Huskies Eagerly Await Arrival Of Serbian Player

A month from now, the University of Washington basketball team will welcome 6-foot-10 Serbian player Nikola Dzepina to a talented roster in need of one more big man.

It's not unlike the Mariners calling up another bat from the minors, only in this case the guy is coming halfway around the world to pull on a jersey in Seattle.

Meantime, Dzepina is back home working out and staying in shape. Sprinkle's staff has sent him plays to learn.

With three front-line players injured and a fourth curiously choosing to redshirt, the Huskies are in urgent need of another body up front.

"He's going to add another dimension," Sprinkle said of Dzepina. "He's 6-10 and can shoot the basketball."

The UW is back doing what it once did with great success under late coach Marv Harshman, and what Gonzaga has done under Mark Few to build a national powerhouse over the last two and a half decades -- find the international player who can contribute right away.

Once Dzepina arrives, the Huskies will add him to the mix of German big man in 6-foot-10 freshman Hannes Steinbach (starter), a Canadian/Romanian big man in 6-foot-10 sophomore Christian Nitu (the redshirt), a French center in 6-foot-11 junior Mady Traore (injured) and a Cameroon center in 6-foot-11 senior Franck Kepnang (starter).

Dzepina comes highly recommended across the Big Ten.

"It's funny, I was talking to one of the assistants from Illinois the other day and he called and said, 'Man, that's a great get' -- he loved him," Sprinkle said. "Just his skill level for today's game, he'll make bigs come out on the perimeter. He can really pass it and shoot it. It opens up driving lanes and kind of opens up the paint for our guards."

Dzepina will mark the second midseason overseas pick-up for the Huskies in a year's time. Last January, 6-foot-7 forward Dominique Diomande from Paris joined Sprinkle's team and practiced but never played.

As the coach explained it, the Frenchman arrived too late to become fully versed in the UW offensive and defensive sets, whereas Dzepina will come to Montlake a month earlier and have more time to fit in.

Once last season ended, the unused Diomande left the Huskies and transferred to BYU, where he's coming off the bench. He's appeared in two of three games for the current Cougars team and averages 4.5 points per game, shooting 4-for-9 so far, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range.