There’s nobody on the Washington roster who is going to fill the void created when Hannes Steinbach left the Huskies to enter the 2026 NBA Draft after his freshman season.
But Nikola Dzepina did a pretty good impression in the season opener.
Dzepina scored 20 of his career-high 27 points in the second half as Washington defeated visiting Colgate 90-76 last Monday.
The Huskies (1-0) will hope for more of the same when they host Mississippi Valley State (0-1) on Monday night in Seattle.
Dzepina, a 6-foot-10 forward from Belgrade, Serbia, scored 37 points in 14 games last season after joining Washington in mid-December.
“You guys know he loves to just jack (3-pointers),” Huskies coach Danny Sprinkle said. “He’s capable because he’ll make four or five in a row. But it’s like, man, get inside. You’re really hard to guard down there. Not only can he score it, but he’s aggressive in offensive rebounding when he’s down there.
“When teams send double teams, he’s a great passer. We need him to get double-teamed, and he’ll be able to fire that out and get wide open threes. But proud of him.”
Dzepina spent part of his summer working out with the Serbian national team and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
“I just listened to what the coach said,” Dzepina said. “I got more in the paint and all the stuff, so I just do the simple things, play the post and try to score.”
LeJuan Watts added 22 points for the Huskies in their opener, making 14 of 16 free throws, and Lathan Sommerville had 11 points and five rebounds before fouling out with 8:14 remaining.
Mississippi Valley State, meanwhile, opened its season Friday at Oklahoma, losing 84-57 despite forward Tymias Williams’ 19 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
The Delta Devils are in their first year under veteran coach Mike Davis, best known as Bobby Knight’s successor at Indiana who led the Hoosiers to the 2002 NCAA title game.