Jaden McDaniels will make his collegiate debut with the Huskies when Washington hosts Western Washington in Thursday’s 7 p.m. exhibition at Alaska Airlines Arena.
UW coach Mike Hopkins said he’s excited to see the prized freshman forward, who missed Sunday’s closed-door scrimmage at TCU for unspecified reasons. McDaniels also skipped the team’s trip to Italy in August, which included four exhibitions.
Hopkins downplayed McDaniels’ absence and doesn’t think it’ll negatively impact the heralded newcomer, who is projected to be a lottery pick in next summer’s NBA draft.
“He’s had a lot of practices with us,” Hopkins said.