits, Zoom Diallo and Jase Butler. Osobor, Mason, and Davis will be the veteran leaders for this team, but Diallo figures to play a huge role in the backcourt alongside Davis with the lack of guard depth on the roster. Danny Sprinkle will aim to get the Huskies back to the NCAA Tournament in their first year in the BIG 10.
Washington is another team with a very different roster and a new coach this season. Great Osobor will lead the defense, but expect some reduction in his numbers, especially in the blocks department because the BIG 10 is not the Mountain West. He averaged 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks at Utah State last season and he will probably hover around 1 of each again this season. Sprinkle also inherited big man Franck Kepnang who averaged nearly 2 blocks a game in just 18 minutes in 2022-2023 before missing all of last season with a knee injury, so it is unclear whether he will be able to get back to that level of player. My best guess would be that the knee will hinder him in some way and prevent him from being the force that he was, but still expect him to be a solid rim protector. The backcourt defense of Zoom Diallo and DJ Davis shouldn’t be too formidable, as they are just average defenders, but having the back line of defense that the Huskies have should bail them out. Washington’s defense will have to be the strength of their team for them to reach their ceiling.
The Washington offense will be below average in the BIG 10. Great Osobor will be their best offensive player, but again, this isn’t the Mountain West anymore. He will still be very good, but it will be much more difficult to carry a team in the BIG 10 with an inefficient jump shot. The overall long range shooting of this Huskies roster is not great, with DJ Davis and Mekhi Mason shooting around 35% from 3 last season. Outside of them, they have a bunch of guys in the 20s and 30s. For Washington’s offense to reach its ceiling, they will need 4-star freshman point guard Zoom Diallo to perform right away. He is slated to start from day one, and on a team lacking guard depth, the opportunities will be there for him. It is just hard to put trust in a freshman point guard on a team that is not expected to be very good in its first year in a new conference. The Washington offense is likely going to be a hindrance to what they can accomplish.
Danny Sprinkle’s first year in Washington will not be one he wants to remember. The roster is not very deep or offensively talented, which will force a lot of long flights home from trips to the East Coast for BIG 10 games. The defense should help keep them in some games, but when it is all said and done, this year’s iteration of the Washington Huskies will not be playing basketball after the conference tournament.