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Can Nikola Dzepina Replace Hannes Steinbach For Washington Huskies Men's Basketball?
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- Can Nikola Dzepina Replace Hannes Steinbach For Washington Huskies Men's Basketball?
(Kevin Ng/Imagn Images)
For the second offseason in a row, the majority of the players on the Washington Huskies men's basketball team departed the program, leaving head coach Danny Sprinkle with the task replacing at least 60% of his roster.
The Huskies didn't need to replace as many players this offseason as it did last year — it's first under Sprinkle. But the team still had only six players returning from the previous season.
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One of the players who is set to make his return is sophomore forward Nikola Dzepina.
Dzepina is coming off a runner-up finish with his native Serbia in the FIBA U20 EuroBasket tournament, which wrapped up with a 19-point loss against Slovenia in the championship game Sunday, and had a solid showings that could position him to be the replacement the team needs for one of the biggest losses of the offseason.
Dzepina was one of two international forward to commit to Washington last year who originally hailed from Europe. The other was German big man Hannes Steinbach. Despite being on the same team, the two experienced very different fortunes in their first seasons on Montlake.
Steinbach began the season with the Huskies whereas Dzepina didn't join the team until December.
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Steinbach played and started in 30 games for Washington and led the team in points (18.5) and rebounds (11.8) while putting up 22 double-doubles. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the final lottery pick (14th overall) in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Dzepina didn't enjoy the same luck. He came into the program with the reputation as a floor-spacing big man capable of shooting from 3-point range.
The Serbian forward struggled to grasp the playbook on such short notice with the season underway and received an inconsistent amount of minutes due to injuries the team experienced throughout the year. He averaged just 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds across 14 games and shot 30.2% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc.
Dzepina showed much better form in the EuroBasket tournament with performances barred some resemblance to how Steinbach played with the Huskies.
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In seven games in the tournament, Dzepina averaged 13.9 points on 57.1% shooting in addition to 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 blocks per contest.
Dzepina rarely relied on his outside shot and averaged just 32% from 3-point range in the tournament (8-for-25). He was named as part of the EuroBasket All-Star Five, the equivalent of an all-tournament team.
Washington is unlikely to match the amount of offensive production Steinbach provided. Even if it did, the team also lost its second-leading scorer, junior guard Zoom Diallo, who transferred to the Kentucky Wildcats.
However, Dzepina's performance in the tournament, particularly his revitalized focus on crashing the boards for rebounds and relying on his size in the post, is a good indication that he could be ready to fill a similar role Steinbach had in the offense. Between the team's other new additions, there's reason for cautious optimism Dzepina can take the next step forward and be a legitimate contributed for the Huskies in the 2026-27 season.
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