Another Way Too Early Husky Hoops Starting Lineup

The UW will have an experienced and talented opening five.

In recent months, they replaced the floor in Alaska Airlines Arena. Eight of the 13 scholarship spots on the University of Washington basketball roster. Maybe apathy with curiosity.

Mike Hopkins, with his coaching career on the line following a fourth consecutive ho-hum or oh-no Husky season, got busy like never before in his six previous years in Montlake.

Going overtime in the transfer portal, Hopkins and his staff have piqued the interest of that concentrated part of the Seattle populace that really likes its college basketball. 

The UW rather amazingly will have two Kentucky transfers available as Huskies this coming season. Two seven-footers who are better than the normal fare seen roaming the key in the past couple of decades. Yet another playmaker from the Big Ten. A pair of high-scoring players from Beaumont, Texas, one a college transfer, the other a high school recruit.

Now comes the hard part for Hopkins and Company: picking a starting lineup, building a chemistry and winning.

The coach has to do a better job of this or he's done in Seattle. His teams have struggled because he's depended on too many selfish, unmotivated or underperforming players in recent seasons.

We'll leave all that cerebral stuff to him, but we're picking another lineup following the addition of the 6-foot-7 pass-first Paul Mulcahy, who flourished in the Big Ten. This team won't be selfish in any way. For the most part, it will be a veteran lineup, with four players starting 28 games or more somewhere last season. As always, feel free to disagree.

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PAUL MULCAHY :: Kirthmon F. Dozier/USA TODAY Sports

The Rutgers transfer gives the Huskies a 6-foot-7 pass-first guard who should bring a lot of energy to Montlake. 

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NATE CALMESE / Lamar

Coming off a Southland Freshman of the Year season, this 6-foot-2 scoring guard from Lamar brings a 17.6 scoring average to the UW. 

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SAHVIR WHEELER :: Jordan Prather/USA TODAY Sports

This former Kentucky point guard, fifth all-time in career SEC assists, played one season with Keion Brooks (12) with the Wildcats.

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BRAXTON MEAH :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Coming off 31 starts, the 7-foot-1 junior, who originally started out at Fresno State, should be brimming with confidence in his second season at the UW.

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KEION BROOKS :: D. Ross Cameron/USA TODAY Sports

After averaging 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds for the UW, this former Kentucky player should have his numbers increase with all the added manpower around him.

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A HUSKY STARTING 5

Paul Mulcahy, 6-7, Sr., guard — Mulcahy's finest career moment came on Jan. 2, 2023, when he led Rutgers to a 65-64 upset of No. 1-ranked Purdue, the highest-ranked road win in program history. His stat line: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. This tough, gritty player started 81 of 121 games for his Big Ten team, 28 of 30 this past season. He averaged nearly 5 assists per game last winter. He can score, too. His career high in points was 31 against Northwestern.

Sahvir Wheeler, 5-9, Sr., point guard — This guy ranks as the fifth all-time assist man in SEC history with 656 in two seasons each at Kentucky and Georgia. He averaged 5.6 assists per game last season. Wheeler has started 86 of 108 games on the college level, though just 14 of 21 last season because of injuries. He was a finalist for the 2022 Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. Few teams will have as much backcourt experience as this dish duo: 167 career starts combined for Wheeler and Mulcahy. 

Keion Brooks 6-7, Sr., small forward — Think Brooks isn't excited to have the new Husky backcourt? Another Kentucky import, he's started 72 of 110 games in Lexington and Montlake, 30 of 30 last season for the UW. He was a 17.7 scorer and 6.7 rebounder in his first Husky go-round. He's has a high game of 30 against Cal Poly, but more impressive was his 27-point, 8-rebound game against eventual national champion Kansas in 2022 on the road, earning him SEC Player of the week honors.  With Wheeler and Mulcahy spreading the ball around, Brooks should have no complaints about playing a fifth college basketball season and use this time to become a much more dominant player.

Braxton Meah, 7-1, Jr., center — The big man led the conference in shooting at 70.6 percent and made the All-Pac-12 Defensive team with an average of 1.6 blocks per game. He started 31 of 31 games for the Huskies last season and has a combined 86 games played for the UW and Fresno State. He averaged 8.8 points and 7.2 rebounds last winter, with highs of 21 against Stanford and 12 against Colorado, respectively. With 6-foot-11 Franck Kepnang recovered from knee surgery, he can go twin towers with big Franck whenever needed.

Nate Calmese, 6-2, Soph., guard — We were real tempted to put 6-foot-4 freshman Wesley Yates in this spot, because on video the Beaumont, Texas, recruit looks like an exciting and ready-to-play addition, or sophomore Koren Johnson, a 29-game sub and 6.8 scorer as a freshman last season for the Huskies, who can be excused if he feels a little forgotten if not insulted by all of the added backcourt manpower. However, Calmese has been disrespected every step of the way, beginning with his recruitment. Once he transferred this winter, even UW fans were belittling the Southland Conference, where he was named Freshman of the Year after becoming a 17.6 scorer and and a 48 percent shooter. He had two 30-point or better games for Lamar, which also is located in Beaumont, with a season best of 32 against Houston Christian. The Arizona native started all 31 games in which he played last winter. He should come in wanting to show people they've always been wrong about him in terms of being a big-time basketball player.

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