This year was Washington’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years, and back then going to the NCAA tournament was a nearly annual experience. We review the season for the players coming back next year and areas they can grow.
Ball-Handling
I think when we look back on the 2018-2019 Washington team we will wonder how they got so far without a point guard. The Huskies were 292nd in assist (351 teams) and 292nd in assist to turnover ratio ranking 11th in the Pac-12. The Huskies still averaged over 70 points a game and had a competent offense but it relied too much on the 1 on 1 brilliance of Jaylen Nowell and the low post game of Noah Dickerson.
Jaylen Nowell is the only potential returning player who averaged at least an assist per game and his return remains in the air. Quade Green, a Kentucky transfer and former five star point guard from the 2017 class will become eligible mid-season but until then the team will need to move the ball efficiently. Elijah Hardy showed he is quick and has streetball handles but time will tell if he can run the offense.
Rebounding
The Huskies struggled with rebounding all year but getting doubled up on the boards against North Carolina 48 to 24 shows how far they have to go. Washington finished 304th in the nation in rebounding margin. It wasn’t all personnel, Syracuse a fellow strictly zone team was 273th one is expecting the Huskies to lead the nation in boards just not give up so many second chance points. Washington had to play with one big and four smalls out of necessity to create offense sometimes last season, the hope is they can get some offense out of more than one big next season.
Defending
The Huskies were in the top 10 nationally in both blocked shots and steals. Those numbers were good but 3.5 of the 9 steals per game and 2.3 of the 5.7 blocks per game are going with Mattise Thybulle. I don’t think Washington is destined to become a poor defense without him, Mike Hopkins emphasis on the 2-3 zone remains and there are some pieces coming back. Hameir Wright averaged just under a block and a half per game and offers some rim protection. Jamal Bey’s offense game is still in development but he was ready to defend from day one, a big reason he played while every other freshman sat. I figure he will slot in at the top of the 2-3 zone with that 6’10” wingspan.
Way too early starting lineup
F – Isaiah Stewart
F – Hameir Wright or Jaden McDaniels
G – Naz Carter
G – Jaylen Nowell or Jamal Bey
G – Elijah Hardy (Until Green is eligible)
Wright and Nowell would be a returning starters and the five star Stewart will probably start as well but it’s a bit of a mystery beyond that. Carter has to start in my opinion as he’s developed the ability to create his own shot and he gets to the foul line, something David Crisp and Mattise Thybulle didn’t do with any consistency.
Beyond that, Hardy is probably the de facto starter at the point guard spot until Green gets eligible. If Nowell decides to leave Bey would probably slide into the lineup at the three. Like Thybulle he’s a good on-ball defender and his offensive game is starting to come along. The Huskies are still believed to be in the mix for Federal Way’s McDaniels, if he were to commit he could start right away at either the 3 or as a stretch 4.
If Nowell were to return I think the Huskies would be up there for pre-season favorite with Oregon and possibly UCLA/Arizona depending on coaching hires. No Pac-12 team has had the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year return the following year since Sean Elliott returned to the Wildcats in 1988. I’m not sure if Nowell is going to be up to the growing pains with so many new pieces next year but I think he would do better to come out next year in what is predicted to be a weaker draft.
Rotation returners
Hameir Wright – As a sophomore Wright earned a starting job and was more than competent defensively where he averaged just under a block and a half per game. Wright is a plus defender but has a ways to go on offense where 58 of his 107 field goal attempts were 3’s and he shot just 27% from the field and 24% from beyond the arc.
Best case scenario: Stewart is all that he’s hyped to be allowing Wright to play the wing of the Huskies 2-3 zone. He continues to block shots and shoots over 40% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc.
Naziah Carter – Naz shot 48% from the field and scored 8.1 points per game. He actually shot the 2nd most free throws per 40 minutes on the team of everyone except for Dickerson which is a testament to his ability to get to the rim and draw contact. Carter took major and rebounded better as a sophomore but his 3-point percentage dropped from 41% to 31%.
Best case scenario: Carter shoots closer to 40% from beyond the arc and averages 14 to 15 points per game. He played 20 minutes per game but could be in the 32-34 range next year.
Jamal Bey – After scoring just 14 points the first 27 games of the season, Bey scored 15 in the final three. For the year he shot 45% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc in an extremely tiny sample size. Bey needs to improve his ball-handling but when he started playing with confidence you can see why he was Nevada’s top player a year ago. He doesn’t need to become a prolific 3-pointer but playing with Green and possibly Nowell he will need to be able to knock down open looks. One of the disappointments of this season was Thybulle’s 3-point percentage dropping almost 10%.
Best case scenario: Bey scores 9-10 points per game, plays excellent defense and continues to take care of the ball, just 5 turnovers in 30 games.
Sam Timmins – Timmins shot 62% from the field and played really well in spurts. His free throw shooting dropped from 56% to 36% and his Rebounding dropped from 4.7 a game to 2.2 although much of that can be blamed on his decrease in playing time.
Best case scenario: Timmins is able to give 15-20 minutes a game of rebounding and toughness inside. He may be near his ceiling on offense but if he can continue to improve defensively he adds valuable depth.
Incoming transfer
Quade Green – There are a lot of things to like about Green. He’s shot over 40% from beyond the arc in his career, he had a nearly 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio as a freshman and he’s a great free throw shooter making over 80% both seasons. The real question is how many games will he miss before he’s eligible to play as a mid-year transfer?
Best case scenario: Green earns the starting job and gives the team a boost come Pac-12 play. He is another guy who could average 14 to 15 points per game, 4 to 5 assist and give the team the true point guard they’ve lacked.
And the rest
Elijah Hardy – Hardy played only 16 minutes all year going 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. While some would suggest he maybe he should have redshirted the Huskies let him get a taste of game action. You hope he isn’t disenchanted by his lack of playing time and sees the major opportunity ahead of him.
Bryan Penn-Johnson – Johnson may have benefitted from a redshirt playing in just five games for 15 minutes total. The 7 footer had some medical issues though and I’m not sure if he would qualify for a medical redshirt or not. Washington lacked size and rebounding down low, I imagine Penn-Johnson will push Timmins for minutes behind Stewart.
Jason Crandall – The former team manager played seven minutes and made his only field goal attempt.
Quin Banard – The Bellevue product, who has the best facial on the team, played five minutes in mop-up duty. He’ll be a senior next season.
Travis Rice – The son of assistant coach Dave played seven minutes in a reserve role and missed his only attempt from beyond the arc.
Reagan Lundeen – Lundeen played four minutes of mop-up duty and made two free throws.
Nate Roberts – Roberts has some perimeter skills in a big man body. He wisely redshirted as there weren’t a lot of minutes to be had. He reportedly has a 7’6” wingspan, having another long armed guy to play in the zone next year will be a welcome addition.
