A conversation with the Head of Hoops

Through four games, the Washington Huskies (1-3) started out extremely slow, but on Wednesday broke through in a big way with a 32-point win over crosstown rivals Seattle University.With UW set to host Oregon Saturday at 5 pm on the Pac-12 Networks, it seemed a perfect time to Dawgman.com’s Chris Fetters to catch up with the Head of Hoops, Aaron Beach, to get an honest assessment of where he thinks the program is right now, and how much to take from UW’s lopsided win over the Redhawks.It all starts with Quade Green and what he brings to the team, as well as the surprising play of junior college transfer Nate Pryor this week. He has started to emerge as a genuine playmaking threat, perhaps sooner than expected.But there’s others that haven’t taken their chances. Fetters and Beach talk about those players, what’s holding them back, and what they need to do to push past their difficulties.They also talk about Mike Hopkins’ desire to play a 7-8 man rotation, and whether or not they can do that right now. And does Beach see a situation where Hop may switch up his lineup to take advantage of players showing up right now, including center Riley Sorn?After a quick break, they come back to some quick recruiting news. Olympia’s Jackson Grant has already signed his letter of intent with Washington for the 2021 class. We talk about his skill set and how he fits into what UW is trying to do on both sides of the court.And they finish up the conversation with Beach looking ahead and talking about what UW needs to do in order to push forward in the Pac-12. Here’s a hint: it doesn’t sound like a quick fix is available. He also talks about what he wants to see out of the Huskies early on against the Ducks on Saturday, and whether or not he’s taking the over or under when asked if UW will finish 9th in the conference, the place they were picked preseason by the media.