Ex-Montana State star Great Osobor commits to Danny Sprinkle-coached Washington, gets big NIL deals (2024)

SEATTLE — Great Osobor was always the top target for the Washington men’s basketball team after the Huskies hired coach Danny Sprinkle in March.

Osobor, who was born in Spain but grew up in Bradford, England, began his collegiate career with Sprinkle at Montana State and after two years followed him to Utah State, where he became the Mountain West player of the year last season.

When Sprinkle landed the UW job, he fielded several questions about Osobor and speculation spiked about an impending reunion when the Aggies star entered the transfer portal last month.

After visiting Montlake last week, Osobor chose Washington over Louisville and Texas Tech on Monday morning.

ESPN reported Osobor accumulated multiple name, image and likeness deals that will make him $2 million, which is the highest-known valuation in college basketball next season.

A portion of those deals are believed to be marketing agreements attained by his agent George Langberg of GSL Sports, and it’s uncertain how much Osobor will draw from UW-based NIL collectives.

“I would like to thank God for putting me in this position,” Osobor told ESPN. “Washington will allow me to maximize my potential as a player in my final year of college basketball. Coach Sprinkle has been with me every step of the way since I came from England, and I cannot wait to help the Huskies get back to the NCAA Tournament.

“I was not a highly recruited player coming out of England, with only a few Division I offers. Assistant coach Chris Haslam had a huge part in recruiting me to Montana State, and I owe him a lot for that.”

Haslam coached alongside Sprinkle for the one season at Utah State and was recently hired at Oregon State, where he joins the staff of former Montana head coach Wayne Tinkle.

It’s a huge recruiting win for Sprinkle and the Huskies, who are bringing in eight newcomers to revamp a team that went 17-15 last year in the Pac-12 and is heading to the Big Ten.

Osobor, a 6-foot-8 and 250-pound power forward, is the centerpiece of a retooled UW roster that includes seven transfers in Rice guard Mekhi Mason, Butler guard DJ Davis, Oregon State center KC Ibekwe, Oakland forward Chris Conway, Rhode Island guard Luis Kortright along with top-100 high-school recruits Zoom Diallo and Jase Butler.

During two years at Montana State, Osobor averaged eight points and 4.4 points rebounds while starting just three of 69 games.

Last season, he had a remarkable breakout year while carrying Utah State to a 28-7 record, the Mountain West regular-season championship, a No. 22 ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll and an-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

With the Aggies, Osobor averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while starting all 35 games. He shot 57.7% from the field, 21.4% on 3-pointers and 63.7% on free throws.

In doing so, Osobor received Associated Press All-American honorable mention, skyrocketed up NBA draft boards and nabbed one of 78 invitations to Sunday’s NBA draft combine.

The 21-year-old Osobor, who has a year of eligibility remaining, decided against turning pro for now and could increase his stock in next year’s NBA draft with a second straight productive season with the Huskies.

It’s been a whirlwind year for Sprinkle and Osobor.

In April 2023, Sprinkle signed a five-year, $4.75 million contract with Utah State and parlayed the Aggies’ successful season, which included their first NCAA Tournament win in 12 years, into a six-year, $22.1 million deal at Washington.

“It’s no secret that I wouldn’t be here if not for those players,” the 47-year-old Sprinkle said on his first day at UW. “Great players make great programs. So, we’ll do the best we can to bring great players and people to Washington.”

In the span of 12 months, Osobor made a meteoric rise from a key bench performer at Montana State to a rising hoops star with reportedly $2M in NIL deals that’ll allow him to help financially support his father (a taxi driver), his mother (an elderly caregiver), and two siblings.

“I am more motivated than ever to show young kids that it doesn’t matter where you come from,” he said. “If you put in the work and necessary sacrifice, your time will come.”