Inside The Huskies

Huskies Firmly in the Mix in Pursuit of Second-Generation Ariza

Like his dad Trevor, Tajh is a 6-foot-8 forward with a wide array of basketball talents.

Dan Raley

Trevor and Tajh Ariza are two generations of basketball greatness.
Trevor and Tajh Ariza are two generations of basketball greatness. / Ariza

The one and only time an Ariza came through Alaska Airlines Arena was in 2004 when a 6-foot-8 Trevor was a freshman forward for UCLA and put up 21 points while committing a numbing 9 turnovers in an 86-84 overtime victory over a star-studded University of Washington basketball team.

This one-and-done Ariza and his Bruins would be lucky to get out of town unscathed that January night after facing a lineup that featured junior guard Will Conroy, who went for a game-high 29 points, backed by sophomores Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy, who added 18 and 16, points, respectively.

Twenty-one years later, the UW is trying hard to persuade another Ariza, Tajh -- who turns 17 next month, likewise stands 6-foot-8 and comes as highly advertised as his father did -- to spend however long he stays in the college game in Montlake.

This past week, the second-generation Ariza, who plays for Westchester High School in the heart of Los Angeles, same as his dad did two decades ago, told the On3 recruiting site that Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, USC and the Huskies had come in to visit him this season.

While the Huskies probably face long odds in landing young Ariza -- who's rated as the No. 8 player for the Class of 2026 by On3 -- the fact that Danny Sprinkle and his staff are competing with the big-boy programs for this kid says a lot in how this UW coach envisions his program.

After all, Sprinkle's 2025 collection of talent has earned a No. 13 ranking and includes a pair of top 50 players in 6-foot-10 Niko Bundalo and point guard JJ Mandaquit, with the brazen idea that Alaska Airlines Arena could become a destination program after largely being dormant since the days of Isaiah Thomas and before that Conroy, Roy and Robinson.

Maybe Ariza will want to play alongside the touted Bundalo and Mandaquit.

For sure, the Huskies have been working this kid hard. Last June, Arizona told the recruiting site Recruits Zone how Kentucky, USC and Washington were the first three schools initially to contact him after his sophomore season ended and the recruiting window opened.

Whoever gets him likely won't have this gifted player for long. At least that's Ariza's plan as he envisions his basketball career unfolding.

"I’m also looking for coaches that are going to hold me accountable and develop me, because I’m not trying to stay in college for more than a year," Ariza told On3. "I'm trying to get in and get out. So I want to play for someone who has the same vision as me."

Trevor Ariza did the same, sticking around UCLA just long enough to average 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for an 11-17 Bruins team that had its season abruptly end in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament in Los Angeles with a 91-83 loss -- to the Huskies.

in his final college game, Ariza had a dozen points against a UW team that was headed to the NCAA Tournament.

The elder Ariza ended up playing 18 seasons in the NBA for 10 different teams through 2022, averaging 10.4 points an outing while appearing in 1,118 games.

And, along the way, he had a son who might be as good, or even better, than him.

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

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Dan Raley
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.

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