Osobor Has Been Great for the Huskies But How Great?

Twenty-three games into his Montlake stay, Great Osobor plays extremely hard for the University of Washington basketball team, often brings the ball up the floor unlike most big man, speaks eloquently enough if not candidly to the media and he's even taken a turn at quizzing his teammates himself.

The 6-foot-8 power forward from England and two other American universities -- following coach Danny Sprinkle from stop to stop to stop, which must be unique to college basketball -- was expected to do everything when he joined the Huskies, especially after his representation leaked it that Osobor would receive $2 million in name, image and likeness compensation while in Montlake.

Before taking his team to Ohio State for a Wednesday game, Sprinkle offered his own assessment of Osobor's performance, suggesting, "Other than the Michigan State game, he's playing like a first-team All-Big Ten guy."

That's possible, but likely not going to happen because the Huskies (12-11 overall, 3-9 Big Ten) currently sit 17th in the 18-team conference standings, and team success generally factors into iindividual recognition.

As it stands, Osobor ranks 15th in the league in scoring at 15.6 points per game and fourth in rebounding with 8.7 an outing, while shooting 46.8 percent from the field.

Considering his incoming price tag, UW fans might have expected more from Osobor, certainly more games in the win column with him on board, and he's acknowledged hearing some displeasure directed at him over how things have turned out. Some think he's been a good rather than a great Osobor.

With the schedule down to eight regular-season games and possibly no more than that for the Huskies, this UK import likely is auditioning for a pro basketball career.

Great Osobor, at rear, shares in a team huddle with the Huskies. | Skylar Lin Visuals

He still has plenty of work to do, especially at the offensive end, before making himself an NBA draft pick.

While he's an extremely clever player inside and plays physical enough, he's still a work in progress as a 3-point shooter, hitting just 27.8 percent from behind the line. A glaring omission is the absence or his lack of interest in a mid-range game, which could be a problem for the pros.

Yet the thing about Osobor is he's an extremely smart player. Even with all of the pushing and shoving inside for him, he's fouled out just once this season while coming up with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 91-75 loss at Michigan.

Great Osobor looks for an opening against Nebraska. | Skylar Lin Visuals

While given free reign offensively, he chooses to take just 11 shots per outing when it could be a lot more. He's scored in double figures in all but five games but reached or surpassed 20 points just five times, with a high of 28 against Purdue.

"He thinks the game probably better than anybody I've coached, including point guards," Sprinkle said. "He processes things really, really fast."

Osobor no doubt will think of a way to finish up strong, continuing this push against the Buckeyes, and see if he can find his way to an NBA career.

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