Huskies Fight a Losing Battle — RaeQuan Jumps Ship, Too
Somebody just took a wrecking ball to Alaska Airlines Arena.
OK, it just seems like it.
For sure, the roster has been shredded.
On Friday, sophomore guard RaeQuan Battle became the fifth the player to leave the University of Washington basketball program this week, entering the transfer portal, according to a school spokesperson.
Not counting the seniors presumably leaving and the incoming players not on campus, the Huskies currently have five players left standing from its 5-21 disaster of a team.
Returning starters Jamal Bey and Nate Roberts, reserve swingman Cole Bajema and 7-foot-4 sub Riley Sorn and unused true freshman Dominiq Penn.
Hey, the day is still young.
UW coach Mike Hopkins could put a starting lineup on the floor right now, but he wouldn't have any subs.
There's almost nobody left.
Such is the fallout of a distasteful season that had almost nothing good come of it.
Battle, in particular.
While considered a rising star as a true freshman, the 6-foot-5 guard with a nice-looking shot that wouldn't go in came up with a career-high 19 points against Oregon and then almost didn't play again for the next two months.
His departure seemed inevitable, if not painful.
He's the kind of player, when turned around and coached up, who shows up at Gonzaga.
Certainly Battle will have plenty of suitors and won't be without a school long.
He joins fellow guards Erik Stevenson, Nate Pryor and Marcus Tsohonis, plus big man J'Raan Brooks in the portal, all making a move this week.
So far, the Huskies have replaced them only with Arizona transfer Terrell Brooks and African Samuel Ariyibi.
When allowed back in from the pandemic, UW fans won't know this team at all since it last saw it up close in 2020.
Battle played in just 15 of the 26 games and started once. He averaged 4.6 points per game. Like many of his teammates, he shot just 25.6 percent from the floor, an anemic 20.4 from 3-point range.
His claim to fame was he was the first Tulalip tribe member to receive a college basketball scholarship , coming from Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
In recent seasons, only Wichita State has gone through a roster upheaval similar to the UW's, losing six players after the 2019-20 season, including Stevenson to the Huskies.
We would have asked Stevenson for some comparison about these college basketball overhauls except for one problem -- he's gone.
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