UW Basketball Has One Scholarship Left to Fill

Danny Sprinkle has 12 players on his roster, including just three holdovers.

Dan Raley | May 14, 2024

Samuel Aribyibi is in the transfer portal from the UW. / UW

New University of Washington basketball coach Danny Sprinkle, after securing a flurry of transfer portal commitments topped by one from former Utah State forward Great Osobor, has a nearly full roster, with just a lone scholarship left to offer of the 13 permitted by the NCAA.

One came available when 6-foot-8 junior forward Samuel Ariyibi entered the transfer portal in April, which wasn't widely publicized. He remains on the UW campus, working out with his former teammates while waiting to see what happens.

A product of the NBA Africa Academy and originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Ariyibi seemed promising enough when he signed with departed coach Mike Hopkins' program, but he was never able to stay healthy in his three seasons in Montlake, severely injuring an ankle or foot and re-injuring it.

He played in four games as a freshman during the 2021-22 season, sat out all of the following year and made just one appearance this past season against San Diego in the Huskies' sixth game, drawing two minutes.

Ariyibi's departure left the Huskies with just three holdover players in 6-foot-11 senior center Franck Kepnang, 6-foot-10 senior forward Wilhelm Breidenbach and 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman forward Chris King.

Kepnang transferred to the UW from Oregon two years ago and suffered a pair of season-ending knee injuries, and he could have up to two seasons of eligibility remaining. Breidenbach joined the Huskies from Nebraska last season. King, the son of former Sonics center Rich King, is the only recruited player remaining from Hopkins' time at the UW.

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

Published May 14, 2024

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.