Let The Hannes Steinbach Era Begin At UW

On Saturday, the calendar flipped over to November. Early Sunday, clocks were reset to standard time. On Monday night, a new University of Washington basketball season will unfold to great anticipation at Alaska Airlines Arena.

So many things dealing with the passage of time, all happening at once.

Oh, and there's yet one more: once the ball is tossed up in Montlake, the Hannes Steinbach era officially commences.

It's unclear how long this potentially promising time frame will play out, but count on at least five months.

When asked, Steinbach acknowledged his stay in Seattle could last anywhere from one to four seasons.

Word to the wise, go with the lower estimate.

"He's so far ahead for being a freshman, just IQ wise," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said. "The game does look easy for him. But he makes it look easy because he's really talented. He can drive the ball and can pass it. He can see the floor like a point guard."

Hannes Steinbach shows his pure shooting form in practice. | UW

Now a call for a Steinbach era is not to slight any of his extremely capable UW teammates, players such as fellow freshman in point guard JJ Mandaquit or highly capable backcourt transfers in Wesley Yates III, Desmond Claude and Quimari Peterson.

Yet Steinbach is the one the experts are talking about when they look over this team.

They frequently label the 6-foot-11, 248-pound freshman from Wurzburg, Germany, as a potential NBA lottery pick. One-and-done. Going places. High places.

"I don't try to pay too much attention to it because it adds like what I would say pressure," Steinbach said. "I'm just trying to play my game, win games for U-Dub and have fun with my teammates. Then we'll see how it goes."

Hannes Steinbach makes a move to the hoop during the U19 World Cup. | FIBA

This European wunderkind is new-age yet he's a throwback. Fundamentally sound. Driven to be great. Family friends with the legendary and retired Dirk Nowitzki.

He scores inside and out. Passes the ball without prodding. Most impressive, he wants to chase down every last rebound.

Just 19, Steinbach realized three years ago that he might be able to make a living off of this game. Before that, it wasn't obvious to him at all.

"I started kind of slow and I wasn't the biggest guy," he said. "After COVID came, I personally got [taller] and I got better and better, and then I noticed maybe it's going somewhere."

Bryson Tucker and Hannes Steinbach meet with the media after the UNLV exhibition game. | Dan Raley

Steinbach. a half a world away, was discovered by UW assistant coach Andy Hill, the team's point man overseas. The Deutsch kid met Sprinkle on a Zoom call. He recently met former UW and NBA standout and German native Detlef Schrempf in town.

"Hannes just does what he does," Sprinkle said. "He's unassuming, but he's a talent."

So far, the college game has felt more athletic to him than the German pro or club leagues, or the international competition, that have involved him.

The Huskies asked for his input before recently signing 6-foot-9 Serbian player Nikola Dzepina, who Steinbach had played against overseas.

After a couple of months, his Seattle apartment feels like home. When he dines out, his eating establishment of choice is Evergreens in the University Village. He's acclimated to a new country, is up to speed on new customs, has been duly initiated.

"You have to lock your scooter outside," he said, "and I learned that the hard way."

Chances are, in a year or two, this German basketball prodigy will be able to buy as many scooters as he wants.

IN CASED YOU MISSED IT: