December 2009

Very interesting updated Pac-10 breakdown. I like that the Huskies have moved up a notch!

It got me thinking. With all the negativity and nervousness surrounding the Huskies start this season, they come into conference play at 9-2, and appear to be the front runner to win their second Pac-10 title in a row. Amazing how quickly expectations can shift within a fan base.

The fact that the Huskies chances of winning the Pac-10 (in the eyes of the fans, at least) have improved, actually flies in the face of the overall feeling surrounding this team, both on this site and in the Seattle-based media. I am DEFINITELY guilty of fueling the fire of negativity during my posts, and in my conversations with MM and other Husky faithful.

Last year, we were so positive and hyped up about this team for most of the season, because they were exceeding expectations and playing a fun brand of basketball. This year, they are playing the same exciting style, and winning, yet there seems to be a lot of ‘what’s wrong with the Huskies’ conversations.

As we turn the page into Pac-10 play, I think it’s time to fully embrace THIS team. We have to let go of last season, forget the Purdue loss and appreciate how exciting it is to enter Pac-10 play as the 17th ranked team in the nation— and the powerhouse of a major conference!

The goal every year should be to win the Pac-10 and secure an NCAA tournament bid. I think we have a great chance to do that this season. As a fan, what more can you ask for?

I mean, besides Venoy not committing so many turnovers, MBA taking it up strong, Gaddy playing with confidence, Bresheers fouling less, IT shooting better, Romar figuring out a rotation….  Wait, forget everything I just said. I’ll stop complaining when we’re national champions.

As we embark on Pac-10 play, it’s time to look at what we’ve learned in the non-conference season about each of the teams in the league.

Few  have impressed, and some have fallen flat on their faces. Here’s what we had to say about the Pac-10 in our season preview, and here’s what we’ve learned about each team since:

Cal (originally picked to finish first): Star guards Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher have been (mostly) as advertised. But, the Golden Bears’ lack of depth reared its head when Theo Robertson missed six of their first nine games with a foot injury. The Bears are also dreadfully thin on their front line where Jamal Boykin is their only productive player. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Bears to finish second.

Washington (originally picked to finish second): All we do here is write about the Huskies, but if I’m putting what we’ve learned into a couple of sentences it’s this: The Huskies are still one of the deepest teams in the conference, if not the country, but outside of their terrific one-two punch of Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas, they’re still struggling to find an identity. Abdul Gaddy will take some time to develop and Matthew Bryan-Amaning hasn’t shown that he’s ready to compete for all-conference honors during his junior season. All that said, I do think they’re the class of a weak Pac-10 this year. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Huskies to finish first.

UCLA (originally picked to finish third): The Bruins have been dreadful thus far, losing by 27 to Portland, 11 to Long Beach State, and three to Cal State Fullerton. Center Drew Gordon didn’t even wait until after the season to transfer. When you can make a solid case that Michael Roll is your best player, you’re not a good team. The Bruins’ biggest victory of the season so far happened off the court when they secured a commitment from highly-touted recruit Josh Smith. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Bruins to finish eighth.

Oregon (originally picked to finish fourth): The Ducks have plenty of talent, but have been inconsistent thus far, and injury-plagued as well. While guard Teondre Williams has begun to develop into a star, center Michael Dunigan has failed to make much improvement so far, leaving the Ducks with a huge hole in the middle. This is going to be a dangerous team when healthy, but I’m not getting the sense that they’re coming out to play every night for Ernie Kent, a coach undoubtedly on the hotseat. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Ducks to finish sixth.

Washington State (originally picked to finish fifth): Klay Thompson, one of the leading scorers in the country, and DeAngelo Casto, have improved more than one might’ve expected, and the Cougs are on their way to a successful season for rookie coach Ken Bone. Seattle-native Reggie Moore is excelling as a scoring point guard for Wazzu, which will struggle with its depth this year, but certainly compete for a top half finish in the Pac-10. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Cougars to finish fourth.

Oregon State (originally picked to finish sixth): The Beavers have a bunch of guys who can play basketball, but not enough firepower. There’s no one, from leading scorer Seth Tarver to disappointing center, Roeland Schaftenaar, who can take over a game when the Beavers need it. A team averaging about 60 points per game against a pretty soft non-conference slate is going to have trouble against the Pac-10, down year or not. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Beavers to finish seventh

USC (originally picked to finish seventh): The Trojans are the owners of the Pac-10′s only truly impressive non-conference win: a 77-55 win over eighth-ranked Tennessee. I thought I was being optimistic when I picked the Trojans where I did. But with Alex Stepheson back from injury and playing like one of the best forwards in the league, and newly-eligible point guard Mike Gerrity running the show, and dangerous scorer Dwight Lewis in toe, the Trojans could actually improve on last season’s fifth-place finish. If I were picking again, I’d pick USC to finish third.

Arizona (originally picked to finish eighth): The Wildcats have a bunch of losses, but also played a tougher non-conference schedule than much of their Pac-10 brethren. In losing to quality opponents like Vanderbilt, UNLV, and Oklahoma, the young Wildcats got a crash course and some the seasoning they’ll need to compete in the Pac-10. Behind Nic Wise and the vastly improved Jamelle Horne, I think the Wildcats will be closer to that 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance than their own coach believes. If I were picking again, I’d pick the Wildcats to finish fifth.

Arizona State (originally picked to finish ninth): The Sun Devils have been one of the few positive surprises in the Pac-10 to this point. Point guard Derek Glasser has stepped up his game, while center Eric Boateng has remade his. Freshman Trent Lockett looks like the real deal, and the Sun Devils look like they could compete for a top-half finish in the conference. Compete? Sure. But, I’m still not a believer. If I were picking again, I’d still pick the Sun Devils to finish ninth.

Stanford (originally picked to finish last): The Cardinal hasn’t been as bad as I’d expected, due mostly to the strong play of senior wing, Landry Fields, and sophomore guard Jeremy Green, who account for nearly half of the Cardinal points. Sophomore Jarrett Mann has been effective at the point as well, but the dropoff after those three is steep. They’ll win a few games in the league, but I can’t see a good outcome for Stanford this year. If I were picking again, I’d still pick the Cardinal to finish last.

Recap: If I were picking again, here’s how I’d predict the Pac-10 to finish this season:

Thanks for coming!

Huskies wear out Dons in Pac-10 tune up

This is Gant’s Moustache, filling in for Montlake Madness while he vacations. I’ll be covering the next 4 Husky games— giving you the scoop on Husky game action the way I saw it happen.

Some fans wear rose-colored glasses. Some fans see every glass as half empty. I just try to see things over my big, hairy moustache.

Will the Real Huskies Please Stand Up?

A Jekyll and Hyde performance from Washington (9-2) was good enough to beat a weak San Francisco (4-10) team, 86-71, this afternoon at Hec Edmundson Pavillion. This historic victory marked the 1600^th in the program’s history. It was also the first time the Huskies and Dons ever played one another.

Please raise your hand if you know what a Don is. Anybody? Seriously. Anyone? Luckily for the inconsistent Huskies, on Saturday, Webster’s defined a Don as “a Division I basketball team with one good player and a bunch of tall guys who can’t shoot.”

After a slow start, likely fueled by a few days without basketball, the Huskies got on track behind great post play from Tyreese Breshers. It also helps that Superman, I mean Quincy Pondexter, finds ways to score from everywhere on the court.

The Huskies let the Dons hang around early, but took a commanding 16-point lead into halftime, despite IT being held scoreless for the second game in a row.

I made a celebratory sandwich during the half and planned on eating it while I watched the Huskies win by thirty. To my dismay, the second half began with a 5-minute stretch of awful basketball that nearly caused me to choke on a stringy piece of salami. The Dons cut the lead to 4 faster than you can say ‘why is Clarence Trent in the game right now?’ (And that’s exactly what I did say just before Romar called time and took him out.)

For some reason, the Huskies have these 4- or 5-minute stretches where they look unenthused, tentative and disorganized. This disturbing trend has reared its ugly head in every game of this young season, with the exception of the Portland State beating. *I wonder: is this because of the 11 man rotation? Does the team just lose rhythm? I would love to hear your comments on this.

Luckily, this team manages to turn things around in a hurry. That’s exactly what they did on Saturday. Scott “Don’t Call me Terrell” Suggs’ only basket of the night was a big three-pointer from the corner with 11 minutes left, which extended the lead from 4 to 7. He is not quite “Big Shot Scott” but I like his poise, shooting with a hand in his face, and knocking down big three’s. I thought this was a critical shot because it really took the wind out of the sails of the Dons.

Q-Pon, Overton and MBA pretty much took off from there as the Husky defense clamped down and the fast break baskets began to fall like rain. The Huskies never looked back. Elston Turner played some nice minutes down the stretch, and Holiday and Gant were quietly great defensively. (Venoy was also great defensively, but he doesn’t do anything quietly.)

A few thoughts on a few Huskies:

-          Please dunk the ball MBA. He actually dunked the ball twice, which was great to see. Still, watching him try for that reverse layup on the fast break pass from Overton early in the second half was like watching a squirrel fly an airplane, it just didn’t make sense.

Speaking of squirrels, Michael Williams, #5 on the Dons, was standing beneath the basket. He is barely 6 feet tall and as MBA came toward the hoop, he looked just like a squirrel dodging an 18-wheeler on I-5. This was not an appropriate moment for MBA to show finesse. Jump and dunk the ball on his head, please!

Other than that, MBA played a real nice game and seems to be getting the message that he needs to take it up strong on offense. He finished with 13 points, 6 boards and 3 steals.

-          Venoy makes us go. When this team is led by the ‘go-go-go’ mindset of Venoy (and he is able to keep his rocket fuel from burning himself and his teammates up), this team is fun to watch and very difficult to beat.  Not sure why it works so well, but Venoy is just much better off the bench.

-          Quincy is ridiculous. Quincy scored 22 points on 10 of 12 shooting, and pulled in 5 boards, with three blocks. If he needed to, I think he could have scored 35 in this one. Luckily, he was moving around well, showing no physical damage from his performance in the Nutcracker on Dec. 23^rd.

-          Gaddy is still struggling. He had a nice drive to open the game, and a pretty bank shot in the second half as well.  You can tell how good he can be if he just believes in himself a bit more and plays with some swagger. It’ll happen. I am a believer.

-          IT making adjustments. The league is starting to realize that if you keep IT in front of you and clog the lane, he has trouble scoring. His response? He is becoming much more adept at driving into the contact and finding open teammates. He is going to force opponents to choose their poison: let him score contested layups or find wide-open teammates? I think opponents are going to find that committing to stopping IT isn’t the magic formula to beating the Huskies—especially if he continues to pass in traffic so effectively.

Final analysis: With Pac-10 play beginning against Oregon State this Thursday, the missed dunks, careless turnovers and bad stretches will have to stop.  We seemed to have controlled the turnovers, but it is hard to tell if that will last long.

If not for a badly broken leg, and a team full of guys who had a very hard time putting the ball in the basket, would we have been 2-0 these past two games?  I am not so sure.

The Pac-10 is up next. In a down year for the conference, we can’t make too many mistakes and be guaranteed tourney bid. The real season starts on Thursday!