As the Washington Huskies look to replicate the production of Hannes Steinbach, who posted 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in his one year on Montlake before heading off to the NBA draft, where he was selected with the No. 14 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, Danny Sprinkle turned to the international ranks once again to help fill the shoes of the standout German, as his coaching staff was able to acquire the services of Brazilian forward Wini Braga.
While Braga was a highly coveted prospect by several of college basketball's blue bloods, Washington was able to win out for his services, but Sprinkle didn't want to put sky-high expectations on the 6-foot-9 forward.
"He's not Hannes, and I don't want him to be compared to that," Sprinkle
said on Thursday. "He's still 20 years old...the style of play that they play in Brazil is completely different than college basketball, and so, it will be an adjustment."
Part of that is due to the fact that Braga wasn't able to enroll at Washington until late September.
"He didn't get into school until, I think, September 30. He just got here, and so he wasn't able to practice or do anything all summer, and obviously he had to go back home until he got a test score, and we finally let him into school once he got it...Now he's here, but now he's, you know, he's 12 to 14 weeks behind, and so he just got here where everything we were implementing all summer and all of September, he doesn't know it."
Sprinkle added that Braga is still working into shape, but he was able to play 13 minutes in Washington's first exhibition against Boise State, and posted 3 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal, showing the skill set that the Huskies were looking for to fill Steinbach's shoes in the frontcourt alongside returners Lathan Sommerville, Nikola Dzepina, and Mady Traore.
"Like Hannes, he's a really good passer. I think that's one of the best things he can do. He made a three against Boise; he can do that at times. But I think the best thing he brings is physicality and rebounding, and he can block some shots."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington basketball managing expectations around F Wini Braga
