Inside The Huskies

Former Husky Guard Wesley Yates III Follows His Coaches to USC

The Texan will rejoin ex-UW assistants Quincy Pondexter and Will Conroy in Los Angeles
Dan Raley|
Wesley Yates III (0) has committed to USC, following Quincy Pondexter, second from left, and Will Conroy, third from right, to the Trojans.
Wesley Yates III (0) has committed to USC, following Quincy Pondexter, second from left, and Will Conroy, third from right, to the Trojans. | USC

That long line of people moving south from the University of Washington to USC just got a little longer, with former Husky basketball player Wesley Yates III committing to the Trojans on Thursday.

Yates will forever remain a sore spot for the UW because he came to the school, injured his foot and never played as a freshman last season -- and, by all accounts, he was really good.

Instead, the 6-foot-4 guard from Beaumont, Texas, will join former Husky assistant coaches Will Conroy and Quincy Pondexter in Los Angeles, where the latter two have been hired by new Trojans coach Eric Musselman. Both are former UW players, as well, who played in the NBA.

Pondexter, of course, is Yates' cousin, so the fact they're still together in a college basketball setting shouldn't surprise anyone.

Former UW athletic director Jen Cohen similarly holds the same job at USC, as do two of her one-time deputy ADs in Jay Hilbrands and Jason Cappadoro.

Once Husky coach Mike Hopkins was fired in March, Yates lobbied on social media for the school to hire Conroy as the replacement coach and presumably keep Pondexter in the fold. Danny Sprinkle, however, got the job and Yates entered the transfer portal.

Had things worked out differently for Yates, he would have played and likely played very well for the Huskies last season. Conroy remarked how, when he was healthy, the former 4-star guard was the best player in practice for the UW at times.

Yates came to the Huskies as the 37th-ranked prospect on ESPN's Top 100 after leading Beaumont United to a pair of 5A high school state championships and a state runner-up finish, with his team finishing with a 36-2 record when he was a senior.

As the son of. former Texs Southern player, Yates reportedly received offers from Gonzaga, Baylor, Memphis and Auburn before initially settling on the UW. By going to USC, Yates is assured playing against the Huskies in the coming seasons.

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

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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.

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