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SEATTLE — The University of Washington announced Tuesday that sophomore guard Carlos Johnson would be transferring off the men’s basketball team.
It’s possible he could be the first of at least two players to leave the Huskies this offseason.
The 6-foot-3 and 215-pound Centralia, Illinois native saw his role significantly decrease from his freshman year to his sophomore season with the Huskies. Because of his limited playing time, Johnson was expected to transfer.
Under former coach Lorenzo Romar, Johnson started in four games and appeared in all 31 games, averaging 5.9 points in 17.9 minutes as a freshman.
This season, under new coach Mike Hopkins, Johnson was a bit player, appearing in 17 games, all off the bench.
Johnson averaged 3.8 points and only 8.5 minutes. Johnson opened Pac-12 play by scoring 10 points in 14 minutes in a 70-65 win over Washington State in Pullman. From there, he played 16 total minutes in a span of five games from Jan. 11 to March 3.
His last appearance came when he played four minutes in UW’s 72-64 regular-season home finale loss to Oregon at Alaska Airlines Arena.
“Carlos has been an integral part of our program while showing excellent leadership,” Hopkins said in a statement. “We wish him the best of luck and know he will also be part of the Husky family.”
Sophomore guard Bitumba Baruti, who played in 17 games under Romar, didn’t play in a single game under Hopkins and could be the next to leave.
UW also loses seniors Greg Bowman (Mountlake Terrace High School) and guard Dan Kingma (Jackson H.S.) to graduation.
The Huskies are expected to return all five starters, creating some interesting roster questions.
Starters David Crisp, Matisse Thybulle and Noah Dickerson are seniors. Sam Timmins is heading into his junior year while Jaylen Nowell, who led UW in scoring, will be a sophomore.
Key bench players — guards Nahziah Carter, Dominic Green and Michael Carter III and forward Hamier Wright — give UW a total of nine potential returners. That’s on top of what could be a large incoming recruiting class.
Hopkins and his staff have signed three players: Four-star small forward Jamal Bey, three-star guard Elijah Hardy and three-star power forward/center Nate Roberts.
UW also has a verbal commitment from three-star forward Ed Chang, who pledged last July but who has yet to sign. Four-star center Bryan-Penn Johnson, the No. 7 player in the nation at his position, gave a verbal March 19.
Ex-Bellarmine star Flynn to transfer from WSU
PULLMAN — Washington State guard Malachi Flynn says he will transfer to another program.
Flynn, a Tacoma native, tweeted the announcement Tuesday, but did not say where he is going. Flynn wrote that the decision was in his best interests at this time.
Flynn, who will be a junior, has been a starter for both his seasons at Washington State. He was the second-leading scorer on the team with an average of 15.8 points per game this season.
On Monday, leading scorer Robert Franks announced that he intends to declare for the NBA draft. Franks averaged 17.4 points per game last season.
The loss of Franks and Flynn is a major blow to coach Ernie Kent’s efforts to build a winning program in Pullman.
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