Desmond Claude's Next Move: 'Trying To Put UW Back On Map'

Desmond Claude beat the University of Washington basketball team twice last season while playing for USC, and he lost to the Keion Brooks-led Huskies the year before while with Xavier in a tournament setting.

And now he's one of those guys firmly entrenched in Montlake, an example of how truly transient college basketball has become with all of this crossover.

"At the end of the day, I like it here so far," Claude said following Monday's first summer practice with Danny Sprinkle's coaching staff fully involved. "We have a great team. A few years ago is different than what it is now. We're just trying to put U-Dub back on the map."

Claude will attempt to do this as one of a dozen new players brought in through the transfer portal or through the high school ranks.

He arrives with a 15.8-point scoring average, which left him tied for 12th in the Big Ten in scoring, and All-Big Ten honorable-mention accolades he'll try to build on in Montlake.

In watching the Huskies run hard up and down the floor, with the coaches barking at them in a positive manner, the 6-foot-6 Claude was one of the older guys, one of the more accomplished players, someone expecting to take on a leadership role.

He and fellow guard Wesley Yates did the same thing with their basketball careers by moving from the Trojans to the UW, with Yates going first, and it left an impression on Claude.

"It made it better seeing he trusted coach Sprinkle," Claude said of his continuous college teammate, who began his career with the Huskies and has returned.

Claude joined the Huskies after considering several options and keeping everyone waiting, including Kentucky, for long periods to hear back from him, to the point Sprinkle felt the UW no longer was in the running for this guy.

Yet it was just the way the Connecticut native navigated through the process, doing so in a painstaking but thought-out manner.

"I just wanted to make the best decision for me -- no regrets," he said.

Sprinkle even told how he tried to call Claude's dad, thinking the Huskies were out of it, to wish the family luck going forward.

"I'm glad the call didn't get through," the UW coach said.

Claude, while standing in an Alaska Airlines Arena hallway on Monday and speaking to media members, already seemed popular enough with his new teammates and coaches who tried hard to get his attention as he answered a string of questions.

With players like Claude, the whole mood around Husky basketball has shifted to one of great expectations following a last-place finish last winter that brough a certain amount of despair.

Just two of the 14 scholarship players remain from that 13-18 last-place team, which is a good thing.

"I think we're going to be really good this year," Claude said.

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