Huskies Need All Hands on Deck for Basketball Stretch Run

Long-range shooting guard DJ Davis missed the Rutgers game with an illness.

DJ Davis (4), Chris Conway, white sweatshirt, and Dominigue Diomande, arm raised, haven't been available for the UW. / Skylar Lin Visuals

The University of Washington basketball team finds itself in Iowa City on Saturday, facing the Iowa Hawkeyes in a must-win game in order to reach the Big Ten Tournament, wondering who's in or out for the 1 p.m. PT tipoff.

In a 89-85 overtime loss to Rutgers on Wednesday night, senior guard DJ Davis, the Huskies' best 3-pointer shooter, missed the game with some sort of illness. They could have used his range in a tightly contested outing. It's unclear if he'll be recovered in time to play at Iowa (14-12 overall, 5-10 Big Ten).

With just five games left in the regular season, coach Danny Sprinkle needs as much firepower as he can muster. The Huskies currently (13-13, 4-11) sit in 17th place, with only the top 15 teams qualifying for the conference tournament.

Davis was a 33-game starter for Butler last season, and opened 34 outings the year before for UC Irvine, but the UW has started him just six times while having him available for 22 of its 26 games.

Considering his past track record in his previous stops, the Huskies had to be counting on using him a lot more and in much more of a prominent role, yet that's how Sprinkle's first season in Montlake has played out.

While injuries and other obstacles are part of the game for everyone, the Huskies just seem to have had more than their fair share.

The biggest loss was 6-foot-11 senior center Franck Kepnang, who missed 17 games after having yet another knee surgery and is just rounding back into form.

While he was out, Kepnang often sat on the bench or stood on the sideline next to 6-foot-9 senior forward Chris Conway, who was an Oakland transfer, 35-game starter and 10-point scorer. He was lost for the entire season with his own knee issues. It's unclear if Conway will try and play for the Huskies next season.

Then there's 6-foot-8 freshman Dominique Diomande, a French player who joined the UW 11 games ago as a late enrollee. While considered a high-end talent, Sprinkle has indicated the Huskies will redshirt him as he acclimates to a new team, country and way of playing basketball.

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