It took just two games into a new season to see how opponents would handle the University of Washington basketball team – making a concentrated effort to take down the Huskies’ proven big boys.
In somewhat stunning fashion, Nevada did just that this weekend in a 63-53 win in Reno by limiting the 6-foot-4, 250-pound forward Great Osobor to 3 points and. Franck Kepnang from 6-foot-1, 250 pounds to 2, as this pair of frontliners combined to shoot 1-for-11 from the floor.
These are players who have thrived on many teams, with Osobor averaging 17.8 points per game last season at Utah State and guiding the Aggies to the NCAA tournament, while Kepnang memorably led a 78- 73 loss to then No. 7-ranked Gonzaga last December with a 14-point, 7-rebound, 5-block effort.
“They made it a point to go after Great,” Husky coach Danny Sprinkle said. “They did a good job of doubling up and making it difficult for him. But even at the end of the day, those two have to play better, and they’re better than they played.”
On Wednesday night, the Huskies (1-1) will try to get Osobor and Kepnang back on track when they likely top Seattle Pacific (0-3) at Alaska Airlines Arena at 7 p.m.
As he puts together a new team and tries to combine eight transfers into a cohesive whole, Sprinkle said his players, for whatever reason, weren’t as focused as they needed to be in Nevada. He pointed out that Kepnang had a wide-open dunk on the first possession, causing the Huskies to lose the ball out of bounds.
It’s also entirely possible that the UW encountered a coach in the form of Nevada’s Steve Alford who simply knew what needed to be done defensively and acted on it. He faced both Husky big men last season and his team had success every time.
A year ago in November, Alford’s Wolf Pack traveled to Seattle and defeated UW 83-76 while holding Kepnang scoreless and to one shot in 12 minutes of play. Three months later, Nevada limited Osobor to 4-for-7 shooting and 11 points in a 77–63 win over then 22nd-ranked Utah State in Logan, Utah.
The new Husky coach knows his big men have to be ready to play at all times.
“I hope this doesn’t happen again,” Sprinkle said. “They’re both really good players. Nevada has done a really good job defensively guarding them, but they’re still talented enough and we can’t afford to have those guys combining for five points.”
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