Huskies Turn to Midwest Again for Oakland Forward Chris Conway

Big Ten-bound UW has multiple players with Middle America connections.

Dan Raley | May 5, 2024

Chris Conway will transfer from Oakland to the UW. / Robert Goddin/USA TODAY Sports

Preparing for Big Ten entry this coming season, new University of Washington basketball coach Danny Sprinkle continues to put together a team with a decided Midwest flavor to it, with Oakland forward Chris Conway revealing on Sunday he has committed to the Huskies.

Conway, a 6-foot-9 senior from Naperville, Illinois, was a 35-game starter this past season for a 24-12 Golden Grizzlies team that hails from the Greater Detroit area and notably upset Kentucky 80-76 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

As new Huskies, he joins 6-foot-1 senior guard DJ Davis, a 33-game starter this past season for Butler from Indianapolis and 6-foot-4 freshman point guard Jase Butler, a California native who was committed to Illinois before flipping to the Huskies.

Add to them 6-foot-5 junior off guard Mekhi Mason, a 32-game starter from Rice; 6-foot-10, 287-pound forward KC Ibekwe, a Canadian native and a 22-game starter for Oregon State; and that rare local player in 6-foot-4 freshman point guard Vazoumana "Zoom" Diallo from Tacoma and now at a California prep school, and Sprinkla has a most unusual collection of basketball talent.

Chris Conway fires up a shot against North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament. / Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

Conway is a workmanlike but not a flashy player who averaged 10 points and 4.3 rebounds last winter for Oakland. He shot 54.2 percent with a game that typically kept him close to the basket to take turnaround jumpers and other close-in shots. He attempted just 14 3-pointers and made 3. His high game for points was 18 against Youngstown State and Marshall.

His only double-double effort was 11 points and 10 rebounds that came in an 83-76 victory over Milwaukee in the Horizon League championship game. In that outing, he often was matched up against ex-Husky forward Langston Wilson, who finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

In his Oakland career, Conway started 66 of 109 games played, serving as a full-time starter in his second and fourth seasons. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

For the latest UW basketball and football news, go to si.com/colelge/washington

Published May 5, 2024

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.