2024-25 Team Preview: Washington
How will a move to the fast-paced Big Ten impact one of the nation's slowest teams?
The Olympics gave me one more Big Ten women’s basketball tie-in before wrapping up last Sunday.
In the USA’s dramatic victory over France to earn the gold medal, it was Kahleah Copper, star Phoenix Mercury guard and a Rutgers alum, who played pivotal second-half minutes to get the team across the finish line.
Copper was not given a significant role on this stacked US team, but she made the most of her time, scoring 12 points and adding five rebounds, two assists and some excellent defense on the French guards to help the US to a one-point win. It also led the way for one of A’ja Wilson’s funniest moments, and we all win for that.
Apologies for the one-day delay, we should be back to regularly scheduled programming next week!
Last Week’s Hoopla:
Overview
The long wait is over, we have a former Pac-12 team to discuss.
While Washington was not the worst team from last year to move over to the Big Ten, the Huskies are the program that come in with the least amount of noise, either due to heightened expectations or big names on the roster.
But this Washington team came out the gates hot last season, winning its first 11 games of the season. It also found wins against USC, Oregon State and Utah during conference play, three massive wins for the team’s overall résumé.
Unfortunately, those three wins mentioned above were among the five total victories the Huskies earned from Dec. 20 on. After that red-hot 11-0 start, Washington dropped 15 of its final 20 games and fell out of the NCAA Tournament picture.
That being said, Washington was close to a much different season. Nine of those losses were by single digits, and three of them went to overtime, including losses in double and triple OT by Arizona State and Arizona, respectively.
The defense was a strength for the Huskies, utilizing their slowed-down pace to stifle high-flying opponents all season. Teams shot under 40 percent against Washington on the year and the Huskies were especially good around the rim, with a 10.9% block rate that was top 40 nationally.
Pace is going to be the major question mark for Washington coming into the Big Ten. Yes, the Huskies were already the slowest team in the Pac-12, but the Pac-12 was also a much slower conference overall compared to the Big Ten.
When looking at the 26 teams in those two conferences last year, the Pac-12 teams rank 8th, 9th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th in possessions per 40 minutes. Michigan’s 221st-ranked pace is Washington’s closest peer, so it’ll be fascinating to see how much the Huskies and head coach Tina Langley choose to adapt, or choose to make the Big Ten adapt to them.
Here's last year’s Washington roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:
Departures
Even with the rough second half of the season, and even with a full-on conference change, this Washington roster has stayed almost as in tact as it could have.
Despite that, the inevitable graduation of Lauren Schwartz is a big loss for these Huskies. She was an excellent scorer at forward and had a real well-rounded game that made her a dangerous scorer at all three levels. She nearly doubled the rest of the team in offensive win shares with 2.2 (Dalayah Daniels was second with 1.4) and was a more-than-solid defender as well.
Jayda Noble was a solid depth piece that contributed solid rebounding off the bench, while Ari Long’s loss hurts more in the potential long term. Her freshman year numbers didn’t fly off the page, but Long was a top-50 prospect and will now be facing the Huskies as a member of the Ducks.
Returnees
Washington brings back four of its five largest contributors from the previous season, and while Schwartz was No. 1 in the win shares category, Dalayah Daniels was not far behind.
The 6-4 forward now gets the chance to be the key big for this unit, something that should be easier in a Big Ten conference more lacking for size than the Pac-12 was. Daniels is a tremendous rebounder and an even better shot blocker. It feels like she could be an All-Defense team contender with a small jump in her senior year.
She is joined by the guard trio of Hannah Stiles, Elle Nadine and Sayvia Sellers, each of which have proven to be solid scoring contributors as part of an extremely well-balanced Washington attack. These three, along with Daniels and Schwartz, all averaged between 8.5 and 11.9 PPG, so it shouldn’t be asking a lot for the four returners to pick up that slack left behind.
I’m most intrigued by the potential leap Sayvia Sellers could have as a sophomore. She’s a former top 30 prospect and got sizable minutes in conference play last season, so she’s plenty battle tested entering the Big Ten.
Chloe Briggs was the third top 100 player to commit to the Huskies in 2023 and she should get a large role in some form as well in year two. Briggs, along with Sellers, was impressive in avoiding turnovers, but Briggs also showcased more of an ability to shoot the three ball early on. Washington shot the three, but did not have a key knockdown shooter last year. Briggs, who led the team with her 35.7% rate, has the most potential to be that player for them this season.
There’s plenty of returning depth for Langley to use, and each of Teagan Brown, Shayna Gillmer and Olivia Anderson will also have another year of eligibility if they show some flashes this season. Each of them were used pretty sparingly but showed strengths as rebounders, which could come of use depending on how much the transfers can immediately make an impact.
Incoming Players
With only three adds, I think Washington did a great job at attacking its needs for the upcoming season while adding another prospect with plenty to get excited about.
First, the transfers. The Huskies were thin at forward with Schwartz’s graduation, so they went out and got two forwards with plenty of experience who are terrific rebounders and shot blockers.
Tayra Eke is more of the shot blocker and I expect to see a lot of her, but I think the addition of Brenna McDonald from Yale is a real excellent get for this unit. Her three offensive rebounds per game jump off the page, as does her efficiency around the rim: McDonald would have been Washington’s most efficient shooter by more than nine percentiles last season.
There’s also four-star guard Devin Coppinger, who joins Sellers and Briggs to make for quite an exciting set of guard talent for Washington to develop over the next few seasons. Coppinger seems to have a real wide skillset and will be an exciting spark plug option at the least for the Huskies to bring into the fray this season.
Outlook
Projected Starters
Sayvia Sellers - G
Hannah Stines - G
Elle Ladine - G
Dalayah Daniels - F
Brenna McDonald - F
Projected Big Ten Finish: 14th
There truly is a lot to like about this Washington roster and how it’s constructed, and I think there is a bit of a tier jump between them and the four teams I’ve previously done previews for.
This team has a great mix of cohesion and experience together while also having room to grow, and I also love the transfers they did bring in to help patch up a glaring need.
Sellers, Stines, Ladine and Daniels should all start like that did for the majority of last season, but where Langley chooses to go for the fifth option will be interesting. I think Eke is an option, as are Briggs or Coppinger if they impress in the preseason or if Washington plans to go smaller, but McDonald is also a great plug-and-play option that should make the Huskies among the best rebounding teams in the Big Ten.
Washington’s ceiling this season comes down to how well it can make its system work in a new conference. The team’s pace number was in red earlier, but a slow pace does not inherently mean bad things. If the Huskies can slow down opponents and force them to play their style successfully, there could be a surprising amount of immediate success.
I do think, though, that some sort of middle ground will be met, and along the way Washington may lose some games. I think the scoring balance of this team, along with the lack of roster turnover, should help, but the Huskies could also use a true No. 1 scoring option emerging this season to get them over the hump that cost them multiple close games last year.
There’s definitely reasonable postseason aspirations to have with this group, and it will be exciting to watch Big Ten teams have to play against Washington’s unique flair all season long.
Photo Credit: Washington Athletics
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