NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Impact of Isaiah Stewart picking Washington
Impact of Stewart’s decision for the Huskies
In a weak Pac-12 this season, Washington Basketball has started to separate themselves from the rest of the pack with a 14-4 (5-0) overall record. They face a tough stretch of games ahead but has a good chance of making it to the NCAA Tournament.
It’s a must-win year for the Mike Hopkins and the Huskies, with four of the team’s top six scorers all being seniors. Leading scorer Jaylen Nowell has NBA potential himself, so a decision by him in the off-season will have major implications for the program going forward.
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If the All-Pac 12 guard does come back for his junior season, Stewart will have a tremendous perimeter player to play off of. The big man also will have skilled guards to work with too, with Quade Green transferring in from Kentucky last month. Forwards Naz Carter, Hameir Wright, and Sam Timmins are projected to return as well, creating a formidable frontcourt that’ll compete with any others in the conference.
The top-10 big man recruit is the third commit in the 2019 class for the Huskies, joining top-100 overall player RaeQuan Battle and three-star point guard Marcus Tsohonis already on board. If only the seniors depart from this roster, Washington will have effectively filled all the voids and still maintain a unit good enough to compete in the Pac-12 next season, as well as being a possible preseason top-25 team.
Without Stewart, the program out of Seattle would’ve had issues at the center position. But depending on what may happen next, they may end up having one of the top frontcourts in the country for the 2019-20 season.