Huskies' Ibekwe Ran Into City Limits in Montlake

The big man known as KC, which stands for King of the City, saw his minutes drop significantly after switching from Oregon State to the UW.

KC Ibekwe of the Huskies beats a pair of Maryland players to this rebound. / Skylar Lin Visuals

KC Ibekwe's initials stand for "King of the City," a nickname given to him by his parents, but one that didn't hold up once in Seattle.

A 6-foot-10, 280-pound post player, Ibekwe joined Danny Sprinkle's first University of Washington basketball team this past season and it wasn't a perfect fit, even with the Huskies badly in need of big men this past season.

He played in just a dozen games at the UW -- the least amount of any of the 13 scholarship players on the roster -- and seemed to be all but forgotten when the season ended with the Huskies (13-18 overall, 4-16 conference) finishing in last place in the Big Ten.

In hindsight, Ibekwe, whose formal name is Favour, never should have left Oregon State, where he spent two seasons and played in 52 games, even starting 25 for the Beavers, before coming north.

Yet this Canadian native, who hails from the Vancouver suburbs of Coquitlam, made the move to give the Big Ten a try.

KC Ibekwe launches a foul shot for the Huskies and was 5 for 10 for the season. / Skylar Lin Visuals

He drew just 67 minutes, with a season-high 16 coming against NJIT, when he scored a season-best 9 points.

With starting center Franck Kepnang lost to an knee injury for 17 games, Ibekwe picked up some of the slack.

Yet Sprinkle was prone to use him in short stints, sort of as an enforcer, and he drew 19 fouls, or nearly one for every third minute he played.

KC Ibekwe, left, stands in a UW huddle with Christian King and Jase Butler. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Ibekwe averaged 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds an outing. He scored in only four games. He had great difficulty on the foul line, hitting just 5 of 10 attempts all the while trying to bank them in.

As the season wound down, his time dwindled to the point he appeared in just one of the Huskies' final six games.

With Sprinkle certain to replace much of the roster, and former UW reserves Jase Butler and Christian King already in the portal, Ibekwe might feel compelled to find a new city, as well.

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