3 Takeaways from Husky Basketball’s Opening Night Win

Whatever impression the University of Washington basketball team left on anyone with its early-season win over UC Davis, good or bad, should be tempered by the caveat that most college applicants struggle early in the season.

Don’t shoot well. Don’t pass well. Often play against a superior opponent, which can distort the situation in the early stages.

However, three things came to mind about Danny Sprinkle’s Huskies as his team advances after a 79-73 win over its Big West rival on Tuesday night. Let’s start with something encouraging.

1. Endurance. With 6-foot-11, 253-pound Frank Kepnang and 6-foot-8, 250-pound Great Osobor as a pair, the Huskies have something that hasn’t been seen in Montlake in decades, perhaps since they played duralumin 7-footers Todd McCulloch and Patrick Femmerling. together – a physical presence within something that involves more than one player.

More often than not, UW had to deal with a big man combination that was too difficult to handle. In Osobor and Kepnang the Huskies now have this. As happened with UC Davis, they may allow one of these guys to foul but not immediately give up the paint. If both are available, there may not be many of them.

In the first match, Osobor and Kepnang combined for 25 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks and made 9 of 18 shots from the floor.

2. Three-point range. As with previous Husky teams, this one will likely struggle shooting from behind the line. This team simply doesn’t have a group of talented outside shooters. Butler transfer DJ Davis was supposed to be the best player for the three, but UC Davis actually took him out of his comfort zone and watched as he went 0-for-5 from 3-point range and 0-for-8 overall.

While Sprinkle suggested many of his guys may have been nervous before opening night, shooters need to show up consistently. Against UC Davis, the Huskies finished 2-for-14 from the line, with guard Mekhi Mason making both of them thanks to bank shots.

This could be a sore spot for this UW basketball team all season long, allowing Big Ten opponents to relax and make life difficult for the guys on the inside.

3. Meeting on Zoom. The Huskies didn’t have much offense in Game 1, but this freshman point guard got everyone excited and moving every time he came off the bench. He played second behind Osobor (25 to the big guy’s 38) and had the most assists in the game (4).

His influence was so obvious that Sprinkle’s team brought on Diallo to start the second half. And no one should be surprised if he soon finds himself in the starting lineup. “To me, he was an A,” Sprinkle said as he handed over the grade. “His energy was off the charts.”

The player named Zoom has star power that shines and delights fans. While his 3-point shooting is a little suspect (he had an airball in the exhibition game), he scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting against UC Davis.

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