Slow deliberate process
While many basketball prospects aiming for the class of 2018 have already committed and signed, We know that the Washington Basketball team has three recruits signed up for 2018: 6-foot-11.5 center Nate Roberts, 6-foot-2 point guard Elijah Hardy, and 6-foot-6 small forward Jamal Bey. Each 2018 recruit fills a need on the team, but the Huskies still have room to grow. Literally. Even with the addition of Roberts, the Huskies will only have two player at or taller than 6-foot-10.
While the team has a limit on the number of bigs on the roster, there is no such limit to the amount of talent. The 2018 recruiting class includes the 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year in Jamal Bey. The history of this distinction is practically a who’s who of NBA stars. Bey will hope to continue in that tradition.
The addition of 7-foot-0 Bryan Penn-Johnson changes that landscape dramatically for the team. After all the hard work, the recruiting of new coaching staff, retention of current players, and attracting new players, Coach Hopkins won Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Still, I wonder if he would trade in that award to guarantee the commitment of center standout Bryan Penn Johnson. I think he would.