Out of This Mason Jar Comes a Well-Preserved Guard

The Rice transfer seems to have established himself with the Huskies.

UW guard Mekhi Mason meets with media members after practice. / Dan Raley

In recent seasons, University of Washington basketball teams were built around the occasional player with star power in Keion Brooks and Isaiah Stewart, but the roster typically would have a fair amount of guys who couldn't play plus an unnecessary abundance of walk-ons.

One glimpse of the current Huskies assembled by new coach Danny Sprinkle would seem to indicate they're a much more serious and proven band of hardwood talent.

These newcomers bring all sorts of credentials as multi-season starters, all-conference players, conference players of the week and even a league player of the year.

With so many veteran players, choosing a UW starting five won't always be automatic, but it's probably a good bet the lineup will include 6-foot-8 senior power forward Great Osobor, the Utah State transfer who received a $2 million NIL package to finish up in Montlake, and 6-foot-5 junior guard Mekhi Mason, a Rice transfer who's started every game he's been a part of at the college level, 67 and counting.

Sprinkle took both of them to Big Ten Media Day in Indianapolis to represent the Huskies, which was a good indication they'll each have a significant role with this team.

"Fans are going to see a high-intensity, hard-playing team, very unselfish -- I feel like one of the great things about our team is we're really unselfish," Mason said this week, meeting with the local press for the first time. "It'll be a gritty, hard-working team that will do anything to win, honestly."

In Mason, the Huskies picked up a long, savvy multi-purpose guard from Gilbert, Arizona, who wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school, receiving offers only from Rice, Grand Canyon and North Carolina A&T.

He got the cold shoulder from Mike Hopkins' Huskies and the rest of what was then the old Pac-12 and had to head for the Houston area to launch his college career.

"I'm surprised I didn't really get recruited out of there because I'm from the West Coast." Mason said. "i've always dreamed of being at a Pac-12 school. I know we're Big Ten now."

He comes off a sophomore season for the Owls in which he averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per outing, scoring in double figures 23 times with a high game of 30.

Rice Owls guard Mekhi Mason (2), now at the UW, drives to the basket around Wichita State Shockers forward Isaac Abidde (5). / William Purnell-Imagn Images

For an initial UW backcourt, Mason likely will start next to Butler transfer and California native DJ Davis, considered the top shooter for this team after averaging 13.5 points, with a career-best 28 against Villanova last season, 26 in the second half, and leading the nation in free-throw shooting at 95 percent.

"The best shooter, I'm not going to lie, is DJ Davis," Mason confirmed.

Yet these new Husky guards understand the strength of this team will be utilizing the big guys inside, with Osobor and his solid 250-pound frame teaming with 6-foot-11, 253-pound holdover center Franck Kepnang and 6-foot-10, 287-pound Oregon State transfer KC Ibekwe.

Mason, whose first name is pronounced "Ma-Ky," has been adjusting accordingly and likes where his game is headed and how his team is unfolding at the UW.

"That's the hardest thing is playing with the new guys and learning their style of play," Mason said. "But iI feel like I've learned how to play with like the bigs, knowing how to throw it into the post. if they're open, hit them early roll. I feel like my IQ has grown tremendously."

Smart guy.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington