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Inside The Huskies

Husky Basketball Receives Commit From Local Shooting Guard

Jimmie Haywood III is the son of a former Oregon State player of the same name.
Dan Raley|
Jimmie Haywood has committed to UW basketball and Danny Sprinkle.
Jimmie Haywood has committed to UW basketball and Danny Sprinkle. | UW

While Danny Sprinkle and his University of Washington basketball program comb the seven seas for talent -- or did you not notice a Serbian forward led the team in scoring on opening night? -- the Huskies just took a lesser road well traveled.

On Tuesday, 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jimmie "Tripp" Haywood III, a player with deep-rooted Seattle ties, became the UW's first Class of 2027 commitment, choosing Sprinkle's program over Nevada and Loyola Marymount, according to Sam Kayser of Kayser Hoops.

Whereas the third-year coach can be expected to bring in all of the international talent and adventuresome transfer portal players he can find, the feeling is he won't truly succeed in Montlake unless he takes advantage of the Seattle-produced player.

Haywood, who is finishing up for AZ Compass Prep in the Phoenix suburbs, is every bit of that, previously playing for Garfield and Bellevue high schools before venturing south.

He's also the son of Jimmie Haywood, who emerged as a standout from Franklin and Rainier Beach high schools to earn an Oregon State scholarship and start 74 of 108 games for the Beavers in 2000-03.

If the son is anything like the father, he's a tough-minded kid who plays so hard he puts his body on the line at all times and often plays more than he's supposed.

Haywood, the father, suffered knee, foot and shoulder injuries at Oregon State that cost him game time and also sat out for appearing in an unsanctioned summer outing.

Now comes Haywood III, who answers to Tripp and is a physical guard that might be a little underappreciated, especially lasting this long without offering a college commitment.

Like his father, he's not afraid of contact, shown pushing and shoving with an opponent in the accompanying X video as he ran up the floor. Unlike dad, he might be a better shooter in working his way around the perimeter.

Also, he has played for Northwest Rotary and Arizona Unity in the summers, where his game really took off.

In 2025, he turned in an all-around Rotary performance in which he had 17 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Haywood begins his second season at AZ Compass Prep on Nov. 14 when his team opens against Second Baptist.

AZ Compass Prep attracts players from all over the country, with them coming last season from Chicago, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Denver and, of course, Seattle.

The school promotes itself for putting seven of its players in the NBA and currently 50 or so at the Division I college level.

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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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