Husky Hoop Season Isn't Over, But Who's Coming Back for Next One?
For its Pac-12 tourney opener against Utah, the University of Washington basketball team will trot out Terrell Brown Jr., Daejon Davis, Jamal Bey, Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Nate Roberts as starters on Wednesday night.
Last weekend, all five were honored as seniors who were escorted onto the Alaska Airlines Arena court by family members, accepted framed jerseys as gifts, posed for photos with coach Mike Hopkins and basically said their goodbyes.
Now really, are all five of these guys moving on once the postseason schedule runs out, forcing Hopkins to completely revamp his starting lineup for next season?
Brown and Davis don't have a choice in the matter, having expended nearly all of their college eligibility.
Yet what about Matthews, Bey and Roberts?
They still all have pandemic freebies or redshirt seasons available to them.
Bey, who will graduate this spring with a degree in medical anthropology, offered the following, "I have no comment on that yet. I'm going to let that sit there."
Even if Hopkins promises he'll replace Brown with Bey as the leading scorer next season?
"No comment, no comment," Bey said, laughing. "That's funny."
So everyone is left to guess at how much of a rebuilding effort the Huskies will undertake for the 2022-23 season.
Here are the three main characters involved and what they might do:
Emmitt Matthews Jr.
One of the reasons the 6-foot-7 Matthews left West Virginia for the UW after three seasons, two and a half of which he served as a starter, was to receive a more prominent basketball role. The idea all along was he was coming home to play two Husky seasons. After averaging a modest 5.4, 6.3 and 7.7 points per game in the Big 12, Matthews upped his scoring to 11.7 ppg at the UW. He could be the leading point-producer after Brown graduates and elevate his NBA chances. Expect him to be back.
Nate Roberts
That the 6-foot-11 junior from Washington, D.C., is even considering passing on another season in Montlake is a head-scratcher. He just came off an Oregon series in which he scored 31 points and grabbed 32 rebounds collectively. He's started two seasons now and is just beginning to figure things out offensively, though there's a good chance his shot-making, not to mention his shot-taking creativity, will forever be a challenge for him. Even with his recent success, Roberts sure sounded like he's ready to move on when the season ends. He's not likely an NBA prospect, which might prompt him to ask why continue in the college game? Or maybe he's considering the transfer portal. Look for Roberts to leave.
Jamal Bey
Bey was fairly noncommittal following the season-closing Oregon State game about a possible return. He's already played four full seasons in Seattle, two and a half as a starter. He's appeared in 117 Husky games and started 70 of them. He averaged 9 ppg this past season, a dropoff from 10.3 the year before. His 3-point shooting fell off notably to 37.1 percent after he led the conference the year before at 50.7. He's probably not an NBA prospect. He'll graduate from the UW this spring. Maybe he'll flirt with the portal. Maybe he'll just get on with his life. Signs seem to point to him moving along, as well.
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