Inside The Huskies

Scouts Like What They See in UW's Hannes Steinbach

The Husky freshman has a game made for the next basketball level.
Dan Raley|
Hannes Steinbach returned to face UCLA after a three-game absence.
Hannes Steinbach returned to face UCLA after a three-game absence. | Dave Sizer photo.

Hannes Steinbach is so good at what he does with a basketball, the analysts no longer have any excuses for not knowing him and his game.

Time zones, oceans, language barriers, none of it computes.

The 6-foot-11, 240-pound Steinbach has turned in a nine-game sample at the University of Washington (8-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) that should be more than enough for the even the average talent scout to quote the European's best attributes without any hesitation.

In his latest podcast, Adam Finkelstein, former Division 1 assistant coach for Hartford and NBA scout and now national analyst for CBS Sports and director of scouting for 247Sports, had a lot of positives to impart about the UW freshman from Wurzburg, Germany.

"He's going to make a major jump," Finkelstein said, referring to the CBS Sports NBA Draft Big Board, where Steinbach was listed at No. 15.

As he sized up this Montlake fixture, Finkelstein noted how the NBA is increasingly turning to a double big-man lineup to facilitate both the college and pro games, which stands to benefit Steinbach in the long run.

"One of the things I wrote about is the amount of NBA executives who were emphasizing the need for NBA-ready bodies because of the increasing level of physicality in the NBA game," he said. "I think Steinbach fits that."

The first-year Husky player draws his biggest plaudits as a rebounder, especially on the offensive end, but people are noticing his passing ability and his strong hands in running the pick and roll.

"He's got great hands, great touch," Finklestein said. "He's a phenomenal rebounder."

Hannes Steinbach had a big night in his Husky debut.
Hannes Steinbach had a big night in his Husky debut. | UW / Red Box

Coming off a week-long break for Christmas, Steinbach will return to action on Monday night against Utah (8-4 overall, 0-0 Big 12) as the Huskies' leading scorer at 17.9 points per game and and top rebounder at 12.1 per outing, and averages 2.1 aasists each time out.

"He has a motor," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said. "He gets double-doubles because he goes and rebounds. He doesn't like wait for the rebbund. He goes every time."

He shoots nearly 60 percent from the floor and with a modest amount of attempts connects at 54.5 percent from 3-point range.

All of which means Steinbach is more than likely a one-and-done player for the Huskies and people better get out and see him play in Seattle while they can.

Following the Utah game, the Huskies will turn its full attention to 18 Big Ten games, which only stand to bring Steinbach a lot more visibility and plaudits.

"This guy has been phenomenal," Finkelstein said.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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