Kepnang Healthy Is UW Aim As It Returns Home to Host Oregon
Franck Kepnang could make his return to the court when the Washington basketball team hosts Oregon — where he played under coach Dana Altman for two seasons through 2022 — on Thursday night to open a three-game homestand.
The 6-foot-11 senior center has missed the last three games for the Huskies (8-5, 0-2) with a knee injury he suffered in the second half at Seattle University on Dec. 17.
"I think Franck can play," UW coach Mike Hopkins said Wednesday, noting that Kepnang is fully healthy heading into the game against the Ducks.
Prior to his injury, Kepnang had solidified himself as the first option at center for the team after coming off the bench in the first three games of the season.
"The guy does everything he is supposed to do" Hopkins said. "It's going to be back to when he feels good, personally."
Fellow senior Braxton Meah has started in Kepnang's absence but with less success on both ends of the floor.
The 7-foot-1 Meah, a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection, hasn't had the same level of impact in the first 13 games of the season as he did when Hopkins previously ran a zone defense.
Even while playing in three more games than Kepnang, Meah has received 44 fewer minutes. Fouling out with 9:31 remaining to play against Utah on Sunday after picking up his fourth foul 15 seconds into the second half doesn't help his case for increased playing time.
The UW will need both Kepnang and Meah, along with junior forward Wilhelm Breidenbach, at their best against an Oregon team that comes to Alaska Airlines Arena on a three-game win streak.
Breidenbach, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Nebraska, was one of the bright spots in the Huskies' 95-90 defeat to the Utes. He finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds while playing a season-high 25 minutes, some of it at center.
After closing out the non-conference with a 14-point victory over Kent State and opening Pac-12 play with a sweep of USC and UCLA at home, the Ducks (10-3, 2-0) pose a number of threats without a key center of their own.
Senior forward N'Faly Dante is expected to be unavailable on Thursday while recovering from knee surgery and . freshman forward Mookie Cook is in line to make his season debut against UW after missing the first 13 games with an ankle injury.
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