Turning to one of its smaller lineups in some time, the University of Washington basketball team opened with three guards against Washington State in Sunday's exhibition game, and often used a fourth player, forward LeJuan Watts, in a similar role, all at once.

However, the Huskies' likely most influential playmaker, Ryan Beasley, did not appear in the 84-80 loss to the Cougars at Alaska Airlines Arena because he's still in recovery from a concussion and his return remains uncertain with the season opener against Colgate a week away.

"I don't know," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said of Beasley's availability. "He started doing individual stuff and getting a little bit of a sweat. He just has to pass the concussion protocol."

The 5-foot-11 Beasley from San Ramon, California, comes to the Huskies as a second-team All-WCC selection in 2026 and the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2024, so he can play.

Last season, he averaged 13.6 points, 4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per outing for a 17-16 team. He started all 31 games and topped USF in minutes with 1,031.

"Beasley, IQ-wise as a basketball player, might be out best player on both sides of the ball," Sprinkle said. "He knows where the ball should go. He has elite speed, He can score it and he can really facilitate, too. We need him."

While he sat and watched Sunday's game, Beasley 10 months earlier led USF to an 85-80 victory over WSU in the Bay Area by scoring 13 points and dishing out 6 assists, while shooting 4 of 8 from the floor and 1 of 2 from 3-point range.

Without him, the Huskies were forced to use Nevada transfer Tayshawn Comer for all but one minute against the Cougars until the floor leader fouled out at the end with 6 points and 5 assists on 2-for-9 shooting.

The UW lost both of its exhibition games without Beasley, dropping a 109-91 decision to Boise State the week before.

With a smaller lineup, the Huskies, coming off a 16-17 year, will be hard-pressed to hang with the better teams of the Big Ten.

Yet they likely stand a much better chance when Beasley is deemed healthy and ready to join the others this season.