The past few weeks have been pretty darn good for those in Seattle, Washington. Sure, the NFL season is about to kick off but we are here to talk about the roundball and with it, the work that Lorenzo Romar and his staff have done on the recruiting trail has been quite impressive. While there hasn’t been a ton of recent success on the hardwood compared to past years for the Huskies, the blazing spree of commitments over the past year or so for the UW program is quite impressive.

Grabbing ahold of the best in-state recruits is always the way to go in solidifying yourself as a stable home and establishing a culture at the next level. In the 2015 class alone, the Huskies signed four players that call the state of Washington home, headlined by 6-foot-6 wing, Dejounte Murray. However, things changed a tad as a native of Washington, which is Washington D.C., committed to the Pac 12 squad two weeks back. This was just not another player, but one of the fastest rising senior recruits in Markelle Fultz. The DeMatha Catholic product is close to being a sure-fire McDonald’s All-American Game member this spring and should bring immediate scoring abilities to the backcourt come next winter.

Things didn’t end with Fultz where just a few days later, the Huskies struck again, this time in the 2017 class in keeping another top in-state recruit close to him with Daejon Davis. The 6-foot-3 guard can play on and off the ball and just like Fultz, should bring immediate scoring abilities at either spot in the backcourt. However, we are not here to discuss the recent success that UW has had on the recruiting trail with its past two commitments, but rather with one that has been swept under the rug at the beginning of August.

Coming out of the steamy and grueling weeks that encapsulated July, Washington pounced like its Huskies nickname on a giant dog bone, that treat being 2018 forward Jontay Porter. The 6-foot-8 big man is a member of the 2018 class and while he is far from being a finished product, the long-term capabilities that he brings to the floor are nothing short of superb. The lefty is the ideal high-post big man and would do wonders at a system that John Beilein runs at Michigan. He can score it off the bounce from 15-feet, is getting much tougher within the trenches, and is one of the best passing big men that I have had the chance to see over the past few months.

The commitment out of the 2018 big man surprised many, including myself. However, to the high upside big man, it was the perfect fit. “Coach Romar and his staff have conveyed that they love the way that I play and I will fit in with what they’re doing.”

“I also decided to commit to the University of Washington which, in my opinion, is the best school in the nationally for me.”

The big man does not call Washington home but the state of Missouri, where his father is on staff on the women’s side for the Tigers. The biggest story here might be about the older brother of Jontay’s, of who is a top-five recruit in 2017. Michael Porter, a 6-foot-7 wing, shows off an effortless deep ball and some major bounce at the basket. Suiting up for the MoKan Elite crew this past summer on the Nike circuit, the junior playmaker is down to a final ten already, with UW included. In asking the younger sibling on the recruiting he might be doing with his older brother, Porter seems pretty inclined in attempting to bring Michael to Seattle a year before him. “I talk to him very often about how cool it would be, but I try not to annoy him about it or anything. He still has a lot of time to think over things.”

Besides the possible lure of both of the Porter brothers to Washington over the next few years, the 2018 commit has already taken note of the recent upward trajectory that the recruiting front has shown for the Huskies and the excitement just boiled over the phone in speaking with him. “It is awesome! Markelle is already a great talent and he just keeps improving. There is something special happening at UW!”

Something special definitely is happening for Lorenzo Romar and his crew and while programs like Oregon, Arizona, and UCLA have had recent success on the playing floor and on the recruiting trail, the dominoes keep falling for the Huskies in order for the Pac 12 school to rejoin the elite out on the west coast and a Fultz-Davis-Porter commitment within the next three years is nothing to sneeze at.