Offseason: Washington Huskies Basketball Roster Watch & Recruiting Update

Now that Washington Huskies head basketball coach Danny Sprinkle has his coaching staff finalized, let’s take a look at the current state of the team’s roster.

Of its 13 scholarship spots, nine of those spots are presumably filled. That group of nine includes forwards Wilhelm Briedenach and Christian King who still appear on the team’s official roster online. Neither of them has made public announcements that they are indeed coming back, but I did not see news that either had entered their names in the transfer portal.

Walk-on players are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Guards:

• G - DJ Davis (Gr.), 6-1; graduate transfer from Butler; 13.5ppg, 3.2rpg

• G - Mekhi Mason (Jr.), 6-5; transfer from Rice; 14ppg; 2.8apg

• G - Sam Slutske (Jr.)*, 6-2; played in 4 games last season.

• G - Zoom Diallo (Fr.), 6-4

• G- Jase Butler (Fr.), 6-4

Forwards:

• F- Franck Kepnang (Gr.), 6-11; 8.3ppg, 5.9rpg

• F- Chris Conway (Gr.) 6-9; graduate transfer from Oakland; 10ppg, 4.1rpg, 1.3apg

• F- Wilhelm Breidenbach (Sr.), 6-10; 5.3ppg, 3.4rpg

• F - KC Ibekwe (Jr.), 6-10; transfer from Oregon St.; 5.1ppg, 4rpg, 1.2bpg

• F - Christian King (So.), 6-8; redshirted last season

• F - Will Landram (So.)*, 6-5; played in five games last season

Players from last season’s roster that are in the transfer portal, but may be considering UW:

• G- Nate Calmese (Jr.), 6-2; 4.1ppg

• G - Wesley Yates III (So.), 6-4; did not play last season due to injury

• F- Samuel Ariyibi (Jr.), 6-8; played in two games last season

Analysis

The likely starting five will consist of: Davis and Mason in the backcourt, with Kepnang and Conway in the frontcourt. The fifth starting spot will likely go to a wing scorer, but it is unclear who will fill that role on this current roster.

The strength of this team right now is in its guard depth. Davis and Mason were huge transfer portal pickups. Both of them have significant game experience and will likely form the starting backcourt of Sprinkle’s team.

At forward, keeping Kepnang was another huge (no pun intended) commitment for Sprinkle. Kepnang showed flashes of defensive dominance before suffering a knee injury last season.

With four open scholarships, I expect to see more portal additions, maybe more so at the forward position. The trio of Kepnang, Ibekwe, and Breidenbach function more as centers, rather than power/point forwards and wings. Davis and Mason will provide point production in the backcourt, but an established wing scorer would round out the roster nicely.

Transfer Targets

Sprinkle and his staff have been connected to a few names in the transfer portal.

Great Osobor (Utah St.) is a 6-8 forward with one year of remaining eligibility. He played for Sprinkle at Utah St., averaging 17.7 ppg, 9rpb, and 2.8 apg. I’d have to imagine he is the top target for Sprinkle, and I have to believe that UW has a good shot at nabbing him. Osobor visited Louisville and has visits with Texas Tech and UW lined up.

Berke Buyuktuncel (UCLA) is a 6-9 forward with three years of remaining eligibility. He has interest from schools across the country.

Glenn Taylor (St. John’s) is receiving interest from UW, he has a year of remaining eligibility. He averaged 4.4 ppg and 2.2rpg at St. John’s.

2024 Targets

Casmir Chavis, a three-star combo guard was committed to the Huskies under Mike Hopkins, but then reopened his commitment after Hopkins was fired. UW remains in the mix for Chavis, along with Oregon State, Mississippi State, Memphis, and Clemson.