Washington Basketball: What makes the Huskies a Pac-12 contender?

Freshmen poised to contribute

Lastly, the Huskies are also bringing in a strong recruiting class to improve the roster’s depth. Even though it might be difficult for these players to find significant roles right away, they should improve the overall talent level on the roster and that can only help the team in practice. Head coach Mike Hopkins clearly has plenty of talent on his hands for this year but setting up for the future is also very important. With five newcomers that make up the No. 40 overall recruiting class in the nation joining the program, the future of Washington basketball looks bright.

At the forefront of this incoming class is Jamal Bey (No. 109), a 6-foot-6 wing who can just about do it all. Thanks to his size and strength, Bey can finish around the rim as well as knock down open jumpers beyond the arc. In terms of a potential role as a freshman, Bey could provide some instant offense off the bench due to his well-rounded game. Additionally, point guard prospect Elijah Hardy (No. 201) could find a valuable role right away backing up the senior Crisp.

Lastly, the program is also bringing in three centers in Bryan Penn-Johnson (No. 175), Nate Roberts (No. 244), and Riley Sorn (No. 464). On the whole, this group might not feature many highly-rated recruits but the newcomers should be able to develop with the team over the next few years.

With all of these factors taken into account, it is easy to see why Washington basketball could contend for the Pac-12 title this season. There are plenty of programs that should compete near the top of the conference and the Huskies should be one of those.