Husky Exodus Continues as Marcus Tsohonis Enters Transfer Portal
The season has been over for two weeks, but the losses keep coming for the beleaguered University of Washington basketball program.
On Wednesday, sophomore guard Marcus Tsohonis became the latest player to leave the Huskies, entering the transfer portal a day after Erik Stevenson put his name in it.
So much for the UW players sticking together through a horrendous 5-21 season, as Husky coach Mike Hopkins had insisted.
So much for the team slogan "Tougher Together."
Hopkins has now lost his second- and fourth-leading scorers within 24 hours, with possibly more defections on the way.
The second-worst season in Husky history, combined with easier player movement permitted by the portal during the pandemic is now decimating the program and possibly setting it back for multiple seasons.
Verbalcommits.com first reported Tsohonis' action.
The 6-foot-3 Tsohonis from Portland, Oregon, was one of the rare bright spots during the terrible season, scoring 20 points or more five times, including a season-high and career-best 29 points against Washington State. He beat the Cougars with a last-second shot that night.
Tsohonis, with his noticeably high-flying fashionable hair, started just 4 of 23 games, but he averaged 10.4 points per game, second only to senior guard Quade Green's 15.4. Green is not expected to return, though he has the option.
The day before, the 6-foot-3 Stevenson said farewell after averaging 9.3 ppg and starting 23 of 26 games. He joined the program just this season from Wichita State.
While one of the more productive players on the roster this season, Tsohonis was misused at times, sitting out three entire games. For instance, the playmaker didn't even get off the bench for a game against Arizona on Dec. 31, but came back in the next outing and started and scored 24 points against Stanford in the next outing.
Yet the guard never showed any outward discontent, showing up to play whenever called upon and dodging any questions about his erratic playing time handed out by the coaching staff.
The UW basketball team, an 11th-place finisher this past season after dropping to the cellar last year, is a total mess.
While the roster was thin already, the Huskies have lost two of its better returning players, making a rebuild all that more ominous.
The UW has just nine players on scholarship right now, including its lone freshman for next season, 6-10 Jackson Grant from Olympia, Washington. Four paid roster slots are open.
The Huskies are also down an assistant coach with Cameron Dollar leaving last week.
With so much turmoil, one has to wonder if Hopkins, a fourth-year coach who supposedly has a vote of confidence from athletic director Jennifer Cohen, might resign or get forced out after all.
It seems anything is possible.
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