Inside The Huskies

Huskies Could Be Making Strong Push for Former Cal Forward

BJ Omot previously played with UW point guard Tyree Ihenacho at North Dakota.

Dan Raley

BJ Omot fires up a jump shot for North Dakota.
BJ Omot fires up a jump shot for North Dakota. / North Dakota

Bajedo "BJ" Omot entered the transfer portal after appearing in just four games and starting twice for the University of California basketball team before he was lost to a season-ending, upper-body injury, hardly giving him a chance to show what he can do.

However, Danny Sprinkle's Washington staff, reported to be among the many suitors for the sleek 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward, should have plenty of intel on someone who notably has been a productive player when healthy.

That's because Omot previously teamed at North Dakota during the 2023-24 campaign with point guard Tyree Ihenacho, who spent this past season as a part-time starter for Sprinkle and the Huskies.

Omot and Ihenacho finished as the top two scorers for their 18-14 Summit League team, averaging 16.7 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.

A polished player who is no secret to anyone, Omot reportedly also has been in contact with DePaul, Iowa, Loyola Marymount, Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Wichita State, with Sprinkle's team thought to be the early leader for his services.

In his abbreviated stint with a 14-19 Cal team, Omot averaged 10.8 points and 3 rebounds while shooting 44.4 percent. He started against USC and Cal Poly. Coming off the bench, he provided 15 points and 6 rebounds against Vanderbilt in his best performance.

For North Dakota, he started all 54 games he appeared in over two seasons. He's a native of Mankato, Minnesota, which is 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

Even with all of his glowing credentials, the question surrounding someone such as Omot is whether he can be a consistent player against higher-level Big Ten competition.

At North Dakota, he seemed to respond well enough by providing a 24-point, 6-rebound game on 10-for-21 shooting against Iowa and he came up with a 21-point, 8-rebound outing against Nebraska.

Omot could have as many as two seasons of college basketball eligibility remaining.

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

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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.

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