Sprinkle Brings Out a Large Gathering to His UW Coaching Unveiling

People enthusiastically greeted the new Husky basketball leader.

Danny Sprinkle holds a jersey signifying him as the 20th UW basketball coach. / Dan Raley

As he spoke to a room full of people who came to welcome him as the new University of Washington basketball coach, Danny Sprinkle described living in a not so glamorous one-room apartment in California just five years ago.

He gestured to his family members seated in the front row, including his father, Bill, once a UW defensive back well known for his toughness, who gave his son an undying love for Husky football and the school.

On Wednesday, Sprinkle turned emotional every step of the way as he explained himself and his journey. Yet his words might have been the most heartfelt when he pointed out that RaeQuan Battle and his mother were mixed in among the media, the fans and current and former Husky basketball players crowded together to see him.

Battle is one of the reasons a coaching change was badly needed, and, with a touch of irony, why this job shifted hands from Mike Hopkins to Sprinkle.

The 6-foot-5 Battle, a shooting guard from Tulalip, Washington, spent two frustrating seasons at the UW, briefly given an opportunity to play before being shunted aside. This gangly kid would transfer to Montana State, where Sprinkle demanded much more from him and developed Battle into a first-team All-Big Sky player, a conference tourney MVP and twice a 17-point scorer for the Bobcats before he moved to West Virginia, where he will graduate.

"I love him like a son," Sprinkle said, speaking directly to Battle. "I'm not here without you. You know that."

Battle, like others after him, greatly flourished elsewhere, which was an indictment of the Hopkins era, where players needed a stronger hand directing them.

The gifted guard described getting tossed out of Montana State practice when he and Sprinkle didn't see eye to eye and of having to wear kneepads when the coach warned everyone play was going to be extra aggressive that day.

"That person changed my life," Battle said. "Coming from Washington to Montana State, it was a rough transition for me. It was my first time as a local guy playing away from home. It was different for me. I respect that man. I love him to death."

Greeted enthusiastically, Sprinkle comes to the UW after winning 28, 25 and 27 games in each of his past three seasons at Utah State and Montana State, and guiding those teams into the NCAA Tournament all three times.

He's had a meteoric rise as a five-year college head coach, this coming after spending a dozen seasons as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton. He told how he couldn't get an interview for a high-major assistant's job or consideration to become a head coach at the Division II and junior-college levels back then.

"Five years ago today, I was living in a one-bedroom apartment in Brea, California," Sprinkle said. " Like nobody understands that. They think I've kind of been handed stuff. I haven't been handed nothing. I'm proud of that. I don't want to be handed anything. It's how i grew up. It's what my family is built with -- it's blue collar and it's not going to change."

Taken to the arena, Sprinkle moved from interviewer to interviewer and posed for photos, offering more chapters to his story. He mentioned he would bring Andy Hill, one of his Utah State and Montana State assistant coaches, with him to Montlake, providing Hill didn't replace him in Logan, Utah.

He spoke about putting a program together built on toughness because the Huskies are entering the Big Ten next season. He acknowledged how he needed to sign the better local players, with too many of them leaving Seattle.

Before exiting the Alaska Airlines Arena floor, Sprinkle grabbed a basketball and, once a noted 3-point shooter for Montana State, he tossed up a shot that went in. He's off to a good start.