65 College Basketball Teams In 65 Days: Washington Huskies
This is a little something I like to call preview season, which by my watch starts on September 1. From that date until the start of the season we have 65 days. In those 65 days I’ll give a team preview each day. There’s going to be no rhyme or reason for the order we go in these 65 days. It will just be 65 teams I think are worthy of a detailed preview. We’ll have other previews throughout the time leading up to the season as well – conference breakdowns, player rankings, team rankings, etc. But, these will just be team previews.
Washington Huskies
2017-18 Record: 21-13, 10-8 Pac-12, 7th in Big 12
Top returning scorers: Jaylen Nowell (16.0), Noah Dickerson (15.5), David Crisp (11.6), Matisse Thybulle (11.2)
Newcomers: Jamal Bey (4-star), Bryan Penn-Johnson (3-star), Elijah Hardy (3-star)
Head Coach: Mike Hopkins, 2nd season, 21-13
2018-19 Outlook
The Pac-12 is going to be a bit of a mess this year. Don’t get me wrong, they have top-20 teams and I really like USC as a team a bit under the radar, but it’s viewed as the clear 6th best conference out of the 6 major conferences in basketball. That said, Washington’s starting five is not something to just blink your eyes at. They are damn good, the biggest question will be depth and what they do with the center spot.
That said, the core of Nowell, Dickerson, Crisp and Thybulle is what the focus should be on. In Mike Hopkins’ first year at Washington, they actually surprised people. Think about it. You lose your best player – Markelle Fultz – and don’t really have this sure fire recruiting class coming in yet you still win 21 games including one vs Kansas. What’s arguably even more impressive is the fact they did it all without a senior on the roster.
Washington was able to do this thanks to its defense. The Huskies ranked 73rd nationally in adjusted defense as they gave up 99.5 points per 100 possessions. However, what they really excelled at was protecting the rim and forcing turnovers. They were top-20 in both steal and block percentage. Thybulle is the one here to keep an eye on defensively from an individual standpoint. The 6’5″ wing was 150th in block percentage and 4th in steal percentage. He’s the one that can really create havoc and get Washington some easy buckets.
It’s no surprise that Hopkins brought the Syracuse 2-3 zone out West, so expect to see a lot of that. The one problem with the zone though? Defensive rebounding. Washington was 327th in defensive rebounding percentage, which isn’t too surprising when you’re running a zone, but that needs to improve and at least get to average. The difference between Syracuse and Washington though? Washington wants to run. They were one of the quicker teams in the country last year from an offensive tempo standpoint.
Now back to the two main questions here. What does Washington do with the center spot? Personally, they are likely going to be better off with the small ball look where they run Crisp/Nowell/Thybulle/Dickerson/Hardy. Crisp is better set up to play off the ball, while you can let Hardy be the lead guard. It also lets you continue to get out and run even though you are a bit vulnerable at the rim in the 2-3 zone. But, it’s a different look that Washington should use more of. This moves Crisp off the ball where he can be a scorer and lets Hardy attack and find guys offensively.
If they want to run a traditional big, they do have two guys that give a different look. You return Sam Timmins, who played about 50% of the minutes last year and is a decent shot blocker. After that, there’s a 7’0″ freshman, Bryan Penn-Johnson, who can be a rim protector and finish at the rim on the other side.
If Washington can find that consistent offensive play and a couple of the freshmen are able to figure out roles right away, I think this is a team that will be in and out of the top-25. I really like that core four group that Washington has and the fact that they should be better following a 21 win season. Don’t be surprised to see Washington competing for a Pac-12 title.