Huskies Get Exhibition Game Out of the Way Without Much Trouble
The University of Washington basketball team newly put together by coach Danny Sprinkle got in a good run on Tuesday night at Alaska Airlines Arena, but as always in an exhibition against a badly overmatched opponent such as Western Oregon, it was hard to tell much of anything about the possibilities for this group.
Is it a tournament team? Not automatic.
Will it hold its own in the Big Ten? Maybe at home.
Are people overly curious about these Huskies? Not yet, as indicated by the crowd of fewer than 1,000 people who had their pick of seats.
After pummeling Western Oregon 105-68, the Huskies have a week to prepare for their season opener against UC Davis next Tuesday at home before receiving their first real test at Nevada on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Sprinkle opened with a starting five of the much-advertised Great Osobor, the 6-foot-8 senior forward who arrived with the coach from Utah State for a nominal fee; 6-foot-11 senior center Franck Kepnang, coming off season-ending knee injuries each of the past two years; and three guards in 6-foot-5 Mekhi Mason, 6-foot-4 DJ Davis and 6-foot-4 Tyree Ihenacho, from Rice, Butler and North Dakota, respectively.
"The. game got out of hand, but I was proud of the way our guys played," the UW coach said. "I thought they played the right way, they played unselfishly and they shared the basketball. I don't remember too many forced shots."
He had seven players finish in double figures, his team shot 50.6 percent and committed just 9 turnovers.
While Osobor looked a little sluggish at times, Kepnang showed after two surgieres he has regained his explosiveness necessary for blocking shots around the rim and dunking. Osobor finished with 12 points and 8 reoubnds, Kepnang 12 points and 2 boards.
In warmups, Davis, advertised as the team's top shooter, put on a show by repeatedly hitting 10 in a row around the perimeter and then showed he could do with under guard, hitting 5 of 11 shots, 4 of 9 from behind the line, for a team-best 16 points to lead the Huskies.
Freshman guard Zoom Diallo, the 6-foot-4 Tacoma product, will be a fan favorite with his energetic approach to the game. He turned up all over the floor, stealing the ball, tipping in shots and going to the basket hard and getting fouled. He had 10 first-half points, including six in a row for the Huskies, and finished with 14
"I thought he was great," Sprinkle said. "I thought his energy was great. I thought he kind of changed the pace when he got in there. We got really aggressive when he got in there."
Christian King, the 6-foot-7 forward from Seattle, the son of former Sonics center Rich King and one of three returning Huskies, looks like he'll be a contributor for the new staff after redshirting and seeing no game action as a freshman for the departed Mike Hopkins' staff. A smooth player, King showed he could shoot from 3-point range and mix it up inside with a tip-in and a putback. He had a 10-point, 8-rebound outing.
Tyler Harris, the 6-foot-8 Portland transfer, added 14 points and Wilhelm Breidenbach, the 6-foot-10 holdover Husky, put up 11 points.
Sprinkle used all of his 13 scholarship players with the exception 6-foot-9 Chris Conway, an Oakland transfer, and 6-foot-3 Luis Kortright, a Rhode Island transfer, who sat on the bench but were not in uniform. Conway is out indefinitely with an unspecified injury, while Kortright hit his head in practice and was kept out in a precautionary mode.
The Huskies look to be improved over Hopkins' final delegation of players who went 17-15, but it's unclear by how much better, with stiffer competition needed.
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