UW's Great Osobor Included on Wooden Award Watchlist

The Husky forward is one of 50 players to receive this accolade.

Great Osobor (1) and his UW teammates listen to Danny Sprinkle during a timeout. / Scott Ecklund/UW Athletics

Power forward Great Osobor has more individual honors accumulated so far than he has basketball games played at the University of Washington, with the latest his inclusion on the 50-player watchlist for the Wooden Award, which is presented to the nation's top player.

The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Osobor, who made his UW debut with 15 points and 17 rebounds in a 79-73 victory over UC Davis on Tuesday, previously was named to the Karl Malone Award watchlist, given to the nation's top power forward; was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, and was chosen as a Preseason All-American by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

The Wooden Award is named for legendary coach Johnny Wooden, who won 10 national championships, including seven in a row, for UCLA. Wooden died in 2010 at age 99.

Osobor, who is one of nine Big Ten players recognized by the Wooden committee, had been battling injury and illness that forced him to miss a week of practice, and he's just now getting into game condition.

"I'll get better as the games go on," he said after beating UC Davis.

Osobor came to the UW with coach Danny Sprinkle from Utah State, where he was Mountain West Player of the Year and led that team into the NCAA Tournament.

From the outskirts of London, this big man set career highs with his 17 rebounds and 6 steals. His 15-17-6 stat line was the most by a major college player since Blake Griffin in 2008, when he played for Oklahoma, according to UW officials.

The Huskies play next at Nevada on Saturday night, with tipoff at 7 p.m. PT.

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