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Three-fifths of UW Basketball Starting Lineup Appears Set
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- Three-fifths of UW Basketball Starting Lineup Appears Set
Lathan Sommerville works down low for a shot against UCLA. | Dave Sizer photo
For his third University of Washington basketball team, Danny Sprinkle seems to have sufficient talent to work with.
Whether or not that equates to the Huskies' first winning season since 2024 depends on how well he can put all of the old and new pieces together, beginning on Monday night when they open the season against Colgate at Alaska Airlines Arena.
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In drawing up a starting lineup, three players appear to be automatic choices to appear in pregame footage on the overhead scoreboard, have their names announced in over-the-top fashion and then bound onto the floor in a spotlight trail.
The mainstay starters: forward LeJuan Watts , center Lathan Sommerville and point guard Ryan Beasley.
After that, anything goes.
"It's the middle of October," Sprinkle said about finalizing a lineup. "It's going to change."
Beasley, in fact, was held out of both exhibition losses while in concussion protocol, but is expected to play against Colgate, though whether he starts is unclear.
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The 5-foot-11 San Francisco transfer was a 31-game starter last season and led the Dons in minutes played with 1,031.
He averaged 13.6 points, 4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while receiving second-team All-WCC recognition.
"Beasley, IQ-wise, might be out best player on both sides of the ball," Sprinkle said. "He knows where the ball should go."
Ryan Beasley and Lathan Sommerville were the UW players who attended Big Ten media day. | Big Ten
The 6-foot-5 Watts, a Texas Tech transfer and the brother of UW football player DeSean Watts, clearly is the Huskies' best player and comfortable lining up at either guard or forward.
He had a team-high 28 points in the 84-80 loss to Washington State, which was one of his three former teams.
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Watts started 28 games for his Big 12 entry last season and averaged 11.8 points, 6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
LeJuan Watts drives against Alabama in the 2026 NCAA Tournament for Texas Tech. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The 6-foot-10 Sommerville is one of just five returning UW scholarship players and will shoulder a huge load as the big man for a small team.
The one-time Rutgers transfer could prove to be a much better player than outsiders might have envisioned. Last season, he appeared in just 22 games for the UW, starting seven, because of a December knee injury he suffered in practice.
He came up with 19 points against the Cougars on 6-for-7 shooting and offers both an inside and outside game.
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In search of two more starters, the Huskies will consider opening with Nikola Dzepina at another big man spot and choose a second or third guard from among Tayshawn Comer, Steele Venters, Parker Friedrichsen and Wesley Yates III, most of whom recently drew at least one exhibition start.
Niko Dzepina battles a couple of USC players for position inside. | Dave Sizer photo
The 6-foot-10 Dzepina from Serbia should be a much more comfortable player with the American game in his second year at the UW, following a 14-game freshman season spent as a reserve.
He came off the bench against WSU and turned in a 16-point, 12-rebound, 4-steal and 3-assist performance.
Dzepina likely will be in and out of the starting lineup, depending on game-night matchups.
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The 6-foot-1 Comer, a Nevada transfer who has fifth-year eligibility for now, started 36 games last season and averaged 11 points and 3.6 assists per game in the Mountain West.
The season before, he was a 27-game starter for Evansville and a second-team All-Missouri Valley selection after averaging 16.2 points and 4.1 assists per game.
Venters and Friedrichsen each bring 3-point shooting prowess to the Huskies from Gonzaga and Davidson, respectively.
An eighth-year player because of injuries, the 6-foot-7 Venters started 10 games for the Zags and averaged 5 points an outing last season, while shooting 36.7 percent from behind the line.
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Friedrichsen, a 33-game starter last season, averaged 10.8 points an outing and shot 40.5 percent from 3-point range.
Wesley Yates III drives to the basket against Oregon. | Dave Sizer photo
And then there's Yates.
He could be the difference between the Huskies having a winning or a losing season and a postseason berth or not.
As the only returning UW starter, Yates is battling through multiple health issues that include overcoming a broken wrist and blood clots, and his game is a struggle right now.
The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 12.7 points a game last winter -- a team-best 18.2 before breaking his shooting wrist -- while starting 25 times.
Against the Cougars in the exhibition game, Yates shot 1-for-6 from the floor and 0-for-4 from behind the line with a pair of airballs.
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Yes, there is work to be done with his game and in finalizing a Husky starting lineup.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Three-fifths of UW Basketball Starting Lineup Appears Set .
