Huskies Forward Noah Dickerson Confirms Decision to Return to Washington
SEATTLE – Mike Hopkins convinced Noah Dickerson to return for his junior season after being named head coach at Washington in March 2017.
The Huskies second leading scorer last season, averaging 15.5 points per game and nearly nine rebounds in 2017-18, announced his intentions to test the 2018 NBA Draft waters on March 28, but he did not sign with an agent.
Dickerson did not receive an invite to the NBA combine, and Wednesday confirmed to Rivals his decision to return to UW for his senior season in 2018-19.
With the return brings added expectations for year two under Hopkins. UW improved its win total by an even dozen, turning the page from a disastrous 9-22 (2-16) campaign in Lorenzo Romar’s final season as head coach in 2016-17.
The Huskies finished 21-13 overall, 10-8 in Pac-12 Conference play, in year one of the Hopkins’ era. Since the season ended four players have transferred from UW – Bitumba Baruit, Michael Carter III, Carlos Johnson and Devenir Duruisseau – while graduating only two, Dan Kingma and Greg Bowman, both walk-on’s.
Having Dickerson in the post will ease the pressure on incoming four-star center Bryan Penn-Johnson, a 7-foot and 215-pounder ranked No. 14 at his position by Rivals in the 2018 class.
"You're going to see a very skilled big man who has limitless potential and can become one of the best front court players in the country," Hopkins said in a press release when UW announced the signing of Penn-Johnson on April 11.
"He's an elite level shot blocker who can get up and down the court quickly and will fit into our system perfectly not only on the court but off the court as well. He's also an impact player that adds another level to an already incredible class we have joining the Husky family next season."
Johnson-Penn was the second big-man to sign with the Huskies 2018 class, joining three-star center/forward Nate Roberts, a native of Edgewood, Maryland with a 7-6 wingspan who chose the Huskies over Syracuse, where Hopkins spent 22 years as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim.
Last season both Dickerson and sophomore center Sam Timmins, the lone player at the position for UW, played all 34 games for Hopkins with limited options off the bench.
Adding two players with a 7-foot wingspan should help UW late in games in 18-19, where foul trouble might have factored in last season. Dickerson and Timmins combined for 23 games in which each had at least four or more fouls, with the the former fouling out eight times in the 17-18 season.
"Nate's size and strength is something we're really excited about," Hopkins said of Roberts in a press release. "With his wing span and athleticism, he can run and jump out of the gym. His upside is huge and we're really looking forward to helping him continue to grow."
With Dickerson in the fold for next season the top four scorers are returning for Hopkins, along with point guard David Crisp, shooting guard Jaylen Nowell and forward Matisse Thybulle.