Inside The Huskies

Hannes Steinbach Draws Rave Reviews Far and Wide From UW Debut

The UW big man from Germany showed himself to be an extremely polished player.
Dan Raley|
Bryson Tucker and Hannes Steinbach meet with the media after the UNLV exhibition game.
Bryson Tucker and Hannes Steinbach meet with the media after the UNLV exhibition game. | Dan Raley

It took one or two seconds for Hannes Steinbach to touch the basketball for the first time in the University of Washington's exhibition game against UNLV, with teammate Franck Kepnang directing the opening tip his way.

Twelve seconds into Sunday's dress rehearsal, the gifted 6-foot-11 big man from Germany had the ball in his hands once more when he took a lob pass from fellow freshman JJ Mandaquit and dropped in the game's first points in the Huskies' 77-62 victory.

This kid from halfway around the world didn't mess around at all in showing off his considerable basketball skills to a fairly sizable gathering that came out for a non-counting game at Alaska Airlines Arena.

Steinbach immediately showed himself to be a high-end talent with a game-high 24 points and 16 rebounds, plus two steals, a blocked shot and an assist.

So fundamentally sound and team-oriented, about the only trouble the big man from Wurzburg encountered on this day was walking against the gusting wind outside of Husky Stadium, headed to a parked vehicle car with two others, presumably family members.

"I think I was a bit nervous and excited, of course," Steinbach said in a calm, eloquent manner while meeting with a handful of media members.

Excitement was the key word describing Husky basketball after the wraps came off this newcomer, Mandaquit and the rest of a rebuilt roster. The UW led by as many as 18 and never trailed to the Runnin' Rebels.

Mandaquit doled out a game-high 12 assists. The two freshmen picked up the slack with six older teammates injured and watching.

"It's what I expected from both of them," Husky coach Danny Sprinkle said. "These are high-level kids. I don't care if they're freshmen. They're used to playing with good players. Their skill level and IQ is so high."

National basketball analysts who saw video clips on social media of the exhibition or the live-stream over the BIG-plus network, which was the only coverage of the exhibition game, were duly impressed with the young big man in particular.

One called him an NBA lottery pick. Another suggested Steinbach enjoy his only year as a college player. Yet another implored people to buy stock in this teenager.

Steinbach connected on 11 of 16 shots, with four of his field goals coming on rebound put-backs. While fully capable, he didn't take any outside shot attempts. He just took what came to him, which included a couple of dunks, a number of inside bank shots and the occasional drive to the basket.

"I was real excited to play with these guys," he said of his Husky teammates. "We had so many practices, going against each other, and now playing together. I was really excited for that. Playing in my first American game was pretty fun."

Steinbach and Mandaquit, while teaming with a host of veterans, should be tough to beat after a totally different group of Huskies finished 13-18 and in last place in Sprinkle's first season as coach.

The big man and the passer definitely fit well together and provide a strong foundation for UW basketball.

"It's amazing playing with him," Steinbach said of his point guard. "He plays like he's played college for some years. He like calms us all down. It's very good to play with him. It just makes my job so much easier."

Steinbach, however, is that rare big man who should come ready to play at all times, not really needing any freshman initiation. If there's a quibble, he was just 2 for 5 on free throws, something that will get plenty of attention considering the many chances he'll have at the line.

Nearly 24 hours after the exhibition, the German player practically was alone in Alaska Airlines Arena, shooting free throw after free throw, under the watchful gaze of UW assistant coach Andy Hill.

"Hannes just does what he does," Sprinkle said. "He's unassuming, but he's a talent. If he gets it around the rim, he scores it. He really knows how to rebound. Obviously, he's going to get fouled a lot this year and that's one thing we've got to continue to work on -- is his free-throw shooting.

"Because if he can get that up around 80 percent, he'll be really hard to deal with."

Steinbach, with Mandaquit and the other Huskies by his side, already appears to be a major handful.

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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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