In his Washington Huskies debut, Great Osobor made history as he led coach Danny Sprinkle’s team to a 79-73 victory over UC Davis. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward became the first player in school history to tally 15 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 steals in a game, numbers a major college basketball conference hasn’t seen since Blake Griffin’s one season with the Oklahoma Sooners.
The preseason pick for Big Ten Player of the Year added 3 assists and 2 blocks to his stat line in 38 minutes of action but still has plenty of room to improve, according to Sprinkle. Osobor went 7-for-16 at the free-throw line, committed 4 fouls, and 6 turnovers.
“He knows me, and I know him better than anybody, I’d say a C-,” Sprinkle said when asked to assess his performance. “As good as his stat line was, he missed nine free throws. I’m really proud of his 17 rebounds because they were down there because he was down there battling, and they were being physical with him too. He has to make more free throws, and he can’t have six turnovers, he’s too good of a player to do that.”
As the Huskies continue to gel early in the season, it appears that Sprinkle is going to lean heavily on his star, who brought the ball up the floor on a good chunk of Washington’s possessions and showed off plenty of promise as a playmaker on both ends of the floor, drawing 12 fouls and hustling for loose balls to go along with his exceptional numbers.
The head coach’s message wasn’t lost on Osobor either. After the senior addressed the media, he returned to the floor inside Alaska Airlines Arena to shoot free throws.