Huskies Test Seattle U With Near Full Complement of Players

The University of Washington basketball team takes a road trip on Friday night that every college entry should envy.

The Huskies get on a bus and go 4.8 miles across town, from Alaska Airlines Arena to Climate Pledge Arena, to face Seattle University (9-2) downtown. Tipoff is 8:30 p.m. to accommodate an ESPN2 telecast.

After everything got hard for Danny Sprinkle's guys, with them losing multiple players and consecutive games all at once, the season is beginning to smooth out and the lineup has been greatly replenished.

First the all-important Hannes Steinbach came back from an ankle sprain, followed by Nikola Dzepina's arrival from Serbia and finally Bryson Tucker returned to the floor after sitting out six games with his own ankle issues.

That's forward after forward after forward.

It was a welcome sight after this UW team momentarily turned into Franck Kepnang and His Court, with the 6-foot-11 big often sharing the floor with four guards at a time. This made the Huskies a little predictable in terms of match-ups.

Tucker, in particular, was a welcome sight because the 6-foot-7 Indiana transfer gave his team a swingman to facilitate the inside guys and the backcourt.

In 12 minutes against Southern Utah, the smooth-shooting sophomore supplied a dozen points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, went 4-for-4 from the foul line and grabbed 4 rebounds. If he had been pulling slot machine levers, he would heard ringing sounds and catching coins spitting out.

"It was great because we needed that 6-6, 6-7 wing, that athlete on the wing," Sprinkle said. "You see how he attacks the offensive and defensive glass. That's where he can really make some hay because he's so talented offensively."

Jacob Ognacevic and Mady Traore are among the injured for the UW basketball team, with Ognacevic expected back soon. | Dave Sizer photo

Facing Seattle U, a team that upset them a year ago 79-70, the Huskies come in much more fortified in talent with six players averaging in double figures, including Tucker, who scores 10.3 per game.

Again, it's how he does it that matters most, either by firing away from mid range or driving from the wing. He spreads out the defense.

"When he's aggressive going to rebound the basketball, it makes us a different team," Sprinkle said. "It makes us a different team with his length and athleticism. Defensively, he can switch. We can do a lot more things when he's on the floor."

With just three non-conference games remaining before they turn to Big Ten play, the Huskies continue to fortify the talent pool.

Bryson Tucker and Hannes Steinbach talk about beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff. | Dan Raley

They have another high-value wing in 6-foot-8 Jacob Ognacevic getting ever closer to playing for the Huskies for the first time. He's been in recovery from a preseason foot injury that put him on crutches and into a boot.

He's a Lipscomb transfer who was a 20.3-point scorer last season and the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year. Sprinkle had called him one of the Huskies' best outside shooters before he went down.

"He's coming, hopefully," the UW coach said. "I think he's on track for the first two weeks of January, somewhere in that time frame."

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