After all of that star power shuffled out of Montlake once last season ended, with Hannes Steinbach turning to the NBA draft, and Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang together transferring to Kentucky, and JJ Mandaquit landing at Arizona, the University of Washington basketball team found itself in desperate need of a leader.
Someone to convince everyone else all is not lost. Someone to step into the spotlight, especially as a big man, and go to work. Someone who didn't have to be asked.
This would be 6-foot-10, 275-pound Lathan Sommerville, who has spent much of his college career playing in the shadows of future first-round draft picks yet is ready to become a much more prominent player himself.
"It's no pressure," Sommerville said this week. "It's just who I am -- I'm a natural-born leader."
Certainly he brings an interesting personality to the mix. He speaks French fluently. He is the son of former college basketball players from Bradley and Illinois State, with his father later competing professionally overseas.
People might have forgotten that Sommerville was a 4-star recruit not that long ago, that he was the runner-up to the 2024 Illinois Mr. Basketball award winner, and that he was part of a 2025 star-studded Rutgers recruiting class that had no equal.
At his first college stop in New Jersey, where he played alongside fellow freshmen in 6-foot-5 swingman Dylan Harper and 6-foot-9 center Ace Bailey -- the No. 2 and 5 overall picks of the 2025 NBA draft -- Sommerville was a 15-game starter who averaged 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds an outing.
After transferring to the UW, however, he injured a knee that cost him a third of the season and he never really got untracked. He started just seven of 22 games and averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 rebounds for the Huskies, this time lining up next to 6-foot-11, 248-pound Hannes Steinbach, who was the 14th overall pick in last summer's NBA draft.
"It's just stay confident in doing what I know I can do," Sommerville said. "It just gets back to being consistent and being who I know I am."
At a Husky practice this week, he looked confident and comfortable as he moved around the floor. He dropped in a long 3-pointer. He dunked emphatically. More than once, he tossed in a soft one-hander from different spots around the key.
"I really like the leadership that Lathan Sommerville has brought," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said. "He's really grown."
The Huskies will depend an enormous amount on Sommerville to become a productive inside player this season because, for now, there's really no one else.
Mady Traore, the 6-foot-11 Frenchman who missed last season with a foot injury, is dealing with a knee issue that limits his practice time. Freshman Wini Braga, a 6-foot-9 Brazilian newcomer, arrived late and is trying to catch up. Nikola Dzepina, the 6-foot-10 Serbian, is more of a finesse than physical player.
That leaves Sommerville to be the team leader, the inside presence around the basket, the one everyone else has to rally around.
"It's just taking that step and showcasing that every day and being consistent in that role," he said. "Doing whatever the team needs from me to be done."
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