Almost immediately, Tyler Harris caught the attention of the Huskies' brash, bodacious and newest big man on campus Great Osobor.

On a summer day inside Alaska Airlines Arena, the two squared against each other on opposing teams during a series of intense pickup games that served as introductions for the Washington men's basketball team's 10 newcomers and three holdovers.

Those early hoops battles established a pecking order and left lasting impressions that still resonate as the Huskies (6-1) face UCLA (6-1) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion on FS1 in their first ever Big Ten Conference opener.

"I take pride in myself that I'm going to win most of [the pickup games] and it was just one day we couldn't get a win because Tyler was scoring every time he caught the ball," Osobor said when asked about the first time he took notice of Harris. "I was like, 'This is fake.' We played again the next day and he did it again. And I was like "OK, yeah. He's pretty good.'

"Before that, I didn't really know who he was. ... People need to know, Tyler is good, like really good.'"

Sitting nearby after Monday's practice, the unassuming Harris smiled and said: "Thanks, man."

Admittedly, Harris doesn't vividly recall the day Osobor described.

"It was so long ago, but I remember it was just one of those days," he said. "I don't really remember all the details, but I do know what he's talking about. It felt good. My shot was falling, and I kept shooting."

That pretty much sums up Harris' short stint with the Huskies to this point -- he shoots, and he scores.

The rangy, 6-foot-8 and 190-pound sophomore guard, who starred at the University of Portland last season, ranks among the team leaders in scoring (14.3 points per game), field goal shooting (52.9%) and three-point shooting (48%).

Harris is also tied for second in the Big Ten with 15 blocks.

And that's just fine for Osobor, who leads UW in scoring (14.6 points per game) and assists (3.9), and is first in the Big Ten in rebounds (10.3) and steals (3.3).

"I have no qualms with his success," Osobor said. "If I take two shots and Tyler takes 20 and he's feeling it, I don't feel no type of way about it. Go do your thing.

"As long as it helps UW, I'm with it. If we all have that mindset, it'll help everyone."

Before the season, Harris was tabbed a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft, but he came off the bench in three of the first four games before moving into the starting lineup and exploding for 27 points against Alcorn State two weeks ago.

Then, he followed that career-high performance with a 24-point outing versus Colorado State that included five three-pointers.

In the next game, Santa Clara held Harris to a season-low five points while Osobor lifted UW to a 76-69 win to claim the Acrisure Invitational championship and MVP trophies.

"They were denying me and making sure I didn't get the ball," said Harris who converted 1 of 7 shots against the Broncos. "I probably need to move a little bit more, get open a little more because teams are starting to put pressure on me and making sure I don't catch the ball."

Listening to Harris made Osobor chuckle just a bit.

The 6-8, 250-pound forward has been dealing with constant double teams ever since last season when he carried Utah State to a 28-7 record and the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"When we came back [from Palm Springs, Calif.], he gave me a ride home and we actually spoke and I told him, 'You're going to be up there in the scouting report, you can't let it get to you and keep doing what you do,'" said Osobor, who averaged 17.7 points and 9.0 rebounds en route to winning the Mountain West Player of the Year award last season. "It took me awhile to get used to it. I remember the first game I was double teamed. Actually, I can't remember the last time I wasn't.

"He's going to keep seeing it because of how good of a player he is. He's a hooper. He's going to find ways to keep doing what he does."

Danny Sprinkle has a simple message for Harris when he draws double teams: Pass the ball.

"I love that he has that scoring mentality, now his next step is realizing when he's scoring, teams are going to run two guys at him," the UW coach said. "Now it's get a teammate a shot. He can be so good offensively to where he's getting everybody else shots.

"That's where Great is. You look at 80% of our shots, it's because of the attention that Great draws or passes out of a double team and things like that. Tyler can be a player like that also."

And just maybe, Harris will notch his first assist, which is something of an inside joke among the Huskies.

"We know," Osobor said laughing. "When he had 27 (points), we checked the box score afterward to see if he had one assist. ... I went to Zoom [Diallo] and Jase [Butler] and said, guess how many assists does Tyler have for the year?

"They said five or seven and I was like, 'Nah, zero.' And no one could believe it."

Among 128 players in the Big Ten who have logged more than 111 minutes, Harris is the only one without an assist.

"I try," said a grinning Harris, who averages 0.9 assists in 29 collegiate games. "It's not like I don't pass. When I pass it, we're bringing the ball up. I thought Great was going to get my first assist the last game."

Components

Osobor admitted: "That was on me. He threw it in and I had inside position. I really should have just scored it, but I got fouled and missed a layup. Next time, bro. I got you."

Notes

-- Washington debuted at No. 116 among 364 teams in the first NET ranking released Monday morning. The Huskies are 0-1 in Quad 1 games following a 63-53 loss at Nevada, 1-0 in Quad 3 games and 4-0 in Quad 4 games. UW's win against Division II Seattle Pacific does not factor into its NET ranking and its strength of schedule is 203.

-- The Huskies are expecting fifth-year center Franck Kepnang, who underwent a medical procedure on his surgically repaired knee, to return in January. He started the first two games and looked promising while averaging 6 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.

-- Senior forward Chris Conway, who hadn't played due to a knee injury, is expected to miss the rest of the season and redshirt, Sprinkle said. Conway is one of UW's eight transfers who spent four years at Oakland where he started all 35 games last season while averaging 10 points and 4.1 rebounds.