I watched UW play WSU so you don't have to.

[Seattle or Bust]

So they lost 84-80.

But I'm going to be honest, I left encouraged about things I wasn't expecting. The first 5 or 6 players on the roster could make up a quality basketball team... especially if the team's best player can get it going.

The good: They have better size overall than they probably have had at the guard and small forward positions in the past so they weren't dominated physically like we've seen in recent years. They also are more athletic than the last few Sprinkle teams. Defensively I thought they were actually pretty solid. WSU hit some prayer 3's to keep the game close and had some ridiculous bounces late.

The bad: Defensive rebounding was really bad and that is a trend that has continued under Sprinkle. So many extra chances for WSU. Perimeter defense, despite some lucky 3's from WSU, was really, really bad. They must have allowed 10 or so wide open 3's for WSU and they cashed in on a lot of them. Offensively, they shot the ball OK but I continue be perplexed at the lack of an offensive plan from Sprinkle teams. WSU was clearly the less talented team but they knew what they wanted to do with the ball every time they were in the half court set. UW continues to run around like chickens with their heads cut off in the half court and it's just annoying at this point. The depth is just really rough.

The players:

Lathan Summerville: He has clearly taken a big step in his game. He has a lot of skill on the block and hit a number of tough hooks + fade away bankers. I think he finished with 20+ points and maybe 7 rebounds? Center was going to be a big question mark coming into the season and he's the clear starter here. He's good. It was noticeable. Only issue is that he may be a little bit of a liability on defense...

Nikola Dzepina: He came off the bench but talk about a pleasant surprise. He's a little raw in some areas but his energy really showed. He also finished with like 20 points and 10 boards. He was everywhere on the glass. He made a lot of scrappy plays around the basket that extended plays. He's also really good at passing over the defense since he's so tall so when they WSU tried to trap him he was able to make accurate, cross court passes that helped set up easy baskets. He's got a nice stroke but the confidence seemed to wain in the second half.

Wesley Yates: For a guy who realistically should be fighting for All Conference honors... this was easily one of the most disappointing games I have ever seen from a Husky basketball player. He finished with 1 point, 1 assist, 1 rebound. He got benched with 15 mins to go in the 2nd half. He looked disinterested frankly... making many careless turnovers and really just wasn't engaged in the offense at all. The hitch in his shot seems to have gotten worse as he airballed multiple 3's. For the Dawgs to do anything this year they need a star.

Tayshan Comer: He's the point guard and sadly I think it highlights a glaring weakness on this team. He's a decent ball handler but he creates very, very little on offense. He got blocked multiple times deep in the lane and frankly looked scared to drive inside. He hit a couple of 3's but his shot is very flat and it led to some clankers where he was wide open and it just killed momentum. He also had some really careless turnovers in the second half that led to easy points that allowed WSU to extend the lead. I wasn't impressed at all... and sadly, the Dawgs don't have another PG on the roster.

Lejuan Watts: I liked a lot of what I saw from him. He's sort of the muscle out there and he plays a solid, physical brand of basketball. He's kind of your do-it-all small forward and I think he's going to have great moments this year.

Jasir Rencher: The former top-100 recruit flashed a lot this game. He's an insane athlete. Fast, big jumper. But he's also a little raw. He made a lot of silly fouls. But he's got serious potential.

Steele Venters: The former Gonzaga Bulldog looked pretty lost out there. The defense was bad on his behalf and given that he's supposed to be a sharp shooter... his 2x misses were essentially wide open and again, aided in killing momentum. I didn't see much good here.

Wini Braga: He's the third center off the bench and he looked terrible. Slow... out of position. I'm trying to figure out why Mady Traore, a top-3 juco transfer, isn't playing. He's 7'1 and averaged 13 points and 8 boards a game. Braga shouldn't see a minute of play this year.

Tristan Devers:The former Australian pro took over for Yates for most of the 2nd half. He looked awful... which speaks to the lack of depth I mentioned earlier. He was a body on the floor... nothing else.

Parker Friedrichsen: Like Devers, he was a nothing burger. He averaged 11 points a game on 42% shooting for Davidson last season. Nothing about his play said he's going to do that again. Again, was just a body on the floor doing nothing.