Where UW's Sorn Fits in Among the Pac-12's 7-Footers
The Pac-12 currently is a 7-footer shy of a scrimmage.
Nine of them roam the conference.
All but UCLA, Oregon and Arizona State have one of these head-in-the-clouds players.
At 7-foot-4, the University of Washington's Riley Sorn easily is the tallest player in the league.
Averaging 17.6 points and 9 rebounds per game so far as a freshman, USC's Evan Mobley clearly is the Pac-12's best big man. He's an NBA prospect, maybe the league's only 7-footer who currently rates that consideration.
All of these towering players have started except for Sorn and Stanford's Keenan Fitzmorris.
All have scholarships except for Sorn.
Yet Sorn has all kinds of possibilities with that magnificent height and shouldn't be discounted.
It's up to his coach to maximize this guy's skill set.
The league's 7-footers hail from Cameroon, Germany and the Ukraine, plus the states of California, Kansas, Utah and Washington.
There's even another guy named Walton.
In alphabetical order, here's who they are across the Pac-12 and what they've done:
Branden Carlson, Utah, 7-0, 219, sophomore — A starter, he had a 9-point, 5-rebound game against the Huskies and Sorn, who came up with 8 points and 6 boards in response in a 76-62 Utah victory. Carlson averages 7 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. He served a two-year Mormon mission coming out of his Utah high school. He's married. Amazingly, he has a twin brother.
Keenan Fitzmorris, Stanford, 7-0, 230, sophomore — Clearly a project, he's played just four minutes in two games this season, after pulling 13 mop-up assignments the season before. He comes to the Cardinal from Overland Park, Kansas, by way of a New Hampshire prep school. His sister Audriana, who stands 6-6, played volleyball for Stanford.
Christian Koloko, Arizona, 7-1, 225, sophomore — A starter for the Wildcats, the Cameroon native is not a big stat guy, averaging 4.5 points and 6 rebounds per game, but he provides a needed inside presence. Late to basketball, Koloko was a soccer player in his home country until he was 15. He played his high school basketball in California, teaming with former UA players Nico Mannion, Zeke Nnaji and Josh Green on a state championship team.
Volodymyr Markovetskyy, WSU, 7-1, 270, sophomore — The Ukrainian continues to evolve in a positive manner, with the WSU coaching staff gradually giving him more responsibility. He recently started two games and provided 9 points and 5 rebounds against Prairie View in a 90-62 victory. He played in 28 games as a freshman and started two at the end. The imported big man has potential, but the Cougars have no inclination to rush him.
Evan Mobley, USC, 7-0, 215, freshman — The Trojans landed this No. 1 college basketball recruit from Murrieta, California, and he probably won't stay more than a year before the NBA beckons. He starts next to his brother Isaiah, a 6-10 sophomore, in the USC lineup. The younger Mobley is an excellent shooter, hitting at 61.1 percent from the floor, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range.
Roman Silva, Oregon State, 7-1, 265, senior — The Beavers start him, but he averages just 8.3 minutes, 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. The California native and one-time JC transfer went up against California's 7-foot Lars Thiemann in the season opener, a 71-63 Beavers' victory. Each guy played 10 minutes and scored 2 points. Silva serves a purpose, but little more than that.
Riley Soren, Washington, 7-4, 262, sophomore — By three inches, Sorn is the league's tallest player. He's hoping to put on another 15-18 pounds. The Washington native averages 6 points and 4 rebounds per game while drawing 11 minutes an outing as a sub. He played one minute in one game as a redshirt freshman. Against Colorado and Dallas Walton, Sorn pulled 18 minutes and scored a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds. His potential to be disruptive rather than a pushover is showing more and more.
Lars Thiemann, California, 7-0, 248, sophomore — A part-time starter but still in development, he averages 11 minutes per game for the Golden Bears. The German native hasn't taken more than 4 shots in a game. He averages 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He's coached by former UW assistant coach Mark Fox, who was part of Lynn Nance's Husky staff a couple of decades ago.
Dallas Walton, Colorado, 7-0, 235, senior — A starter for the Buffaloes, he dropped in 6 of 7 shots and all 10 of his free throws, and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 92-69 victory over Sorn and the Huskies. The Colorado native averages 9 points and 3.2 rebounds a game. He's had an up and down career. He redshirted his first season, started 25 games as a redshirt freshman, tore up his knee and sat out a second season, and played in 28 games as a sub as a junior.
This is the third in a series of three stories explaining where Riley Sorn fits in size-wise nationally, in the conference and in Husky history.
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