Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
Washington (Projected: 18th in Big Ten)
Washington finally moved on from Mike Hopkins after a seven-year tenure full of failing to meet expectations. In comes Danny Sprinkle, a young coach who rebuilt Montana State in four years before taking Utah State to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past season. Sprinkle should be able to get more out of Washington, even in the Big Ten, but it may take a couple of seasons.
Three players return to the Washington program, two centers and a redshirt freshman forward. Both centers, senior Franck Kepnang (8 ppg, 6 rpg) and senior Wilhelm Breidenbach (5 ppg, 3 rpg), played solid minutes last season after transferring over from other power conference schools. Kepnang was injured last season after 10 games, just as he was coming into form, averaging 14 ppg and 8 rpg in his final three games. Breidenbach played in all 32 games for the Huskies, starting in nine. The final returner is Christian King, a 6-8 forward who redshirted his freshman season in 2023-24.
As with any coaching change, there was a mass exodus of players from the Washington program. Eight players left, although many of them were graduates. All four double-digit scorers from last year’s team were among the departures; forward Keion Brooks (21 ppg, 7 rpg), guard Sahvir Wheeler (14 ppg, 6 apg), forward Moses Wood (12 ppg, 5 rpg), and sophomore guard Koren Johnson (11 ppg). The depth of the roster also took a tank, losing guard Paul Mulcahy (6 ppg), center Braxton Meah (5 ppg, 5 rpg), guard Nate Calmese (4 ppg), and guard Anthony Holland (3 ppg).
Danny Sprinkle made good use of the transfer portal in year one, finding eight new Huskies. The big one, Great Osobor (18 ppg, 9 rpg at Utah State), followed Sprinkle from Montana State to Utah State and now Utah State to Washington. The English big man was one of the best mid-major players in the sport last season and will now be among the highest-paid, with a rumored $2 million NIL package given to Osobor following his commitment to Washington.
The backcourt tandem is an interesting pair of transfers, North Dakota transfer Tyree Ihenacho (15 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg at North Dakota) and Butler transfer DJ Davis (14 ppg at Butler). Ihenacho, a true point guard, looks to make the jump up from the Summit League to the Big Ten this offseason. Davis is more of an off-ball scoring guard and has an ability to space the floor, shooting 35.1% from three on 191 attempts last season at Butler. Ihenacho and Davis could be a solid fit, but with a guy commanding the ball in the paint like Osobor, I’m wondering if there will be too many guys and only one ball.
The rest of the transfers will complete the depth of the Huskies lineup. Rhode Island transfer Luis Kortright (10 ppg, 4 apg at Rhode Island) and Rice transfer Mekhi Mason (14 ppg, 4 rpg at Rice) fill in the backcourt, filling in perfectly at the one and the two. The frontcourt adds Portland transfer Tyler Harris (11 ppg, 7 rpg at Portland), who I think will start, Oakland transfer Chris Conway (10 ppg, 4 rpg at Oakland), and Oregon State transfer KC Ibekwe (5 ppg, 4 rpg at Oregon State). With five of the eight transfers coming up from the mid-major ranks, there may be some growing pains from the Huskies early in conference play.
Danny Sprinkle added two four-star high school recruits to his incoming class this off-season. The first, guard Zoom Diallo (4*, NAT 43) should contribute right away, and can learn a lot from the experienced transfers that will play ahead of him in year one. Guard Jase Butler (4*, NAT 100) likely won’t have as much of an impact in year one as Diallo, but could still see the floor throughout the year. It’s very promising for the future of Washington basketball to see two four-stars commit to Sprinkle in year one, but it may be awhile before we see the Huskies fully reap the benefits.
With 13 new players at Utah State last season, Sprinkle has already proven he can win from day one at a new job. That being said, I think this Washington job will take a bit longer to complete at than Utah State where the program was it a highly competitive level in the Mountain West. Bringing Osobor with to Seattle was big for Sprinkle though, instantly becoming one of the 5-10 best players in the Big Ten.
We know what Osobor will bring in a Sprinkle-led team as we’ve seen what he’s been able to do at two different schools. The Big Ten may be a different beast, but returning Kepnang and Breidenbach allows Osobor to play the four, which will be a much more comfortable spot for him in the Big Ten. The X-factor on this team for me is Tyree Ihenacho. Ihenacho missed the first eleven games of the season with North Dakota but transformed them into a different team when he returned, leading them to a second place finish in the Summit League. Jumping from the Summit to the Big Ten will be quite a leap, and how successful the Huskies will be depends on how Ihenacho handles the pressure from Big Ten guards.
I think year one will be a transition year for Washington and Danny Sprinkle as they enter the Big Ten. The entire conference has a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament, and if things fall into place for Washington I wouldn’t past them. With likely the most uncertainty in the bottom half of the Big Ten, I think it’s only fair in the preseason to place the Huskies last in 18th place.