The Danny Sprinkle Era for Washington basketball took off to a good start, with the Huskies winning their first outing o the 2024-25 college hoops season on Tuesday night. The Huskies leaned on the solid form of Great Osobor to stave off an upset bid by the UC Davis Aggies in Seattle, as the former Utah State Aggies debuted in Washington uniform with 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the floor, 17 rebounds, six steals, and two blocks in 38 minutes of a 79-73 victory.
The Huskies announced on social media following the game that Osobor became just the first player in a major conference since Blake Griffin's days with the Oklahoma Sooners to produce at least that many points, boards, and steals in a game.
Osobor is playing for his third school in his college career, which he spent the first two years of with the Montana State Bobcats. He transferred to the Utah State Aggies for the 2023-24 season and helped the program, then coached by Sprinkle to an appearance in the 2024 National Tournament as a No. 8 seed. Osobor helped Utah State take down No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs in the first round before getting eliminated in the second round of the Big Dance by Zach Edey and eventual finalists Purdue Boilermakers.
Osobor, who is from England, decided to enter the transfer portal in April before committing to Washington basketball for his senior season. In his one year with Utah State, Osobor averaged 17.7 points and 9.0 rebounds while dishing out 2.8 dimes per contest. He also had 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per outing.
Washington basketball can still improve
Despite the win over UC Davis, the Huskies know they have a lot to improve on. For one, they shot just 2-for-14 from behind the arc against a team that came into the game as an underdog by 15.5 points in some sportsbooks.
Osobor could have added more to his point total if not for his bad performance on the foul line, where he shot just 7-for-16. He also had nine turnovers and four personal fouls, which Sprinkle didn't love.
“He knows me and I know him better than anybody and I would say C-minus,” Sprinkle graded Osobor's showing after the game, per Percy Allen of The Seattle Times. “As good as his stat line was, he missed nine free throws. I’m really proud of his 17 rebounds because he was down there battling.