Inside The Huskies

Bringing Great Osobor to UW Was No Slam Dunk

Husky coach Danny Sprinkle says he was surprised the forward joined him in Montlake.

Dan Raley

Great Osobor (1) is defended by Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn during their NCAA Basketball Tournament game.
Great Osobor (1) is defended by Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn during their NCAA Basketball Tournament game. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA

The competition was so fierce for the services of Great Osobor, the talented power forward who played for Danny Sprinkle at Montana State and Utah State, the new Husky basketball coach wasn't at all sure Osobor was going to join him in Seattle.

On The Field of 68 podcast this week, Sprinkle shared how the recruitment for Osobor was so great he presumed the Mountain West Player of the Year was headed elsewhere for his final season of college basketball.

"To be honest, I didn't think we were going to get him," Sprinkle said. "When he called me, I was kind of shocked."

Media accounts suggested that Osobor, who averaged 17.7 points and 9 rebounds per game for Utah State, ultimately picked the UW over Louisville and Texas Tech.

"I didn't know if he wanted to try something new," Sprinkle said.

To help him make up his mind, Osobor, of course, received $2 million in name, image and likeness money to play next season for Washington. This outlay reportedly was more than any other college basketball player was given, all of which Osobor's agent shared publicly to the great consternation of those allocating the funding.

Yet the podcasters didn't ask Sprinkle about this development, with the money end of the game still not regulated or typically discussed in open forums.

Back to Osobor, Sprinkle acknowledged their prior relationship played a hand in ultimately gaining his commitment and signature on a national letter of intent.

"He's a comfort kid,' the coach said. "He knows our style and knows how we're going to coach him."

Sprinkle went on to say that Osobor is currently working on his 3-point shot, the noticeable weakness in his game, and will be a strong locker room presence for a team with 10 new players and just three holdovers.

The new Husky coach said Osobor will pair nicely with the equally physical Franck Kepnang, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound center who suffered season-ending knee injuries at the UW during each of the past two years, noting how Kepnang played just one Pac-12 Conference game in all that time.

"They would have won a lot more games with Franck on the floor," Sprinkle said of Mike Hopkins' last two teams.

One would think the potential for UW basketball success moves ever higher with a healthy Kepnang joining forces with Osobor, who has a unique skill set, according to his coach.

"He's a 6-8, 250-pound guy who can bring the ball up the floor, break presses and throw lobs," Sprinkle said. "Not many guys can do that,"

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

Published |Modified
Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

Home/Basketball