Hannes Steinbach showed why he's about to be an NBA lottery pick in the upcoming draft. He was unstoppable against the USC Trojans in the 91-72 victory. He's been a double-double machine all year and leads the Big Ten in that category, but against USC, he did something that's only been done once before in the history of Washington basketball: he had a 20-20 night.
Steinbach had 22 points and 24 rebounds, including 12 offensive rebounds. It was like he was playing by himself in the paint. He was bringing everything down on both ends of the court. 20-20 games are extremely rare in college basketball, which is why Steinbach is only the second to perform the feat.
Hannes Steinbach joins Noah Dickerson as the only two double-doubles since 1977
The first recorded 20-20 game was when Noah Dickerson went off against Eastern Washington back in 2017. He had 28 points and 22 rebounds in that game.
Steinbach's 20-20 is impressive and is extremely rare, but he is also now one of the top single-game rebounders in Washington history. His 24 rebounds rank fourth all-time in the Husky record books behind Ed Corell with 30 in 1962, Steve Hawes with 28 in 1972, and Dean Parsons with 26 in 1955.
Which if you look at those dates, you can see that Steinbach has the most rebounds in school history since 1972. Dickerson's aforementioned 22 against Eastern Washington is the only other in modern history.
This is why Steinbach is considered a lottery pick. Not just the 20-20 because Dickerson wasn't considered a lottery pick, but because Steinbach can put up a double-double night after night, score from every spot on the floor, and has all the NBA potential that scouts dream about.
A performance like tonight may have only elevated his draft stock because he was otherworldly in how he played against USC.
It wasn't just the points and rebounds. He also had two assists and two blocks. Impressive performance from the young man, and yet the downside of it all is that once again, Washington has a sure-fire NBA pick, and it comes in a wasted season for the program.