Washington Huskies guard Zoom Diallo (5) and forward Bryson Tucker, right, defend against Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tavion Banks (6) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Seattle. (Maddy Grassy / The Associated Press)
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By
Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter
This is a love story, which is timely considering the Valentine’s Day holiday, but the idea when pitched to Zoom Diallo and Bryson Tucker made them a little uneasy.
So, let’s just say this is a story about a budding basketball bond between high school friends on opposite ends of the country who reconnected with the Washington men’s basketball team.
Before the Huskies (12-13, 4-10 Big Ten) host Minnesota (11-13, 4-9) at 6 p.m. Saturday, they sat down for a few minutes to talk about the play that binds them and made them fan favorites: the alley-oop dunk.
Perhaps surprisingly, they’ve connected 10 times this season in which Diallo lobs a pass near the rim while Tucker, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward with a 41-inch vertical leap, streaks along the baseline before rising to flush a highlight dunk.
“I’m kinda shocked it still works,” Diallo said shaking his head. “We’ve done it so much, you’d think teams would be ready for it.”
But Tucker disagrees.
“With the way that we play and how much attention Zoom draws and how much attention Hannes (Steinbach) draws … most of the time, the lob is wide open,” Tucker said. “Zoom gets downhill. Wesley (Yates III) gets downhill. Frank (Kepnang) is down there. Hannes is down there.
“So, if I cut back door, Zoom is still going downhill while I’m cutting back door, and (the defender) has to choose. You either step up to Zoom and I get the lob or you step back and Zoom gets a layup.”
When perfectly executed, the play is over in the blink of an eye. However, it took time for Diallo and Tucker to develop the trust and chemistry to make it work.
“I wasn’t on the AAU scene or anything like that, but me and Zoom have known each other forever because we’ve been at camps and doing multiple things in high school like the McDonald’s (All-American) game,” said Tucker, a Maryland native who played at Indiana as a freshman before transferring to Washington last year. “So, we’ve always been around each other and built a good relationship.
“When I got here, he noticed my athleticism and how I can cut off the ball and get in the air.”
Last summer, they began conversations to incorporate the lob into a UW offense devoid of many players who can leap like Tucker.
“I never used to really throw lobs, but that had to change when I saw how high he could jump,” said Diallo, who averages a team-high 4.4 assists after dishing 2.7 per game last season. “People don’t know, but he saves me more than anyone because in the early stages, my lobs were bad. But he’s just so athletic that he can just go get it.”
Growing up in Tacoma, the 20-year-old Diallo is too young to vividly remember former Sonics stars Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp who may have been the NBA’s greatest alley-oop combination ever.
But Diallo sees similarities and draws inspiration from the Chris Paul and Blake Griffin tandem that starred with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2011 to 2017 and comprised the Lob City nickname.
“I used to watch them a lot, but I never really had anybody who I can really throw a lot of lobs to in my career,” Diallo said. “I watched a lot of film on Chris Paul, just trying to throw better lobs and make it easier on Bryson.
“The more we can get that into our offense, the better because it’s something else that teams have to be on the lookout for. … We can get better at it. Our connection is still growing. We’ve gotten it in the half-court a few times and once (after a timeout), but we can get a few more (on fast breaks).”
Washington’s offense, which is 12th in the Big Ten in scoring (77.2 points per game), doesn’t have many definable traits outside of Steinbach, who leads the team with 17.6 points per game.
Diallo and Yates are complementary offensive options who average 14.6 and 13.6 points, respectively. Meanwhile, the Huskies are hoping Tucker (6.2 points per game) can pick up the scoring slack since losing Desmond Claude (13.3 ppg) on Jan. 16.
“It’s two good players playing off each other and we need it,” coach Danny Sprinkle said when asked about the Diallo-Tucker alley-oop. “It seems like once a game Zoom finds Bryson on that cut and it’s been effective.
“Now what you’d like to see is the threat of that lob opening other things, especially for Bryson. He’s got more in his game that he can tap into, and like I said we need it.”
Diallo, a 6-4 sophomore point guard, often has the ball in his hands, but Tucker is usually the one who initiates the alley-oop.
“Sometimes I’m coming down the court, and he’s giving me that nod,” Diallo said. “He sees it before I do.”
Said Tucker: “Zoom has got so many things on his plate that he’s responsible for. Sometimes, we have to make it easier on him. … If I can get behind the defense, he knows if he can get it close to the rim, then I’ll go and get it.”
When asked to pick their favorite connection, they immediately noted Tucker’s one-hand dunk against Oregon.
Diallo also singled out Tucker’s slam against Iowa while his high-flying teammate included jams versus Ohio State and Iowa to his growing list of highlights.
“Depending on the atmosphere that you’re in and where you’re at that play is more than two points,” Tucker said. “If we’re here when it’s rocking and then we throw a lob, this place gets insane.
“We were playing at Indiana and I got a dunk and the crowd is just silent. That’s cool too.”
Percy Allen: pallen@seattletimes.com. Percy Allen is a sports reporter for The Seattle Times, where he writes about the University of Washington Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams and the Seattle Storm.
