Washington Huskies Men’s Basketball 2021-22 Player Preview
Herb Nightengale
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Returning starters
Senior guard Jamal Bey is likely the face of 2021-22 Washington Huskies basketball. He will be one of the two starters returning from last year’s team. Bey averaged 10.3 points and 3.7 rebounds a game. In his first two years at Washington, he contributed coming off the bench.
In addition, Nate Roberts, a center/forward, will be returning after becoming a first-time NCAA starter in 2020-21. Last year Roberts averaged 5.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. For the Washington Huskies to succeed this time around his scoring average needs to go up at least two points per game.
UW also needs Roberts to pick it up on the offensive glass. Last year the Huskies only averaged 8.3 offensive rebounds per game, with Roberts’ 2.3 leading the way. He’ll need help from the other forwards but he has to be the Windex.
Returning role players
The Huskies have two other returners that should be important parts of the team. Both came off the bench last year and add a good amount of experience in Hopkins’ system. Cole Bajema, the only transfer on last year’s team, is back. In 24 games, Bajema averaged 15.3 minutes, 3.1 points, and 1.6 rebounds. He’ll be counted on again in his second year at Washington, a nice boost in his stats would help.
Also returning is 7-foot-4 center Riley Sorn, a former walk-on out of Richland, Washington. He joined the program at the same time as Roberts and redshirted his first year. In the 2019-20 season, Sorn only played in one game but last year he worked his way into 24 games, averaging nearly ten minutes. Hopkins must have been impressed with his progress. Sorn will spell Roberts when he comes in.