UW men’s basketball holding breath on injury update on Wesley Yates
Almost everyone makes New Year’s resolutions and Danny Sprinkle is no different.
Before embarking on the season’s first multigame Big Ten road trip with the short-handed Huskies, the Washington men’s basketball coach reflected on the promises he made to himself and hopes to keep in 2026.
“To try to be a little more positive and to be able to kind of roll with the punches,” Sprinkle said smiling. “This year has been hard, especially with the injuries. There’s a lot of excuses that we could have (used) and we haven’t. Not once have our players or our staff used any of these injuries to be an excuse. It’s the next man up. We usually don’t even talk about the guys that have been injured. It’s like, ‘No, let’s go. Let’s practice.’
“But (I want) to continue to have just a positive mindset and be grateful that we are in the Big Ten and we’re playing at the highest level, and we do have the opportunity to compete against a lot of these teams because it is a special opportunity.”
Admittedly, it’s been difficult for Sprinkle to remain positive while leading an injury-riddled team that’s soared at times and stumbled on occasion while compiling a 9-4 record, including 1-1 in the Big Ten.
To recap:
• Before the season, forward Jacob Ognacevic injured his foot and is expected to make his UW debut in a few weeks, while forward Mady Traore suffered a season-ending foot injury.
• Guard Desmond Claude (ankle) missed the first four games.
• Forward Hannes Steinbach (ankle) missed three games.
• Forward Bryson Tucker (ankle) missed six games.
• Center Lathan Sommerville (knee) has missed the past two games.
• And guard Wesley Yates (wrist) has missed the past two games.
Sprinkle has adroitly reconfigured starting lineups and rotations to offset the injuries, but losing Yates could potentially derail a UW team that began the season with hopes of landing an NCAA tournament berth and snapping a seven-year Big Dance drought.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore is second on the team in scoring (14.9 points per game), steals (1.6) and minutes (31.2), third in 3-point percentage (33.8%) and fourth in rebounds (3.9).
Yates, who has been UW’s leading scorer in five of his 11 games, had surgery last week and it’s uncertain when or if he’ll return this season.
“From what I’m told, it’s a weird kind of bone that broke in his wrist that they had to do the surgery on,” Sprinkle said. “It can heal very, very quickly or it can take a long time to heal. It just kind of depends on how the surgery goes. We’ll get an update on that, but from every but thing I’m seeing, and talking to him, it looks pretty positive right now.
“So, we’re hoping for the best and obviously as soon as possible is the best thing for our team. … In the next week to two weeks, hopefully we’re getting him back.”
Yates has had a hard-luck career, particularly as it pertains to the Huskies.
Two years ago, the former four-star recruit from Beaumont, Texas, injured his foot before the season, suffered a setback midseason and missed all 32 games for the Huskies.
Yates transferred to USC and appeared in 33 of 35 games before returning to UW where he’s injured again and may not play anymore this season.
“We’re all thinking pretty positive right now,” Sprinkle said. “When I talked to him yesterday, he was feeling great. I’m not expecting it to be a season-ending injury. Obviously, if we got that news, it’d be devastating for him, but then at the end of the day, it is athletics and it’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up and show what they can do.”
Seemingly, the Huskies will rely on Tucker and freshman guards Jasir Rencher and Courtland Muldrew to fill the void.
Tucker has elite athleticism, good size at 6-7 and sank five three-pointers in the first two games this season. However, he’s scored two points or fewer in three of four games since returning from injury.
Offensively, Rencher and Muldrew haven’t posed a threat in limited minutes while combining for 28 points, but Sprinkle believes they can make an impact on the defensive end.
“It’s going to be fun for Jasir and Courtland,” Sprinkle said. “We got to somehow find a couple of minutes here and there for them at certain times of the game.
“Then obviously, Bryson. He’s a tremendous player. Obviously, he’s struggled the last three games, but we know what he’s capable of and now it’s on him and he’s got to produce on the court. But I’m not worried about him knocking down shots.”
Without Yates, who is second on the team with 23 3-pointers, the Huskies need to find someone who can consistently knock down perimeter shots.
Washington ranks next to last in the Big Ten and 233rd nationally while shooting 32.2% on 3-pointers
Steinbach shoots 46.2% behind the arc, but he’s seventh on the team with 13 3-point attempts.
“I don’t know what it is, because you can’t get better looks than we’ve gotten,” Sprinkle said. “Really the last four games we’re wide open. Now it’s just a matter of time. It’s almost kind of like free throws. When guys are stepping up making them, the next guy steps up and makes them. It just comes down to a couple guys knocking some down early, and then kind of the floodgates open.
“There’s a game where we’re going to make 10 plus. When we make eight plus, we’re pretty hard to beat.”
The Huskies are 4-2 when they make eight 3-pointers.