Transfer Portal Didn't Fix Everything for Former UW Hoopsters

Just one in six of the ex-Huskies is starting for his new team.

Dan Raley | Feb 11, 2022

Husky basketball has recovered to the point it may soon triple last season's meager win total. Terrell Brown has become a scoring sensation. Arizona State just got pounded by 23 points at Alaska Airlines Arena.

While the University of Washington men's program directed by Mike Hopkins continues to make inroads under mostly new faces this season, it's always interesting to see what happened to the old ones who left.

Six Huskies couldn't get out of Seattle fast enough once last year's 5-21 disaster came to an end and entered the transfer portal, seeking a fresh college basketball start. No one has hit the motherlode.

Four players joined highly successful teams. Only one has remained a starter. Yet another found similar disappointment by suffering a season-ending knee injury. Some are much worse off than they were as Huskies. One barely plays at all.

Hameir Wright

The 6-foot-9 senior forward now plays for 17-4 North Texas, a Conference USA division leader. Or, to be more accurate, the New York native doesn't play much at all for his new team. Wright started 77 of 118 games for the UW in four seasons, but he's appeared in just 8 contests for the Mean Green, all has a sub. Whereas last year he haphazardly tossed up 100 3-pointers and hit just 29 percent for the Huskies, Wright has launched 3 and hit 1.

J'Raan Brooks

The Seattle native resurfaced with UC San Diego, earned a starting job, played 17 minutes of an exhibition game and suffered a season-ending ACL tear. After a season at USC and two years with the UW program, the 6-foot-9 junior forward appeared to have found a good team match for himself. His Tritons are 10-12 without him.

Erik Stevenson

The 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard from Lacey, Washington, is the lone starter of the six Husky defectors, and leads a 13-10 South Carolina team in scoring with an 11.2 average. He's been almost perfect on foul shooting, hitting 43 of 44, but he still hits a low percentage from the floor, just 35.1 percent overall and 30.9 from 3-point range. He's had a season-high 25 points against Auburn and Wofford, and 13 double-figure outings. He's on his third team after stops at Wichita State and Washington.

Marcus Tsohonis

A 6-foot-3 junior guard from Portland, Tsohonis resurfaced with a 15-7 Virginia Commonwealth team. He's started just 3 of 21 outings and averages 5.9 points per game. He holds a similar role to the one he played for the Huskies, occasionally starting and providing a scoring boost at times. He had a season-high 17 points against La Salle and has reached double figures five times.

RaeQuan Battle

The 6-foot-4 junior guard from Tulalip, Washington, seems to have found an ideal situation for him as a reserve guard for an 18-5 Montana State team. He's come off the bench in all 23 games and averages 7.1 points per game. He's regained his shooting stroke, hitting 46.2 percent of his shots, though a less blistering 32.4 percent from 3-point range. His season high is 16 points against North Dakota State.

Nate Pryor

A 6-foot-3 point guard from Seattle, he's had to deal with assorted injuries while playing for the 20-3 New Mexico State Aggies. He's appeared in 14 games, starting six of them. Pryor didn't play in Thursday night's win over Dixie State. He averages 3.1 points per game, with a season high of 9 against Loyola Marymount. His crowning moment has been his game-winning shot, an improvisational flip over his head that went in, to beat New Mexico 78-76 at the buzzer in overtime before 13,019 fans in the Pit in Albuquerque.

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Published Feb 11, 2022

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.