Inside The Huskies

After Yates Signs UW Agreement, Sprinkle Offers His Reaction

Needless to say, the Husky basketball coach was very upbeat after coaxing the guard to return to Montlake.
Dan Raley|
Wesley Yates III seems to enjoy himself while scoring 30 points against Purdue.
Wesley Yates III seems to enjoy himself while scoring 30 points against Purdue. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Twelve months after packing up and leaving town, Wesley Yates III signed his new agreement with the University of Washington basketball team on Monday, officially becoming a pivotal piece in Danny Sprinkle's program-building efforts in Montlake.

Yates, of course, was a member of Mike Hopkins' final UW team as a freshman in 2023-24, but a foot injury and re-injury prevented him from playing.

After spending this past season at USC and becoming the player he was projected to be, the 6-foot-4 Yates has backtracked to the Huskies, no doubt enticed by his familiarity with the surroundings and a deal best described as "Osobor money," or compensation well into seven digits, though the latter hasn't been made public.

In his first public comments about securing this coveted player and not having to show him where the locker rooms are, Sprinkle was decidedly upbeat.

“We are ecstatic to have Wesley back in a Husky uniform,” Sprinkle said in a prepared statement. “Once he entered the portal, everyone in the country tried to get him, but his familiarity with UW and the people here gave us an advantage.

"Our staff views Wes as one of the elite shooting guards in the entire country and we feel that not only his talent, but his leadership and work ethic will be tremendous for our program."

Yates led all freshman scorers in the Big Ten with a 17-point scoring average in conference play, and 14.1 overall. He had a season-high 30 points against Purdue. In early December, he scored 19 against the Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena while making his first college start in an 86-62 blowout victory for his side.

"Looking at all the young talent in the Big Ten, with probably five or six guys about to be drafted, for him to be the league’s leading freshman scorer in conference play really says something," Sprinkle pointed out. "We’re extremely excited to add a guard like Wesley who can create his own shot and score in bunches.”

Before facing Yates for the first time this past season, Sprinkle spoke about meeting with the guard multiple times after he was hired. He shared how Yates had said he wanted to stay in Seattle. But that didn't happen.

The guard from Beaumont, Texas, followed former UW assistant coaches Quincy Pondexter and Will Conroy to USC, specifically staying connected with Pondexter, who is his cousin.

The Huskies have added four players from the transfer portal, including Yates, and are ranked No. 7 nationally by On3 and No. 8 by 247Sports for their class. The guard will set the tone in multiple ways for the Huskies.

"When I arrived on Montlake, one of the first things I noticed was his commitment, working tirelessly and diligently in the gym despite not being fully cleared by training staff," Sprinkle said. "He is an absolute gym rat!”

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

 

Published
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.

Home/Basketball