Sprinkle Ready to Change Things Up for More Husky Basketball Production

Two of his veteran transfer guards have really struggled so far in Montlake.

Danny Sprinkle might make some UW lineup changes after 4 games. / Dan Raley

Four games into the Danny Sprinkle era, his University of Washington basketball team has three wins, but no one is real happy about it.

Against a relatively lightweight string of opponents, the Huskies have fallen behind early, struggled to put anyone away, Alaska Airlines Arena largely has been empty, and the new coach is getting impatient.

On Tuesday, Sprinkle suggested some new faces in the lineup and a redistribution of minutes might be in order with a Friday match-up against winless Alcorn State next up.

"At the end of the day, it's production," Sprinkle said. "You have to produce every chance on the court or I can't play you. I've got to look for other guys to fill those roles with energy and toughness. When you're on the court, you have to produce. I expect to change some things."

The UW leader so far has started 6-foot-8 senior power forward Great Osobor (14.8 points and 13 rebounds per game), 6-foot-4 senior guard Tyree Ihenacho (8.3 ppg and 3 apg) and 6-foot-5 junior guard Mekhi Mason (6.3 ppg and 2 apg) in every outing so far, with 6-foot-1 senior guard DJ Davis (7.7 ppg and 2 rpg) opening all three games for which he's been available.

In the fifth spot, 6-foot-11 senior center Franck Kepnang played and started two games before experiencing knee discomfort and was shut down for the past two outings. Wilhelm Breidenbach, the 6-foot-10 senior, has started in his place.

The Huskies' most troublesome issue is this: Mason and Davis, transfers from Rice and Butler, respectively, have struggled mightily since the season began. Both were double-figure scorers last year. They haven't been accurate at all in their new surroundings.

Shooting just 32 percent this season, Mason started but played just five minutes in the Huskies' most recent outing, a 74-69 win over UMass Lowell. Rhode Island transfer Luis Kortright pulled 27 minutes and freshman Zoom Diallo had 20 while picking up the slack.

Davis, the Huskies' one legitimate long-range shooter, has had a tough transition to Montlake, hitting just 25.9 percent from the floor and 27.8 from behind the 3-point line.

Rather than go with a three-guard lineup, Sprinkle has the ability to go with a more tradition three players up front. Tyler Harris, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward and a Portland transfer, has played solid in coming off the bench, averaging 11 points and 5.8 rebounds. He started in place of the absent Davis at Nevada.

"Minutes are going to start being distributed by production," Sprinkle said. "We've got to keep a revolving door."

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