Washington Huskies Men’s Basketball Team in Good Position to Address Major Issue From Last Year

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men’s basketball team finished 12th in the 18-team Big Ten conference last season, in large part due to struggles on offense.

Among the Huskies offensive troubles lied on their efficiency from 3-point range. In the 2025-26 season, Washington connected on just 221-of-702 shots from beyond the arc. The team’s 221 makes ranked 14th in the Big Ten and its 31.5% clip from 3-point range ranked 16th in the conference.

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The Huskies’ go-to 3-point shooters, such as since-graduated senior guard Quimari Peterson and fourth-year guard Wesley Yates III, dealt with injuries last year that prevented them from reaching numbers they previously hit in their careers. Yates missed five full games with a broken bone in his wrist that required surgery. When he returned, he had a cast on his hand and was unable to maximize his potential as a shooter.

Washington added nine new players this offseason, many of whom specialize in 3-point shooting. Two key additions are eighth-year wing Steele Venters (transferred from Gonzaga Bulldogs) and fourth-year guard Parker Friedrichsen (transferred from Davidson Wildcats).

Those additions have already paid dividends. In the Huskies’ 109-91 exhibition game loss against the Boise State Broncos, UW shot 11-for-27 (40.7%) from beyond the arc. Venters shot 2-for-6 from 3-point range and Friedrichsen connected for a 3-for-5 mark from downtown and fifth-year point guard and Nevada Wolfpack transfer Tayshawn Comer was 2-for-2.

For their careers, Friedrichsen is a 35.9% 3-point shooter, Comer has shot 33% from beyond the arc in his career and Venters has connected on 39.6% of his shots from outside the arc.

“I thought we were taking good shots (from 3-point range),” Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle said in a news conference Thursday. “When we’re taking the good 3s — the ones we missed against Boise, we were taking bad shots. We were taking contested 3s (when) we don’t need to take those. If we let the ball move and find…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/washington-huskies-mens-basketball-team-052856045.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-25 05:28:00

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