UW Needs New Basketball Coach, But Cupboard Isn't Bare for Talent

The Huskies have the potential to be a good team with a new leader.

In apost-Mike Hopkins world, the University of Washington basketball program — if it can keep the returning talent from abandoning Montlake — has a chance to have a lot of success right away for a new leader.

Foremost, the Huskies must have 6-foot-11, 250-pound center Franck Kepnang healthy for an entire season, something that unfortunately didn't happen for the departed Hopkins, twice robbed of an explosive, physical player.

Every college basketball team with big ambitions these days has to have a strong presence in the middle, especially on the defensive end or it's not going anywhere.

The big man from Cameroon, along with some top-level guard talent, have made the UW job a little more attractive than most people might envision, especially considering the previous five seasons of mediocrity or even disaster.

Few teams potentially can boast as much backcourt talent as the Huskies with junior-to-be Koren Johnson, who's averaged 18.7 points per game over the last month of the season while mostly coming off the bench; touted Texas redshirt freshman Wesley Yates III, who broke his foot, re-injured it and never played a minute for Hopkins; and incoming freshman Zoom Diallo, a 5-star prospect who has everyone enthused by his magical skills.

A broken foot has kept freshman Wesley Yates III from playing in any games this season / Dan Raley

If the UW intends to keep some or all of these players on the roster, athletic director Troy Dannen probably needs to strongly encourage the replacement coach to keep assistant Will Conroy on his staff. He's more valuable to the program than most people know. Conroy, the former Husky and NBA point guard, recruited nearly all of these high-end guys for Hopkins, who was fired on Friday and preferred to leave most of the player procurement up to his staffers.

A nine-year assistant coach for Lorenzo Romar and Hopkins, Conroy holds a lot of street cred with the vibrant Seattle basketball scene and beyond, and his presence is vital to retaining if not adding talent. Conroy no doubt wants to be a head coach at some point in his career, but likely has to go elsewhere to achieve that milestone because Dannen is said to prefer hiring head coaches to be head coaches.

Believe it or not, the explosive Kepnang — who's played parts of four seasons for Oregon and the Huskies — still has three full seasons of eligibility available to him because of injury do-overs and a COVID pandemic freebie, giving him seven years as a college basketball player if he chooses. 

The loss of Kepnang each of the past two Decembers was a significant blow to the Huskies, especially on the defensive end.   

Any strides the current team has made offensively with the soon to be graduated Keion Brooks, Sahvir Wheeler and Moses Wood around the perimeter were negated because opponents could come right back down the floor and get to the hoop without much trouble.

When he had two good knees, Kepnang was far less forgiving when stationed in front of the rim, blocking 32 shots in his 18 UW outings over two seasons, or nearly two swats per game.

Franck Kepnang has provided defense inside for the Huskies :: Steven Bisig/USA TODAY Sports

The ultra-quick Johnson from Seattle has started four of 30 games this season and it should have been a lot more as he's become a confident, productive player down the stretch. The 6-foot-2 guard scored 30 points against Stanford, 21 against USC and 23 against Washington State. The challenge for a new coach will be to fend off the programs that come calling for this budding star. 

Yates, a 6-foot-4 guard with unlimited potential, was described as the best player on the floor at times during preseason practices, both driving to the hoop and with a pull-up shot. Yet he broke his foot before the season began and re-injured it later when he tried to return, another blow for Hopkins and his job security. Keeping Yates in Seattle and getting him on the floor is a program must.

Diallo is a much-hyped 6-foot-4 player and a true point guard from Tacoma, Washington, who chose the Huskies over Gonzaga, Florida State, Alabama, Oregon, USC, LSU, Kansas, Arizona and others. He'll run the show if he turns up at Alaska Airlines Arena. With the coaching change, others no doubt will try to pry him loose from his UW scholarship.

Koren Johnson averaged 18 points per game while coming off the bench over the past month.  :: Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports

The aforementioned four players tentatively will return alongside 7-foot-1 senior center Braxton Meah, who has started 47 games in Kepnang's absence yet is a one-dimensional player; 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Nate Calmese, who went from Southland Freshman of the Year to mostly a spectator in Montlake; 6-foot-10 junior Wilhelm Breidenbach, who provided another body coming off the bench; and a pair of 6-foot-8 forwards who didn't play this past season in Christian King and Samuel Ariyibi.

Meah, who came up with a pair of 14-rebound games, provides 16 minutes a game but is limited on offense, offering not much more than a variety of dunk shots.

Calmese averaged 17.7 points for Lamar and was the 2023 Southland Freshman of the Year, but has appeared in just 16 UW games and had only three double-figure games.

Breidenbach has played in every game for the Huskies and started eight, supplying 15.2 minutes per outing and an outside touch at times. 

King, son of former Seattle Sonics big man Rich King, redshirted as a freshman. Ariyibi, who's from Africa, has appeared in just six games over three seasons because of a severe foot injury.

A new coach will look the Husky roster up and down and be surprised by what he sees. The biggest task for him will be to hold on to as much of the talent as possible, add a shooter or two, and win with what Hopkins leaves behind. It's sort of like what Romar generously did for Hopkins seven years ago. Pay it forward.

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