Like idling jets on a runway, the University of Washington basketball team has injured players backed up on the bench, waiting for clearance to go airborne again.
Franck Kepnang. Chris Conway. Wilhlem Breidenbach.
All front-line players, each either nursing a knee injury or in concussion protocol.
Against Seattle U on Monday night, Husky coach Danny Sprinkle could have used any one of them to help pull his team out of holiday doldrums that resulted in a historic 79-70 loss — the UW’s first to its cross-town neighbor in 20 games over decades.
Yet while there’s nothing Sprinkle can do about it now, in dealing with his significantly banged-up and overly passive team (8-4 overall, 0-2 BigTen), he does have help on the way — with 6-foot-8 forward Dominique Diomande from France joining the Huskies in the new year, for winter quarter.
“He’s really athletic, really fast twitch,” the coach said. “He’s what we need.”
While Diomande, 19, could prove to be a Christmas gift for Sprinkle and his rebuilding program, no one is putting a savior label on him. He might even redshirt. The Huskies need to get this international player into Montlake and see where his game is at, if not how much adjustment he needs.
No one is saying it, but 12 games into the season, this UW program is geared more for the future rather than the present. Sprinkle mostly has a bunch of journeymen transfers who don’t play very well together and don’t always play with a sense of urgency, and it’s more than likely going to be a long season that isn’t going to offer huge rewards.
Meantime, Sprinkle has revealed five newly signed players, including Diomande, who will be the cornerstone of Husky basketball going forward in the future, each with heady basketball credentials.
Diomande publicly committed to the UW back in July and it’s unclear why he didn’t begin the season with the team, though with international players there’s always plenty of red tape to sort through before they can become eligible.
With every one of the Huskies’ 13 scholarships spoken for, Diomande initially will join the team as a walk-on player, a school spokesperson said. His resume seems to suggest he will provide plenty of skill. There’s certainly opportunity in Montlake for someone to showcase talents such as his.
“He can shoot it, but he’s really good slashing the ball,” Sprinkle said of the newcomer. “He’s played at really a high level, at the pro level in France, and put up good numbers. His athleticism and just kind of his quickness is just what we’re lacking.”
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