How to Fix Husky Hoops? 2 New Bigs is Good Place to Start
The 5-21 nightmare is over.
It's time to figure out how to mend a University of Washington basketball team that has seriously gone off the rails, that finished as the second-worst team in school history.
Two big men who can score would go a long way to improving things.
Not one, but two, a pair who can start right away.
Their productive presence would make all those returning guards play better.
Really, the Huskies aren't that far from not being hopeless. Not conference champions, mind you, but something respectable. If they can just add another crucial piece or two.
Now many fans want to dump the entire roster. After 5-21, who's to blame them? But that's an emotional and totally irrational desire.
Players get better. Players look different with good big men.
Incoming 6-foot-10 freshman Jackson Grant likely fills one of these inside slots, as a top 35 recruit possessing wide-ranging offensive skills. Nightly double-figures should be mandatory from him. He needs to come in ready to play.
The other big?
Mike Hopkins' coaching staff likely will look long and hard through the transfer portal and the junior-college ranks for this guy.
Someone who can score a dozen points or more a game.
Can shoot a short jumper.
Dunk when necessary.
Block shots.
Plenty of able guards remain on the Husky roster, they just need to know that someone has their back down low, that points are going to come in bunches closer to the basket.
Consider a starting lineup of 6-foot-6 senior Jamal Bey and 6-3 junior Marcus Tsohonis, both 10-point scorers; 6-3 senior Erik Stevenson, a 9.3-point scorer; plus the highly regarded Grant and a 6-9 Johnny Newcomer from Transfer Portal State, who can match or exceed these smaller guys for scoring.
They won't go 5-21.
Bey should be everyone's No. 1 option for points. He's the Pac-12's leading 3-point shooter. He's athletic enough to get to the basket. He should be good for 14-15 uncomplicated points a night.
Or swap out Stevenson or Tsohonis for 6-7 junior Cole Bajema if you want to go with a bigger lineup.
Watch opposing guards try to guard a more experienced Bey and Bajema in the same rotation.
However, Bajema needs to promise to look for his shot more, to know that he can be a difference-maker if he believes it.
Tsohonis will do whatever you ask of him. Need 20 points from Marcus, no problem. Need a game-winning shot, check.
Give him a big man, and Stevenson can match all of that, too.
Hopkins can turn to the bench for rebounding and defense in spurts from 6-foot-11 junior Nate Roberts, who should be much better in a less demanding role. His steel-factory hands are never going to permit him to be much of an offensive threat. Use him as a specialist. A nice change-up rather than a starter.
After acquiring the mandatory inside help, the rejuvenation of RaeQuan Battle should be the Huskies' second offseason priority. He needs to get his game under control as a player, learn shot selection and flourish as an athletic 6-foot-5 guard. The guy has basketball skills. He needs some serious coaching.
Next put some trust in 6-4 senior point guard Nate Pryor and let him run the floor for long stretches at a time.
A wild card is 6-9 junior J'Raan Brooks, who should spend the entire offseason learning the match-up zone. Or maybe junk the zone and make Brooks and everyone learn how to play man-to-man D again.
The towering 7-foot-4 Riley Sorn should continue to build muscle and attitude, and continue to make his entertaining spot performances. Until he dedicates himself more to the physical side of things, he remains a low-minute player at best.
Dominiq Penn, a 6-2 guard from Columbus, Ohio, joined the roster at midseason and didn't play. Hopefully, he can come out and make everyone squirm to keep their jobs.
Everybody's confidence goes up when the Huskies resemble a well-rounded basketball team. Bigs and smalls.
Over the last two incomplete seasons, they've lacked one or the other.
They're not going to get another Isaiah Stewart any time soon, but somebody better than what they have could make a huge difference.
The Huskies should aim for a .500 season, for respectability, unless their new big men are even better than expected.
All players on the next UW team need to come back with the notion they have to play harder and smarter than ever before.
For good reason.
Their coaches' professional careers are at stake now.
The Huskies have lost 34 of their past 43 outings over two seasons.
Most schools already would have fired the staff.
Everybody shows improvement or Hopkins and Co. are gone.
Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
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