April 15, 2025 • 17 mins
Washington Huskies basketball Head Coach Danny Sprinkle joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about his first season at UW, Zoom Diallo returning, the recruits joining the program in 2025, Wesley Yates III and other players coming from the portal.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the home of the Husky Kruken and
Seattle's best NFL Draft coverage in the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft. Now back to Suffian did proudly brought to
you by Emerald Queen Casino on Sports Radio ninety three
point three a jr FM.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
All Right, Well, obviously a disappointing season, Dick for Husky basketball.
Nobody thought last place in the Big Ten was gonna happen.
Now making Danny Sprinkle's first year. I remember you and
I talking to Wilner over the offseason thinking they might
be a tournament team, and that did not happen.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
But he has gone out.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Danny Sprinkle has along with his staff and just crushed it.
In recruiting transfer Portal High School ranks number five in
the country. As a matter of fact, right.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Now is high school number eight portal only only team
in the country with those two accolades. Well, the guy,
the wizard behind the curtain that's pulling all the levers,
pushing all the buttons is Danny Sprinkle when he's with
us now on the radio station.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Danny, how are you, man?
Speaker 5 (00:58):
I'm doing great, doing great.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I mean I feel a lot better.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
Than I did three hundred and sixty five days ago.
I was happy to get this job, but I knew
how much work we had to get done yep, in
that first year, and actually to have a have a
year to you know, evaluate these recruits and be here
and just kind of you know, have more of a
comfort level. And you know, I love I love some
of the pieces that we've added to next year's team.
(01:22):
And and like I said, I want to give a
lot of credit to my staff. My assistants had done
a tremendous job. And not just that, like even you know,
you know people within the department. You know, our academics
are nutrition is strength coach, like the people when these
kids come on visits or we're doing zoms have done
a tremendous job. And so I want to make sure
I'm giving them a lot of the credit too, because
(01:42):
they deserve it.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, Danny, before we get into details about the guys
you're bringing in a couple of guys I know we
can't talk about just yet, but the majority of these
kids we can talk about. We haven't had a chance
to catch you up right since the end of the year.
I know you're wrong with MJ back at the Final
four in San Antonio. But just give us your thoughts
on how difficult year number one was and what you
(02:04):
learned about what this program was all about and kind
of what you needed to do.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Yeah, uh, I mean it was a it was a
trying first year. You know. I knew. I knew as
soon as I saw our team in the summer, Like
I knew, like once we got the job, like it
was hard. There wasn't a lot of big ten level
talent out there, you know, And I think we did
a pretty good job scrapping together a recruiting class last year.
(02:29):
You know. Obviously we ya know, we'd missed on some
guys when we first got the job, but then we
you know, we picked up some pieces and we got
some guys in May, you know, which you know, you're
not getting big ten level guys in May, and so, uh,
I knew we had our work cut out for us.
And and that's why I knew, you know, it was
just kind of trying to develop the culture the first
year and what our expectations were, you know, in that way,
(02:51):
hopefully some guys that would you know, stick around and
knew what to happen and that's what you know, Franken
Zoomer going to be about, you know, with them coming
back for a year or two. Uh, you know, I
think they know what I expect. You know, they know
what practices are going to be like. And now it's
their job to be leaders on the court and help
some of these incoming guys, you know, establish that identity
that we want, that toughness and that discipline and that ownership,
(03:14):
and so it'll be uh, you know, I'm excited. Uh,
I mean, I've never been so you know, motivated, and uh,
you know, I mean the league is tremendous.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
You guys saw that.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
I mean, every single every single team in our league
is getting great recruits. I mean you look at I mean,
Michigan's got three of the top kids in the portal
like everybody, USC, UCLA, everybody's getting good players. So uh
now we just have to we have to get great
talent and then we've got to coach them. You know,
We've got to coach them and uh, you know, and
and and just keep building.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
We let's start with your returners, Frank and zoom that
you mentioned was in keeping them away from the NBA
draft or more was it keeping them away from the
transfer portal. And how hard was it to keep those guys?
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Yeah, no, I mean, you know, neither of them wanted
to leave. Like. They love it here, you know, I mean,
they love the Huskies, they love you know, how people
have treated them here, and and it's important for them
to to get this you know, program back on track,
you know. I mean, you know, Frank's been here, you
know for a couple of years now and hasn't had
the success that he wanted when he first came here. Uh,
(04:16):
same thing with Zoom, you know, I mean, Zoom takes
a lot of pride and being from Seattle and uh,
you know, so it was just, you know, we had
a you know, a great relationship with those two and uh,
you know, and they know my my goal for this
program and and and the standard that I'm going to
hold those two two and uh you know, and it's
and it's gonna it's gonna take a lot of work,
(04:37):
but they're they're willing to put that in and to
make this program successful again.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Well, Danny Sprinkle again as with us on the air,
and Washington basketball has the number five recruiting class in
the country, partly due to h some hot shot high
school basketball players that are all showing up. Nico Bundalow,
JJ mannd to Quit Cortland Mouldrew are all in the
top one hundred in the nation in in high school basketball.
(05:03):
Tell us about these kids and uh what what stands
out about them and what should fans expect in year
one from these guys?
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Yeah, you know, I mean JJ, he's a he's a
true old school throwback point guard. You know, he's a
team us a point guard. I think he's got two
gold medals. Uh, you know, he played on one of
the Elite AAU teams. He played at Utah Prep this year,
which is one of the better prep schools in the country.
But he's just a he's a tremendous facilitator. Like he's
who you want to play with if you're a scorer
(05:31):
or a big because he's going to get you the
ball on time, on target, which we had a problem
doing this year. You know, I mean our uh you know,
everybody thought, like you know, we are our our point
guard plays has to drastically improve this year, especially in
the Big ten, and and JJ does that. He Uh,
he's he's going to be a tremendous player. Here Courtland. Uh,
(05:52):
you know, I believe he he broke Malik Monks scoring
record in the state of Arkansas. Wow, he's a he's
a he could play guard, he can play one, two three.
He's very, very talented. Another top hundred kid who just
kept going up the rankings. You know, I mean we
beat out a lot of SEC schools to get him.
He came on his visit, he loved it. Uh. You know,
(06:13):
are my assistant to Marlow. Slocum had a connection to
his family and that's the only reason we got him. Like,
like I said, everybody down there wanted him, and so, uh,
you know, he's going to be a tremendous player, can
really score it. And Nico Bundlow you know who, Uh
you know, played a prolific prep and McDonald's all American,
you know, a lot of talent, a lot of raw talent.
(06:34):
And uh really excited to work with him and and
develop him. And uh because he he has he has
a chance in a couple of years. Uh. You know,
if he he plays his cards right and keeps working
and develops on and off the court, he's got a
chance to do some special things. And then we have
you know, we have a couple other you know, freshmanute.
Hopefully we'll be able to announce here in the next
(06:54):
day or two that that are both tremendous. So I
love the hopefully freshmen that we'll be able to talk
about the next time we get on, you know. And
that's part of developing the program, you know, like two three,
four years, you know, and hopefully we can keep these
guys and and uh, you don't keep them Husky uniforms
(07:16):
for a long time.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Well, then last year you had a great commit in
wes Lee Yates and he decided to leave, had a
good season at a USC but he's back now, which
gives you, along with your freshman you have coming in
you know, you know, you got five of the top
thirty one recruits in the history of Washington Husky basketball
on this roster right now. I mean, that is that
is pretty impressive. Coach, So talk to me about wes
(07:38):
Le Yates. Why did he decommit originally and why did
he decide to come back?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Yeah, you know what, uh I mean, you got you
have to ask him why he decommitted, you know, I mean,
I don't know, like I know, I know he loved
his time at University of Washington. He loved Seattle, and
that's how we kind of got back involved when he
went into the portal, you knowing to be honest, like
there was some were I mean, I thought it was
done at Kentucky, you know, like he was going to
(08:03):
Kentucky and that's where his agent was telling me and
everybody was telling me, and so you know, and whatever
happened fell through, and and uh, you know, like I said,
everybody in the country wanted him. But we're a static
to have him. He's he's one of the elite scorers
in our conference, you know. I mean, he averaged seventeen
a game in Big Ten play this year as a freshman.
(08:24):
And you guys saw how talented the freshman class was
this year in the Big Ten, with probably four or
five guys that are going to get you know, in
lottery picks, from the Harper and Bailey kid at Rutgers,
the Yaka Chonas at Illinois, Will Riley at Illinois. And
he was the leading scorer out of all those freshmen.
H you know, was seventeen a game, and so we
needed that on the wing, you know, we uh, you know,
(08:45):
we we we needed that this year you know, we
didn't really have an end of clock guard that could
just go get a bucket and and cane and could
just get hot and just make six seven threes and
do it consistently, not just one out every you know,
teen games. But he's he's a tremendous He's an elite scorer.
And uh no, I'm I'm a static to have him back.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Well, Danny Sprinkle again is with us, and I had
to look at the phonetics about fifteen times to make
sure I don't butcher this guy's last name. And by
the way, if you could just sign guys whose names
are easy to pronounce, we'd really appreciate that. We need
more john Smith exactly more more Bob Johnson's on the team.
But thanks to Mitch Praxel over there for a clearing
(09:29):
all this up. But Jacob Nasovich, who was the transfer
from Lipscomb, he was the conference player of the year
six eight, two twenty. I believe out of Wisconsin you
said when you showed up here you wanted size, and
this guy's going to give it to you.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
He is you know, we just call him joh with
Ja or Jago, but he you know, what he is
is is you know, our skill level really needed to
improve at every position, especially to four and five spot.
He can really shoot it. And he's just he's just
a good basketball player, you know. I mean he has
some great games against Power five teams, you know, whether
(10:08):
I think it was against Kentucky, you know, Iowa State
and the nstead A Tournament. You know, he led his
team to the innstable A tournament average like twenty and eight.
But he's just he's just skilled. Like I said, you know,
he can space the floor, he can drive past bigger guys,
he can score it on the block, he can pass,
and so like he's going to give us a lot
of versatility and just his experience and you know, big
(10:31):
time kid that you know, like he even said like
he wants to come here to win. And when we
talk to a lot of these recruits, you know a
lot of them, you know, sometimes the last thing out
of their mouth is winning. You know, they want to
know about nil or minutes things like that, like this
kid and Kamari, a lot of these kids we signed
there just like coach, I just want to win. And so,
you know, very very impressive young man and we're very
(10:53):
fortunate to get him.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Danny sprinkle Head basketball coach to you dub joining us
here on ninety three point three kJ RFM coach, Is
it gonna be difficult to fit all these players into
your style of play because you have an entirely new
team other than Zoom and Frank or are they kind
of hand picked of you know, and you're hand picking
these guys that you know will already fit what you
like to do.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
Uh No, I mean it's gonna be a challenge. It's
gonna be a challenge because you know it's ah, you
never know until you get them, you know, and like
we've seen film, but they all played in different styles.
You know, we're gonna play. We're gonna have to play
a lot faster than we did last year. You know
with our group last year, like we had to we
had to sometimes milk the possessions. Like that's not how
(11:36):
I like to play, you know, I like to let
we like to get up and down the floor. And
that's how my teams have played in the past and
had a fast tempo and you know, get up more threes.
But you got to be able to make freese in
order to shoot more trees. And so, uh that's one
thing that we really attacked in in this recruiting, and uh,
you know, and the best thing is is competition. You know,
when guys know that there's somebody behind them, it brings
(11:58):
out the best of them. And we're gonna have. So
we're gonna have. I can't wait for practice, you know, because,
like I mean, we got I got young guys. They're
going to come in with a chip on their shoulder.
I got you know, we got transfers that pretty much
all come from winning programs, so like they know, they
know what's expected, and like they're coming here for a reason,
and so it I can't wait. I can't wait for
(12:19):
the competition that we're going to see every day in
practice and the intensity.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah, well, Danny Sprinkle is with us, and Danny, let's
reverse roles for a second here, which is very scary
for you, by the way.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Okay, so let's imagine you're me that I'm you.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You're you're five foot ten, you're out of shape, you
collect Star Wars toys, you're fifty two years old, all right,
but you love the Huskies and you're wondering what is
all this gonna mean? Like Dick just mentioned it, right,
you got a lot of new guys. I mean, these
guys got to come together fast before you know, non
conference play starts in November. This was a last place
team a year ago. Is this now when NCAA tournament
(12:55):
team is this middle of the road Big ten team.
What would you be exc inspecting Husky basketball to look
like what it's all said and done in twenty twenty five,
twenty six.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Yeah, my expectation is to be in the NCAA Tournament
and not just get there like you know, we got
we gotta win games in the endstabul a tournament it. Yeah,
like I mentioned earlier, I've never been so motivated. In fact,
I'm pissed off. That's probably the best word. And I
probably shouldn't say that I'm air, but it is what
it is. Like I did not watch the selection show
for the first time, and I don't eat forever, like
(13:29):
I could not watch the selection show because once you
get a taste of the Insteadway Tournament. My teams have
been there three straight years, and once you get a
taste of it, there's nothing like it. And every day
we are attacking this roster with intensity, and I mean
like we're we're getting after my assistants had done a
(13:50):
tremendous job, you know, getting involved with some of the
best kids in the country. And like I said, we
still got one or two more that we still have
to sign, you know, to complete this class.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
But like I said, I want to build this roster
with so much competition that you know, like it'll be
crazy like and to be able to get on the
court is going to be a privilege and they're gonna
have to bring it every day to get there. And
I know that's what you have to do because playing
against purdues in Michigan States and Michigan and Wisconsin like like,
I see how their rosters are built, and I can
only imagine how their practices are. And that's that's what
(14:22):
we got to get.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
To talk about. The passion of the fan base. Was
it what you expected? And did it wane at all
towards the end of the season. When I was there,
it seemed pretty full and pretty loud to me, but
I wasn't at all the games. But did it wane
at all with the with the record late in the season, No,
I thought, Uh, I.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Thought our crowds were great, you know, I really did,
you know, I appreciate the you know, the people that
came you know and supported us, you know, and I
think the uh I thought most of our home games,
I thought, you know, we're very well attended, you know,
and I appreciate it because I said, are we weren't
a lot of our effort. It didn't result in wins,
but I think you know, they saw we're trying to
(15:01):
play the right way and we were competing. You know.
It was just you know, sometimes it just it is
what it is. And the ball didn't go our way
that night. But it wasn't for a lack of effort
or trying or competing, you know. The one thing I
will say is every time we'd go on the road,
when we go to Michigan State in Wisconsin and Michigan
(15:21):
like even Iowa, you know, I mean there's fifteen sixteen
thousand people there, and there wasn't a lot of Husky
fans there, you know, like traveling when we played Purdue
here when we had to lead in the second half,
that place got loud when Purdue made a run and
it was three thousand Perdue fans here. Indiana had three
(15:41):
thousand fans. Illinois had three thousand fans so now it's
my job, in the team's job. We got to be
good enough to where there's so many people from Seattle
coming to our game that those people can't get tickets
at our place. Like I don't want to look up
in two years when we're playing Purdue and see thirty
five hundred perdue fans in our arena. I don't want
to see you know, green when we play organ you know,
(16:02):
stuff like that. And uh, you know, But like I said,
we have to do our part and uh you know,
and it's it's it's gonna be an exciting journey, it
really is. But I appreciate the fans because I thought
they were I thought they were tremendous supporting us this year.
And I know at times it was a you know,
like I said, from a win lost standpoint. At times
it was it was hard.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Well, you're getting me excited, man, I know you're getting
Dick fired up to us.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Let's start the games right now in November.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I mean, I'm having a hard time standing still here
in Utah.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Man.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
I mean, look, we can, we can edit this out,
you know, for for later on.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
But holleluyah to all that baby, are you kidding? I
mean that that is exactly what I want to hear
out of my head, coach, Danny, exactly what I want
to hear you say.
Speaker 5 (16:48):
That's right, baby, that's right, you got you got You
gotta sound like my family. They get all excited about
this recruiting and I'm like, hey, listen, these recruiting rankings
don't win no games. Right now. The guy's got to
come and produce, and uh no, it's gonna be awesome.
I really like the character, the toughness, and the and
the talent like we have. We have talent, we have size,
we have athleticism, you know, and now it's now it's
(17:11):
those guys, you know, sacrificing and coming together.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, go get them, man, we'll talk down the road, buddy.
Appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Wow, you got it man. Thanks all right.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Danny, sprinkle with us.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Wow. I think that's exactly what you want to hear
from your head, coach. Last year's not good enough, no doubt,
was not good enough and needs to improve and needs
to improve fast.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
So congrats on them for you know, step number one.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
But obviously, as you know, Dick as a coach, got
to make this whole thing work and put this recipe together,
so awesome stuff from Danny Sprinkle right there, man, we're
gonna break a little fun with audio coming up.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
And then John Wilner.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We got John's thoughts on all this too at five
tonight right here on ninety three three kJ RFM
You're listening to the home of the Husky Kruken and
Seattle's best NFL Draft coverage in the twenty twenty five
NFL Draft. Now back to Suffian did proudly brought to
you by Emerald Queen Casino on Sports Radio ninety three
point three a jr FM.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
All Right, Well, obviously a disappointing season, Dick for Husky basketball.
Nobody thought last place in the Big Ten was gonna happen.
Now making Danny Sprinkle's first year. I remember you and
I talking to Wilner over the offseason thinking they might
be a tournament team, and that did not happen.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
But he has gone out.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Danny Sprinkle has along with his staff and just crushed it.
In recruiting transfer Portal High School ranks number five in
the country. As a matter of fact, right.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
Now is high school number eight portal only only team
in the country with those two accolades. Well, the guy,
the wizard behind the curtain that's pulling all the levers,
pushing all the buttons is Danny Sprinkle when he's with
us now on the radio station.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Danny, how are you, man?
Speaker 5 (00:58):
I'm doing great, doing great.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
I mean I feel a lot better.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
Than I did three hundred and sixty five days ago.
I was happy to get this job, but I knew
how much work we had to get done yep, in
that first year, and actually to have a have a
year to you know, evaluate these recruits and be here
and just kind of you know, have more of a
comfort level. And you know, I love I love some
of the pieces that we've added to next year's team.
(01:22):
And and like I said, I want to give a
lot of credit to my staff. My assistants had done
a tremendous job. And not just that, like even you know,
you know people within the department. You know, our academics
are nutrition is strength coach, like the people when these
kids come on visits or we're doing zoms have done
a tremendous job. And so I want to make sure
I'm giving them a lot of the credit too, because
(01:42):
they deserve it.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, Danny, before we get into details about the guys
you're bringing in a couple of guys I know we
can't talk about just yet, but the majority of these
kids we can talk about. We haven't had a chance
to catch you up right since the end of the year.
I know you're wrong with MJ back at the Final
four in San Antonio. But just give us your thoughts
on how difficult year number one was and what you
(02:04):
learned about what this program was all about and kind
of what you needed to do.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Yeah, uh, I mean it was a it was a
trying first year. You know. I knew. I knew as
soon as I saw our team in the summer, Like
I knew, like once we got the job, like it
was hard. There wasn't a lot of big ten level
talent out there, you know, And I think we did
a pretty good job scrapping together a recruiting class last year.
(02:29):
You know. Obviously we ya know, we'd missed on some
guys when we first got the job, but then we
you know, we picked up some pieces and we got
some guys in May, you know, which you know, you're
not getting big ten level guys in May, and so, uh,
I knew we had our work cut out for us.
And and that's why I knew, you know, it was
just kind of trying to develop the culture the first
year and what our expectations were, you know, in that way,
(02:51):
hopefully some guys that would you know, stick around and
knew what to happen and that's what you know, Franken
Zoomer going to be about, you know, with them coming
back for a year or two. Uh, you know, I
think they know what I expect. You know, they know
what practices are going to be like. And now it's
their job to be leaders on the court and help
some of these incoming guys, you know, establish that identity
that we want, that toughness and that discipline and that ownership,
(03:14):
and so it'll be uh, you know, I'm excited. Uh,
I mean, I've never been so you know, motivated, and uh,
you know, I mean the league is tremendous.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
You guys saw that.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
I mean, every single every single team in our league
is getting great recruits. I mean you look at I mean,
Michigan's got three of the top kids in the portal
like everybody, USC, UCLA, everybody's getting good players. So uh
now we just have to we have to get great
talent and then we've got to coach them. You know,
We've got to coach them and uh, you know, and
and and just keep building.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
We let's start with your returners, Frank and zoom that
you mentioned was in keeping them away from the NBA
draft or more was it keeping them away from the
transfer portal. And how hard was it to keep those guys?
Speaker 5 (03:55):
Yeah, no, I mean, you know, neither of them wanted
to leave. Like. They love it here, you know, I mean,
they love the Huskies, they love you know, how people
have treated them here, and and it's important for them
to to get this you know, program back on track,
you know. I mean, you know, Frank's been here, you
know for a couple of years now and hasn't had
the success that he wanted when he first came here. Uh,
(04:16):
same thing with Zoom, you know, I mean, Zoom takes
a lot of pride and being from Seattle and uh,
you know, so it was just, you know, we had
a you know, a great relationship with those two and uh,
you know, and they know my my goal for this
program and and and the standard that I'm going to
hold those two two and uh you know, and it's
and it's gonna it's gonna take a lot of work,
(04:37):
but they're they're willing to put that in and to
make this program successful again.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Well, Danny Sprinkle again as with us on the air,
and Washington basketball has the number five recruiting class in
the country, partly due to h some hot shot high
school basketball players that are all showing up. Nico Bundalow,
JJ mannd to Quit Cortland Mouldrew are all in the
top one hundred in the nation in in high school basketball.
(05:03):
Tell us about these kids and uh what what stands
out about them and what should fans expect in year
one from these guys?
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Yeah, you know, I mean JJ, he's a he's a
true old school throwback point guard. You know, he's a
team us a point guard. I think he's got two
gold medals. Uh, you know, he played on one of
the Elite AAU teams. He played at Utah Prep this year,
which is one of the better prep schools in the country.
But he's just a he's a tremendous facilitator. Like he's
who you want to play with if you're a scorer
(05:31):
or a big because he's going to get you the
ball on time, on target, which we had a problem
doing this year. You know, I mean our uh you know,
everybody thought, like you know, we are our our point
guard plays has to drastically improve this year, especially in
the Big ten, and and JJ does that. He Uh,
he's he's going to be a tremendous player. Here Courtland. Uh,
(05:52):
you know, I believe he he broke Malik Monks scoring
record in the state of Arkansas. Wow, he's a he's
a he could play guard, he can play one, two three.
He's very, very talented. Another top hundred kid who just
kept going up the rankings. You know, I mean we
beat out a lot of SEC schools to get him.
He came on his visit, he loved it. Uh. You know,
(06:13):
are my assistant to Marlow. Slocum had a connection to
his family and that's the only reason we got him. Like,
like I said, everybody down there wanted him, and so, uh,
you know, he's going to be a tremendous player, can
really score it. And Nico Bundlow you know who, Uh
you know, played a prolific prep and McDonald's all American,
you know, a lot of talent, a lot of raw talent.
(06:34):
And uh really excited to work with him and and
develop him. And uh because he he has he has
a chance in a couple of years. Uh. You know,
if he he plays his cards right and keeps working
and develops on and off the court, he's got a
chance to do some special things. And then we have
you know, we have a couple other you know, freshmanute.
Hopefully we'll be able to announce here in the next
(06:54):
day or two that that are both tremendous. So I
love the hopefully freshmen that we'll be able to talk
about the next time we get on, you know. And
that's part of developing the program, you know, like two three,
four years, you know, and hopefully we can keep these
guys and and uh, you don't keep them Husky uniforms
(07:16):
for a long time.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Well, then last year you had a great commit in
wes Lee Yates and he decided to leave, had a
good season at a USC but he's back now, which
gives you, along with your freshman you have coming in
you know, you know, you got five of the top
thirty one recruits in the history of Washington Husky basketball
on this roster right now. I mean, that is that
is pretty impressive. Coach, So talk to me about wes
(07:38):
Le Yates. Why did he decommit originally and why did
he decide to come back?
Speaker 5 (07:43):
Yeah, you know what, uh I mean, you got you
have to ask him why he decommitted, you know, I mean,
I don't know, like I know, I know he loved
his time at University of Washington. He loved Seattle, and
that's how we kind of got back involved when he
went into the portal, you knowing to be honest, like
there was some were I mean, I thought it was
done at Kentucky, you know, like he was going to
(08:03):
Kentucky and that's where his agent was telling me and
everybody was telling me, and so you know, and whatever
happened fell through, and and uh, you know, like I said,
everybody in the country wanted him. But we're a static
to have him. He's he's one of the elite scorers
in our conference, you know. I mean, he averaged seventeen
a game in Big Ten play this year as a freshman.
(08:24):
And you guys saw how talented the freshman class was
this year in the Big Ten, with probably four or
five guys that are going to get you know, in
lottery picks, from the Harper and Bailey kid at Rutgers,
the Yaka Chonas at Illinois, Will Riley at Illinois. And
he was the leading scorer out of all those freshmen.
H you know, was seventeen a game, and so we
needed that on the wing, you know, we uh, you know,
(08:45):
we we we needed that this year you know, we
didn't really have an end of clock guard that could
just go get a bucket and and cane and could
just get hot and just make six seven threes and
do it consistently, not just one out every you know,
teen games. But he's he's a tremendous He's an elite scorer.
And uh no, I'm I'm a static to have him back.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Well, Danny Sprinkle again is with us, and I had
to look at the phonetics about fifteen times to make
sure I don't butcher this guy's last name. And by
the way, if you could just sign guys whose names
are easy to pronounce, we'd really appreciate that. We need
more john Smith exactly more more Bob Johnson's on the team.
But thanks to Mitch Praxel over there for a clearing
(09:29):
all this up. But Jacob Nasovich, who was the transfer
from Lipscomb, he was the conference player of the year
six eight, two twenty. I believe out of Wisconsin you
said when you showed up here you wanted size, and
this guy's going to give it to you.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
He is you know, we just call him joh with
Ja or Jago, but he you know, what he is
is is you know, our skill level really needed to
improve at every position, especially to four and five spot.
He can really shoot it. And he's just he's just
a good basketball player, you know. I mean he has
some great games against Power five teams, you know, whether
(10:08):
I think it was against Kentucky, you know, Iowa State
and the nstead A Tournament. You know, he led his
team to the innstable A tournament average like twenty and eight.
But he's just he's just skilled. Like I said, you know,
he can space the floor, he can drive past bigger guys,
he can score it on the block, he can pass,
and so like he's going to give us a lot
of versatility and just his experience and you know, big
(10:31):
time kid that you know, like he even said like
he wants to come here to win. And when we
talk to a lot of these recruits, you know a
lot of them, you know, sometimes the last thing out
of their mouth is winning. You know, they want to
know about nil or minutes things like that, like this
kid and Kamari, a lot of these kids we signed
there just like coach, I just want to win. And so,
you know, very very impressive young man and we're very
(10:53):
fortunate to get him.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Danny sprinkle Head basketball coach to you dub joining us
here on ninety three point three kJ RFM coach, Is
it gonna be difficult to fit all these players into
your style of play because you have an entirely new
team other than Zoom and Frank or are they kind
of hand picked of you know, and you're hand picking
these guys that you know will already fit what you
like to do.
Speaker 5 (11:15):
Uh No, I mean it's gonna be a challenge. It's
gonna be a challenge because you know it's ah, you
never know until you get them, you know, and like
we've seen film, but they all played in different styles.
You know, we're gonna play. We're gonna have to play
a lot faster than we did last year. You know
with our group last year, like we had to we
had to sometimes milk the possessions. Like that's not how
(11:36):
I like to play, you know, I like to let
we like to get up and down the floor. And
that's how my teams have played in the past and
had a fast tempo and you know, get up more threes.
But you got to be able to make freese in
order to shoot more trees. And so, uh that's one
thing that we really attacked in in this recruiting, and uh,
you know, and the best thing is is competition. You know,
when guys know that there's somebody behind them, it brings
(11:58):
out the best of them. And we're gonna have. So
we're gonna have. I can't wait for practice, you know, because,
like I mean, we got I got young guys. They're
going to come in with a chip on their shoulder.
I got you know, we got transfers that pretty much
all come from winning programs, so like they know, they
know what's expected, and like they're coming here for a reason,
and so it I can't wait. I can't wait for
(12:19):
the competition that we're going to see every day in
practice and the intensity.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah, well, Danny Sprinkle is with us, and Danny, let's
reverse roles for a second here, which is very scary
for you, by the way.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Okay, so let's imagine you're me that I'm you.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
You're you're five foot ten, you're out of shape, you
collect Star Wars toys, you're fifty two years old, all right,
but you love the Huskies and you're wondering what is
all this gonna mean? Like Dick just mentioned it, right,
you got a lot of new guys. I mean, these
guys got to come together fast before you know, non
conference play starts in November. This was a last place
team a year ago. Is this now when NCAA tournament
(12:55):
team is this middle of the road Big ten team.
What would you be exc inspecting Husky basketball to look
like what it's all said and done in twenty twenty five,
twenty six.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Yeah, my expectation is to be in the NCAA Tournament
and not just get there like you know, we got
we gotta win games in the endstabul a tournament it. Yeah,
like I mentioned earlier, I've never been so motivated. In fact,
I'm pissed off. That's probably the best word. And I
probably shouldn't say that I'm air, but it is what
it is. Like I did not watch the selection show
for the first time, and I don't eat forever, like
(13:29):
I could not watch the selection show because once you
get a taste of the Insteadway Tournament. My teams have
been there three straight years, and once you get a
taste of it, there's nothing like it. And every day
we are attacking this roster with intensity, and I mean
like we're we're getting after my assistants had done a
(13:50):
tremendous job, you know, getting involved with some of the
best kids in the country. And like I said, we
still got one or two more that we still have
to sign, you know, to complete this class.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (14:00):
But like I said, I want to build this roster
with so much competition that you know, like it'll be
crazy like and to be able to get on the
court is going to be a privilege and they're gonna
have to bring it every day to get there. And
I know that's what you have to do because playing
against purdues in Michigan States and Michigan and Wisconsin like like,
I see how their rosters are built, and I can
only imagine how their practices are. And that's that's what
(14:22):
we got to get.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
To talk about. The passion of the fan base. Was
it what you expected? And did it wane at all
towards the end of the season. When I was there,
it seemed pretty full and pretty loud to me, but
I wasn't at all the games. But did it wane
at all with the with the record late in the season, No,
I thought, Uh, I.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Thought our crowds were great, you know, I really did,
you know, I appreciate the you know, the people that
came you know and supported us, you know, and I
think the uh I thought most of our home games,
I thought, you know, we're very well attended, you know,
and I appreciate it because I said, are we weren't
a lot of our effort. It didn't result in wins,
but I think you know, they saw we're trying to
(15:01):
play the right way and we were competing. You know.
It was just you know, sometimes it just it is
what it is. And the ball didn't go our way
that night. But it wasn't for a lack of effort
or trying or competing, you know. The one thing I
will say is every time we'd go on the road,
when we go to Michigan State in Wisconsin and Michigan
(15:21):
like even Iowa, you know, I mean there's fifteen sixteen
thousand people there, and there wasn't a lot of Husky
fans there, you know, like traveling when we played Purdue
here when we had to lead in the second half,
that place got loud when Purdue made a run and
it was three thousand Perdue fans here. Indiana had three
(15:41):
thousand fans. Illinois had three thousand fans so now it's
my job, in the team's job. We got to be
good enough to where there's so many people from Seattle
coming to our game that those people can't get tickets
at our place. Like I don't want to look up
in two years when we're playing Purdue and see thirty
five hundred perdue fans in our arena. I don't want
to see you know, green when we play organ you know,
(16:02):
stuff like that. And uh, you know, But like I said,
we have to do our part and uh you know,
and it's it's it's gonna be an exciting journey, it
really is. But I appreciate the fans because I thought
they were I thought they were tremendous supporting us this year.
And I know at times it was a you know,
like I said, from a win lost standpoint. At times
it was it was hard.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Well, you're getting me excited, man, I know you're getting
Dick fired up to us.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Let's start the games right now in November.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
I mean, I'm having a hard time standing still here
in Utah.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Man.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
I mean, look, we can, we can edit this out,
you know, for for later on.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
But holleluyah to all that baby, are you kidding? I
mean that that is exactly what I want to hear
out of my head, coach, Danny, exactly what I want
to hear you say.
Speaker 5 (16:48):
That's right, baby, that's right, you got you got You
gotta sound like my family. They get all excited about
this recruiting and I'm like, hey, listen, these recruiting rankings
don't win no games. Right now. The guy's got to
come and produce, and uh no, it's gonna be awesome.
I really like the character, the toughness, and the and
the talent like we have. We have talent, we have size,
we have athleticism, you know, and now it's now it's
(17:11):
those guys, you know, sacrificing and coming together.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Yeah, go get them, man, we'll talk down the road, buddy.
Appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Wow, you got it man. Thanks all right.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Danny, sprinkle with us.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Wow. I think that's exactly what you want to hear
from your head, coach. Last year's not good enough, no doubt,
was not good enough and needs to improve and needs
to improve fast.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
So congrats on them for you know, step number one.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
But obviously, as you know, Dick as a coach, got
to make this whole thing work and put this recipe together,
so awesome stuff from Danny Sprinkle right there, man, we're
gonna break a little fun with audio coming up.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
And then John Wilner.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
We got John's thoughts on all this too at five
tonight right here on ninety three three kJ RFM
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