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Pair of Washington Huskies Point Guards Could Play Simultaneously
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- Pair of Washington Huskies Point Guards Could Play Simultaneously
(Tom R. Smedes/Imagn Images)
SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team will have a much different offense than the program's previous two seasons under head coach Danny Sprinkle.
Last season, the team was filled with ball-dominant players such as Desmond Claude and Zoom Diallo, who have both since left the team via the transfer portal. Other top scoring options, such as forward Hannes Steinbach (now with the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA) and returning fourth-year guard Wesley Yates III were capable of scoring quick, but also were capable ball-dominant options on offense.
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This year, it seems as if the focus on for the Huskies offense will be spacing and playmaking .
Washington landed fourth-year point guard Ryan Beasley, who transferred to UW from the San Francisco Dons, and fifth-year point guard Tayshawn Comer, who was granted a year of eligibility via an injunction in California on Tuesday, who transferred from the Nevada Wolfpack.
Comer started for the team's 109-91 exhibition loss against the Boise State Broncos on Oct. 16 whereas Beasley sat out of the contest due to a concussion. The Nevada transfer co-led the team in points with 16. Ten of his points came from the free-throw line on 12 attempts.
"The one thing (Comer's) done is he's always won," Sprinkle said in a news conference Thursday. "He played really well at Nevada last year in the Mountain West. When I called (Wolfpack head coach Steve Alford) — he loves the kid. He just said the kid's an ultimate competitor. ... Everywhere he's been, he's been on winning teams. So, he knows what it looks like. ... He's a very talented scorer. He can score in bunches."
Due to the team's focus on spacing, quick scoring and decisive playmaking this year, Sprinkle floated out the idea of both Beasley and Comer being on the court at the same time.
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"There's going to be times like, even though they're small, I'm going to have (Comer) and Beasley (on the court) together," Sprinkle said. "Because they're two guys that have really good basketball feels and they're going to make the other three guys better. And they're just dynamic and guys that can get the ball to the paint."
The team could also have another playmaking option outside the two floor generals with fifth-year wing LeJuan Watts. The Texas Tech transfer's ability to pass was something Sprinkle praised Thursday.
There are benefits to having two point guards on the floor, as the UW women's basketball team learned last year. They had fourth-year and 2025-26 first-team All-Big Ten guard Sayvia Sellers as the primary ball-handler, with since-graduated guard Hannah Stines also on the court handling playmaking duties when Sellers was in a scoring groove.
Last year, the team ran into issues with chemistry and playmaking due to the laundry list of injuries and players like Claude and Diallo needing the ball in their hands to be effective.
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With three potential ball-handlers on the court at once in Watts, Beasley and Comer, it seems like Sprinkle and the rest of the coaching staff is determined to make sure that pattern doesn't repeat.
