Breaking Down the Husky Basketball Big Men After Bad Loss to USC

Danny Sprinkle acknowledges the UW is a little short-handed with inside players.

Huskies Great Osobor (1) and KC Ibekwe (24) can't stop UCLA center Aday Mara (15) from dunking in Tuesday's game in Los Angeles. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Nine games into the University of Washington basketball season, and Danny Sprinkle readily admits he's short of big men.

His centers and power forwards either are still getting acclimated to their role with a new team or they're injured and out for this month or even the season. Or they're simply not playing well.

As the Huskies (6-3 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) try to recover from a dispirited 85-61 Saturdasy loss to USC (6-4, 1-1) and Will Conroy and Quincy Pondexter -- former UW assistant coaches and Montlake playing legends -- here's what Sprinkle has to work with or is going without:

1. Great Osobor -- The 6-foot-8 senior power forward and Utah State transfer plays hard and often is a rebounding force (9.3 per game), but he's surprisingly limited offensively. He has trouble finishing and scoring, especially with teams packing defenses around him. While he has demonstrated nimble footwork that enables him to step around defenders and get to the basket inside, he too often puts his head down and runs into people. He doesn't shoot a jumper as much as he should. He's a 13.9-point scorer who should be in the 20 range, something he'll needs to seriously address before NBA scouts determine if he has draft stock.

2. Chris Conway -- An Oakland transfer (Detroit suburbs), the 6-foot-9, 221-pound senior power forward is out for the season with knee issues, according to Sprinkle, without having played in any UW outings. He was a 35-game starter who averaged 10 points and 4.1 rebounds for an NCAA Tournament team last season who certainly could have helped this team. His Husky coach is uncertain if Conway will return to the UW next season and try again.

3. Franck Kepnang -- A healthy Kepnang is a game-changer inside, someone who blocks and misdirects shots and offers an explosive dunker. However, the 6-foot-11, 253-pound senior center and holdover UW player has appeared in just 20 games over three seasons for the Huskies. He twice suffered major injuries that didn't allow him to play beyond December last season or the year before. With the big man enduring more knee discomfort, Sprinkle shut him down last month after two games and Kepnang underwent a medical procedure that seemed to indicate his knee is structurally sound. The UW coach is hoping to get big Franck back on the floor following the holidays. Once he completes this season, Kepnang will be eligible to apply for another year or even two of Husky basketball using medical redshirts if he chooses. Teams won't be able to solely go after Osobor if Kepnang can come back.

Franck Kepnang and Chris Conway, injured UW big men, watch the Huskies warm up against USC. / Dan Raley

4. Wilhelm Breidenbach -- Surprisingly reliable at times, the 6-foot-10, 232-pound senior and holdover UW player does a little of everything in shooting the 3, dunking and rebounding inside. He's appeared in all nine games and started four times. While not the most athletic player, the bespectacled Breidenbach gives the Huskies a nice complement piece to the rotation. He had 9 points and 4 rebounds at UCLA. He averages 17 minutes per game, playing less than half the time.

5. KC Ibekwe -- Of all the UW transfers, this 6-foot-10, 287-pound junior, Canadian native and former Oregon State player has struggled the most to adjust to the Sprinkle system. He's appeared in just three games, which includes the recent UCLA and USC outings. He's taken one shot, missed a pair of free throws and grabbed one rebound for the Huskies. Last season, he was a 22-game starter who appeared in all 32 outings for the Beavers and averaged 5.1 points and 4 rebounds per game. He drew four minutes of game time at Pauley Pavilion, three against the Trojans. The coaching staff is trying to get him more involved.

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