1. Isaiah Stewart is the man
The 6’9 250-pound freshman has garnered national attention. All season, Stewart has night-in and night-out, consistently put up the numbers seen Sunday against USC. He has been averaging 19.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 1.9 blocks.
Stewart put up his 18 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks against the Trojans despite playing in only 27 minutes due to picking up two first-half fouls. Stewart managed the second half well, finishing with only three fouls on the night.
The Rochester, New York native is the next in the line of hard-working post players such as Jon Brockman, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, and Noah Dickerson, but with a lot more length and talent. Stewart reminds me of a Michael Cage, with even more upside.
Despite having another McDonald’s All-American in the lineup (McDaniels), Stewart is no doubt the most valuable player for the Huskies this season. Washington will need his tough inside play when going up against the Pac-12 front lines that have grown in stature since last season.
Even in the Huskies’ four losses this season, Stewart still carried the load. He averaged 21.0 ppg and 9.8 rpg in those games. It was good news for coach Mike Hopkins that Stewart was able to manage his fouls better against USC. He has fouled out of three games prior and the Huskies desperately need him on the floor and not sitting on the bench.
It will be fun to watch how the freshman develops down the stretch and what lies in his future.