The international recruit has been one of the best first-year players in the country this season.
The Washington Huskies men's basketball team has an amazing opportunity to make its first true statement of the season.
The Huskies will play No. 24 Southern California (USC) at 3 p.m. PT on Saturday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Washington will enter the game 5-3 and 0-1 in Big Ten play after an 82-80 loss against the UCLA Bruins on Dec. 3.
The Huskies are yet to play at full strength this season due to a litany of respective ankle sprains to both upper- and underclassmen alike.
One of the players hampered by an ankle ailment was freshman forward Hannes Steinbach.
The 19-year-old first-year player out of Germany missed games against Southern University, Nevada and Colorado on Nov. 18, 27 and 28, respectively.
Steinbach made his return against UCLA on Dec. 3 and immediately made an impact. He had a 29-point, 10-rebound double-double. He shot 11-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line.
Dec. 3 was Steinach's fourth-straight double-double. The only game he's played this season where he hasn't registered double-digit points and assists was his first, where he finished with 21 points and seven rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Washington's season-opener Nov. 3.
Steinbach is the Huskies' leading scorer (17.4 points per game) and rebounder (12.2 points per game) and is the only player on the team who's connecting on more than half of his shots from the field (64.2%).
Steinbach is also starting to gain recognition across the college basketball landscape. He earned a second-round grade in a November mock draft from The Athletic. Recently, The Field of 68 of the On3 Sports network put together a list of the top international freshmen, and Steinbach placed first on the list.
Despite only playing five college games, Steinbach is already starting to be considered a potential first-round talent by many fans and analysts.
Steinbach and Washington can earn more recognition by upsetting USC on Saturday. And if the Huskies do go on a run and make their first NCAA Tournament since 2019, the 6-foot-11 big man will be a large reason why.
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