Washington coach Mike Hopkins evaluates Huskies’ returning players
Washington will lose three players — and likely a fourth — from its 2019-20 roster.
Freshman Isaiah Stewart already declared for the NBA Draft, classmate Jaden McDaniels likely won’t be too far behind and senior Sam Timmins graduated. Sophomore guard Elijah Hardy also entered the transfer portal. And while Hardy could still return, it seems unlikely he’ll be back for the Huskies next season.
UW added some new faces to fill those roster spots. USC transfer and Seattle native J’Raan Brooks sat out this season and will be eligible. The Huskies also added Wichita State transfer and former Timberline standout Erik Stevenson and North Idaho transfer Nate Pryor, a former West Seattle star.
The Huskies will also bring back several key players from this season’s roster, including six that started at least one game. During a phone interview last week, head coach Mike Hopkins offered his evaluations of players who saw the floor last season.
Here’s what he had to say:
Marcus Tsohonis
The rundown: Tsohonis was originally supposed to redshirt his freshman season, but he was pushed into action after Quade Green was declared academically ineligible. Tsohonis started nine of out UW’s last 10 games at point guard and finished the season averaging 7.3 points, 2.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds. He shot 42.4% from the field, including 41.3% from the 3-point line.
Mike Hopkins: “There’s a guy that came in when we needed him and he did a heck of a job. … There’s multiple games where he made huge plays. With that being said, there were some youth mistakes, too. He was as consistent of a freshman that I’ve seen, especially for the situation he was in. … I’m really, really proud of him. He had a good attitude. He worked hard in every area of his life. Academically, he was amazing. To be able to take that on, I was blown away.”
RaeQuan Battle
The rundown: Battle also saw his minutes increase after the Huskies lost Green, but his time on the floor was less consistent than Tsohonis’. The freshman sharp-shooter appeared in 20 games, starting three. His best stretch came from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1 when he averaged 12 points per game in losses to Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State. He made nine threes during that period, including four each against Colorado and Arizona. But Battle’s minutes fluctuated — two games after playing a season-high 32 minutes against the Buffaloes, he played just 1 against Washington State — and Hopkins often referenced to his need to improve defensively. In discussing Battle, Hopkins talked about what he needs to work on heading into next season.
MH: “He needs to get his body right. Obviously, shot selection. The thing that makes him great is, he’s got what great players have. They have ultimate confidence. I believe that he thinks if he took a half-court shot, it’s going in. ... I wish I had that as a player. That’s great. I think at the end of the day, he had some incredible moments as a freshman. His ability to shoot the ball and and not only to shoot the ball, he’s got a quick release. He gets it up quickly, like you can’t guard it. Now, it goes back to his body needs to get better, strength and conditioning. I thought he was a much-improved defensive player. The one thing that people don’t know about RaeQuan: RaeQuan can fly. Like he can really jump. … His future is on a different level. His potential is just limitless. … When you’re a great shooter, that helps other guys because guys are going to be flying at you. So, how do you use your pump fake? How do you use those types of things? That just goes back to studying and experience and learning.”
Nahziah Carter
The rundown: Carter’s role shifted this season. As a sophomore in 2018-19, he came off the bench and often provided UW with a burst of energy. As a junior, he was expected to be a leader — both on the floor and on the stat sheet. His transition to the new role wasn’t seamless, but he still reached double figures in all but 10 games in 2019-20. Arguably his best performance of the year came in UW’s road win over Arizona State when he scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from the field. But his inconsistency was summed up by the next games against Arizona. Carter scored just 6 total points in UW’s final two games of the season, shooting a combined 2-of-17 from the field.
MH: “Naz had some really good moments. It just wasn’t the consistency. I thought he shot really good from the 3-point line. But going back to what I was saying about RaeQuan: It’s going to be shot selection, limit dribbles. Where, when you catch it, it’s pass or shot. It’s not hold it. You’re not going to be a ball stopper. Play instinctual and go. Don’t get it, hold it and then try to go. Sometimes he just tries to force the issue. That’s his attack mentality. You want him to be aggressive but now its like in transition when you see chargeable situations, you’ll have the opportunity to pass out and find the open shooter when two guys come to you rather than getting a charge. Naz was put into a different position and he had some incredible games. Now it goes back to, can he be consistently good in all those games? I think he most definitely can be.”
Nate Roberts
The rundown: After redshirting his freshman season in 2018-19, Roberts appeared in 19 games last season. He flashed the most potential in UW’s losses to USC and Stanford, scoring 7 points in each game and averaging 7.5 rebounds. Hopkins praised his rebounding ability, and Roberts gave the Huskies a boost in an area where they struggled. He’ll likely take on a larger role for UW next season now that Isaiah Stewart has entered the NBA Draft and Sam Timmins graduated. Here’s what Hopkins would like to see from him moving forward.
MH: “Nate does have an incredible innate ability (as a rebounder). He knows where balls go and he’s got a good feeling. He can go get it. Now, it goes back to, sometimes when he gets it, he goes too fast. He will kind of rush it. And that goes back to experience, too, where you get it, kind of pivot and use your moves around the basket to finish better. He’s a rebounding machine. He can defend if we’re in man or in zone really, really well. Now its just a matter of making his foul shots, improving his finishing around the basket. He’s a guy that’s got all-league type talent.”
Bryan Penn-Johnson
The rundown: Penn-Johnson’s minutes were limited this season as he played behind Stewart, Timmins and often Roberts. The 7-foot center appeared in six games after redshirting as a freshman last season. Hopkins made a point to praise his performances in practice, and said he’ll play a big role for UW moving forward.
MH: “He’s athletic and big and long. He had some signs in practice and I’d walk away and be like, man, I should be playing this guy. Kind of like, get him on the court. I always think the guys that haven’t played, they’re gonna have a huge chip on their shoulder. So when they do get that opportunity, it’s that. He’s a guy that I’m very, very bullish on.”
Jamal Bey
The rundown: Bey started the season coming off the bench, but entered the starting lineup after the loss of Green and started 14 of UW’s last 16 games. After Green went out, Bey briefly started at point guard before Tsohonis took over that role and Bey shifted over to the two. Hopkins praised Bey’s versatility last season, saying he could play four different positions. He also called him one of the Huskies’ best defenders. While Bey has flashed his potential, UW will need more from him as he enters his junior season. Here’s how Hopkins believes he can find it.
MH: “He’s an exceptional two guard in my opinion. He’s a two guard. In today’s modern game, it’s really position-less basketball. Jamal is the kind of guy, he’s such a great teammate. He does what the teams need to win. I think with him its shot selection. He took a lot of contested shots. I think the better shot selection. That can be a guy like Marcus with a year under his belt. You got a guy like Quade who’s in there. Point guards put you in better positions to score and I think he’s a lot better shooter than the percentages show.”
Hameir Wright
The rundown: During the season, Hopkins prasied Wright’s ability to do the little things and called him the glue of the team. In a four game stretch from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1, Wright averaged 11 points and shot 11-of-18 from the three-point line. But Wright, too, struggled to find consistency and Hopkins wanted more from him from a leadership standpoint. Perhaps the biggest bright spot was his shooting percentages in Pac-12 play. He shot 40.3% from the field and 40.4% from the 3-point line, which ranked second on the team in conference play behind Tsohonis.
MH: “Hameir needs to step up. Hameir, he really cares about others. He’s got a big heart. He cares about others. He was a much-improved 3-point shooter in league. I think he ended up shooting over 40% from three in league, which is a huge thing, especially moving forward.”
Quade Green
The rundown: The impact of losing Green is well known by now. Declared academically ineligible in January, Green played in just 15 games. Green still finished the season as UW’s leader in assists with 79, an average of 5.3 assists per game. He also averaged 11.6 points and shot 51.4% from the field and 44.7% from the 3-point line. The Huskies had to reinvent themselves without Green on the floor and they never hit their stride again, even struggling through a nine-game losing streak. When Hopkins said earlier this month that he fully expected Green back on the floor at the start of next season, UW fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief.
MH: “When Quade went out, we were trying to find our identity again. I think that was a little bit challenging, but the inexperience was tough just because we were in all these new situations. ... I think if you look at it, I think everybody took a hit when Quade went down. I think Isaiah did. I think Jaden did. I think Naz did. ... I think Quade was a really good leader for us early on and through the year.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
