During his one season with the Washington Huskies, freshman forward Hannes Steinbach quickly established himself as one of the best players in the country.
He was the only player in the Big Ten to average a double-double after posting 18.5 points and a nation-leading 11.8 rebounds per game, adding 1.8 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 57.7 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three-point range on his way to all-conference Third Team and Freshman Team spots. While it was always the expectation that the 6-foot-11 German would declare for the NBA draft, some of the nation’s top programs tried their best to pry him from Washington.
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According to a report from Donatas Urbonas of Basket News, Steinbach received offers in the range of $10 million to keep him in the college ranks for his sophomore season.
At the end of the day, money never seemed to be the driving factor for Steinbach, who displayed his advanced skill set throughout the season, to the point where head coach Danny Sprinkle asked more from him, even after double-doubles.
“It’s nitpicky, like I didn’t think he played very good at all, and he had 20 and 11,” Sprinkle said in late December after Washington’s win over Utah. “It looked like he was kind of stuck in mud, and he wasn’t jumping. A lot of those rebounds, he’s been getting those rebounds this year, and guys were jumping over him tonight.”
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With those sorts of expectations around him, he would have put up dominant numbers if he returned to the college level; however, he’s widely expected to be selected in the lottery during June’s draft.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Hannes Steinbach reportedly offered $10 million to stay in college
