Huskies Remember Welp With An Impressive Win

People came to honor the late Christian Welp, to salute the University of Washington's all-time leading scorer, to remember someone who received nearly every accolade imaginable, with the retirement of his No. 40 jersey on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.

There were heartfelt family eulogies, floor logos saluting him, customized Welp T-shirts worn by the players and the students, and No. 40 towels draped over every seat.

The current Huskies weren't going to let Ohio State spoil the moment either, as they caught up to the Buckeyes early in the second half and won this one for Chris Welp with an overly satisfying 81-74 victory.

"When they hung his jersey, we had to make it a special night," Husky center Franck Kepnang said.

Said UW coach Danny Sprinkle, "Christian was looking down on us, smiling."

Countless Welp teammates were on hand to see it all take place as the UW (10-6 overall, 2-3 Big Ten), while missing several players, among them senior guard Desmond Claude, came together to tough one out over The Ohio State (11-5, 3-3).

Hannes Steinbach was at his best on a day to honor a fellow German. | Dave Sizer photo

Sprinkle's team pulled it off with 6-foot-11 freshman Hannes Steinbach, another immensely talented German, doing his best Welp impersonation.

Both past and present Deutschlander big men were and are known for their soft touches around the rim.

Steinbach finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds, just missing another double-double, while Zoom Diallo, who could have been Detlef Schrempf -- another German in the house with his jersey retirement coming up soon -- scored a team-high 22 points, hitting 2 of 6 3-pointers.

"I feel real comfortable with my shot," Diallo said.

The Huskies warmed up in shirts commemorating Chris Welp. | Dave Sizer photo

The teams were only two points apart when the furious first half ended, with the Huskies falling behind by nine but chipping away until they were down just 38-36 at the break. Steinbach rested with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

Ohio State, however, had the lead back up to seven with not even two minutes of the second half played. Temporary blip.

Trailing 45-38, the Huskies upped the tempo to score 14 unanswered points to go ahead by seven. Diallo hit a short jumper and a pair of driving lay-ins during this stretch. With 14:33 left to play, the home team was on top 52-45.

Ohio State, however, wasn't going to make it easy for Welp's alma mater. The Buckeyes kept the pressure and pulled within 60-59 on a lay-in by 7-foot Croatian Ivan Njegovan with 7:22 remaining, capping a 7-1 run.

On the next possession, the Huskies responded in a most unconventional way. Guard Quimari Peterson sent in a 3-pointer from the top of the key -- banking it in as an Ohio State defender flew by him.

"That was Christian upstairs banking that one in for us," Sprinkle said. "The basketball Gods reward you when you're playing the right way. Is it luck sometimes? Yeah."

The Buckeyes, led by Bruce Thornton's game-high 28 points, never got closer than five over the game's final five minutes.

Christian Welp commemorative towels were on nearly every arena seat. | Dave Sizer photo

The large crowd went away happy. As did the Welp family. No. 40 hung above everyone like it belonged. The Huskies were encouraged by it all.

"It showed we could compete with anybody," Sprinkle said.

Ohio State was just one of three Big Ten games for the UW at home over six days this week, with the Huskies hosting second-ranked Michigan (14-1, 4-1) on Wednesday night and 12th-ranked Michigan State (14-2, 4-1) on Saturday at a time to be determined.

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