Inside The Huskies

Huskies Look For Bounce-Back Outing Against San Diego

The UW needs an offensive boost from the perimeter to be playing at an optimum level.
Dan Raley|
Quimari Peterson (3) and the injured Mady Traore leave the floor after the Seattle U loss.
Quimari Peterson (3) and the injured Mady Traore leave the floor after the Seattle U loss. | Dave Sizer photo

They've had injuries, granted more than their fair share. They're still getting to know each other, with just two of the 14 players on the roster returning from last season.

Yet with the talent assembled, Danny Sprinkle's University of Washington basketball team has underachieved through 11 games as it enters Monday night's next-to-last non-conference outing against San Diego.

The Huskies are 7-4 after coming off Friday night's 70-66 defeat to perpetually inspired Seattle U at Climate Pledge Arena before ESPN2 TV cameras.

They should be about two wins better than they are with the Big Ten opener coming up fast at Indiana on Jan. 4, with only a no-counter against Utah on Dec. 29 and San Diego standing in the way of that one.

While the UW should readily dispose of the Steve Lavin-coached Toreos (5-6), at Alaska Airlines Arena in a game that tips off at 7 p.m., it's time to readdress what happened in that recent encounter against the crosstown Redhawks (10-2).

Their rival from the West Coast Conference recognized what Big Ten teams are going to do ad nauseam, which is to bump and double up on sensational 6-foot-11 freshman Hannes Steinbach to neutralize him.

The Huskies generally don't shoot well from around the perimeter, to the point they're not always looking even to launch 3-pointers.

Opposing teams know this, with Seattle U setting up in a second-half zone to dare the Huskies to fire away.

Through 11 games, the UW is connecting on just 33.8 percent of its attempts from behind the line as a team. Only Indiana transfer Bryson Tucker (5-for-12), Steinbach (5-for-9) and Serbian newcomer Nikola Dzepina (1-for-2) are more proficient than 35.3 percent, which is where everyone else is or worse.

Desmond Claude gets knocked to the floor against Seattle U.
Desmond Claude gets knocked to the floor against Seattle U. | Dave Sizer photo

The other glaring drawback is the Huskies simply don't have another offensive threat inside to take the pressure off Steinbach, a team-best 17.5-point scorer.

While 6-foot-11 Franck Kepnang is clearly a rebounding and shot-blocking presence for the UW, he's not much help as a scorer. Namely, he has bad hands, which has led him to fumble numerous feeds inside to the point his teammates don't go looking for him much.

The Huskies can't wait forever for people to get healthy, but 6-foot-8 forward Jacob Ognacevic, who was the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year for Lipscomb, is due back in the middle of January. Last season, he was a 40.2 percent marksman from behind the line while averaging 20 points per outing.

Unless some of the guards somehow hone a 3-point stroke, Ognacevic might be the best option for the Huskies in opening up the floor, giving Steinbach some much needed help around the basket and turning the UW into overachievers.

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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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