JJ Mandaquit Heads to the Portal: Washington Loses Another Freshman Guard to Transfer Talk

The Washington Huskies basketball program got hit with some rough news Friday morning when point guard JJ Mandaquit announced he's entering the transfer portal. This is the second freshman guard from coach Danny Sprinkle's roster to make that move in less than a week, and it stings because Mandaquit was finally starting to look like the four-star recruit everyone thought he'd be.

From Slow Start to Real Contributor

Mandaquit's freshman season was a tale of two halves. He came in hot as a prospect from Hawaii but struggled early on. Then Big Ten play hit, and something clicked. He posted a career-high 15 points in Washington's 82-72 loss to Michigan, and you could see what Sprinkle had been banking on all along. The kid could pass, he could lead, and he was turning into a legitimate floor general for the Huskies. Over his freshman campaign, Mandaquit averaged 5.2 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 rebounds per game.

Sprinkle was stoked about the trajectory. "You could see it at Purdue that last ten minutes and then the Michigan game, the Illinois game, he was really starting to come up," the coach said. "And so it's not only devastating for him, it's devastating for our team, you know, just to have another ball-handling guard that makes good decisions, who was shooting the ball, I thought, at a really high level too."

Injury Derailed the Momentum

Here's the killer: Mandaquit's season came to an abrupt end after a foot injury forced him into surgery in early February. Just when he was turning the corner and becoming the player Washington desperately needed, he was sidelined for good. Sprinkle didn't hold back about how tough this has been on his guy. "He's struggling because it's so important to him. Basketball is the most important thing to him, and he puts a lot of work into it. Whether it's in the weight room or in the training room, extra stretching, film, he's a gym rat, and he's put a lot of time into this season, and I'm heartbroken for him because he was just starting to turn that freshman corner."

Mandaquit is the second four-star guard from Sprinkle's class to hit the portal this week, following classmate Courtland Muldrew. The portal doesn't officially open until April 7, so there's a chance the Huskies could still convince him to stick around. But for now, Washington's backcourt depth is taking hits at a time when they can't afford it.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.