February 2010

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2010.

Game Preview: UW at Cal (game #24)

February 10, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 10 comments

UW Cal preview copyWho: Washington Huskies (6-5, 16-7 overall) at Cal Bears (7-4, 15-8 overall)

When: Thursday, 6:00 PM

Where: Haas Pavilion

How to Watch: ESPN2

Huskies 101: UW has won four straight, and six of its last eight games. The margin of victory for the Huskies during that stretch is over 25 points.

This is game #4 of the Huskies’ “Ten and Your In” portion of the season. The task is no easy feat, but it’s nearly impossible to argue that the Huskies wouldn’t earn an NCAA bid — conference champs or not — if they can win the final ten games on their Pac-10 schedule. So far, so good.

The Huskies have not won outside of Hec Ed all season. A pair of wins in the Bay Area would likely change the Huskies’ perception in the national media from “out of the tournament” to “on the bubble.”

Since Cal is in first place at 7-4, and the Huskies are one of five teams in second at 6-5, this game gives the Dawgs the opportunity to earn a share of the conference lead.

Quincy Pondexter has played out of his mind during this four-game winning streak, averaging 25.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2 assists, and shooting 61% from the field.

Projected lineup: G – Abdul Gaddy, G – Isaiah Thomas, F – Justin Holiday, F – Quincy Pondexter, F – Tyreese Breshers

Last time out: The Huskies dominated Cal at Hec Ed, 84-69. Quincy Pondexter has 25, and Isaiah scored 20. Matthew Bryan-Amaning had a quietly efficient game with 10 points, seven rebounds, and a not-so-quiet blocked shot that wound up on Sportscenter.

UW held a 19-point halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way on a day when Cal’s “big three” of Jerome Randle, Theo Robertson, and Patrick Christopher, were simply a “big one.” Christopher scored 28, but no other Bear made an impact on the game

Bears 101: Cal has lost two of their last three, all on the road, and try to keep their hold on first place in the conference.

Jerome Randle (19.1 ppg, 4.7 apg) leads the way for the Bears, who also get double-figure scoring from Patrick Christopher (16.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Theo Robertson (14.2 ppg, 45.5% 3-pt. FG), and Jamal Boykin (11 ppg, 6.2 rpg).

Last time the teams played, guard Jorge Gutierrez, one of the Pac-10′s best defenders, was out. This time, the Dawgs will not be so lucky.

Projected lineup: G – Jerome Randle, G – Jorge Gutierrez, G – Patrick Christopher, F – Theo Robertson, F – Jamal Boykin

The Huskies will win if: The Dawgs will win the game if they can somehow, some way, conjur up the level of energy on the defensive end that they have in spades at home, but never on the road. It’s clear that this is a team driven by turnovers and running off of missed shots. Can they make it happen in Berkeley?

The Dawgs will win if they can get some outside shooting (paging Scott Suggs) and open the game up for Quincy Pondexter to work inside and Isaiah Thomas to penetrate.

The Huskies will lose if: They forget to try to get their big men going. Cal is now starting four players 6’6″ and under and a wily-but-not-tough center, Boykin. MBA was effective last time, and he and Tyreese Breshers should not be left out of the offensive gameplanning.

The Huskies will lose if Cal plays its best game. I hate to say it, but I think we’re at a point with this Husky team that we’ve gotta hope for a little bit of luck. I’ve seen nothing to say we can beat a good team on its home floor unless it has an off night. It’s noble to hope for the Huskies to beat Cal at their best, but I’ll settle for just escaping with a win.

A humble suggestion: Abdul Gaddy has had an up-and-down freshman season, and it’s clear now that he’s going to be a sophomore before we see more progress out of the talented point guard. I’m cool with Gaddy starting, but once Venoy checks in, let’s have Overton and Isaiah handle the point guard duties, leaving more minutes for shooting (Scott Suggs, Elston Turner) or defense (Justin Holiday, Darnell Gant). Personally, I don’t need to see Gaddy late in games anymore during this critical stretch of the season.

Prediction: I want so badly to pick the Huskies that I’m afraid my heart (and my fingers) won’t let me type what I really believe is going to happen.

The way we played against Cal at Hec Ed, we could’ve beaten anyone in the country. But, we haven’t seen those Huskies out on the road all year. The Dawgs will come out pumped, but they’ll be playing a good Cal team that’s only lost once at home all year.

Cal wins a heartbreaker, 83-80. The Huskies pull off the upset and win, 79-73. (See, I couldn’t do it!)

Thanks for coming!

Tags: ,

Say it Ain’t So, Enes!

February 9, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 9 comments

Enes Kanter copyWe’ve got a BIG game to focus on, so I’ll be brief about today’s disappointing news.

Word today from Scout.com that Turkish center Enes Kanter (our profile here) is opening up his recruitment and looking at other schools. I’ve not spoken to Enes myself, but his words to Scout are pretty clear.

Enes claims he doesn’t know a lot about the NCAA and wants to explore his options. (WHAT-ever, Enes!)

Percy Allen has some more here. This is a bummer for the Dawgs, obviously. Unless. . .

It’s a total bummer unless Terrence Jones announces in just a few short weeks that he’s coming to play at UW. We’ll see, but a source told me today that he’s heard that UW is the frontrunner for Terrence. I can’t let my hopes get up any higher, so I’ll just say that I’m cautiously optimistic.

***

And, of course, the day’s other big news is the possibility of the Pac-10 expanding to 12 schools.

I don’t know what to think yet. My initial reaction is that I like the Thursday/Saturday, home-and-home style of the Pac-10 schedule. I’ll wait for this to come to pass, and for concrete details to emerge, before giving any more opinion on this.

What do YOU think of Pac-10 expansion? Would love to hear thoughts from the readers on this. . . Let me know, and thanks for coming!

Tags:

An Open Letter to Scott Suggs

February 8, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 13 comments

Suggs smallThis has been a long time coming, so here goes. . .

Dear Scott,

In light of your play recently, and more so, in light of the way you’ve handled yourself on the court this season, I feel that owe you an apology. Let me explain.

Let’s face it: last season, you looked very much like the freshman you were. You seemed tentative, small, and unready for the Pac-10. Few Husky fans saw enough from you to expect much more than minor improvement coming into your sophomore season.

And, even leaving out the questions about your capability to develop into a real contributor on the team, fans prognosticating about the Huskies’ rotation for this season had you buried at the end of the bench. The prevailing sentiment early on was that you’d be behind all of the team’s guards, including eventual-redshirt C.J. Wilcox, on the Husky depth chart.

My biggest criticism was based on the way you looked out there, as much as anything about your play. After all, we didn’t see much of you stat-wise in your limited minutes last season, but we certainly saw plenty of The Scott Suggs Face, a combination of being overwhelmed and under-confident.

Even as you buried three-pointers in each of the Huskies’ first three games this year, I didn’t think you looked the part, and up until recently, I was frequently writing that I wanted to see more Elston Turner and less Scott Suggs. I was still seeing what I thought was The Suggs Face. Less often, but still. . .

Recently, though, I’ve gotten to see a lot of you and a lot of Elston on the court. I love the big, how’d-he-do-that 27-footer Elston sometimes drops, but not nearly as much as the sweet stroke you’ve been steadily displaying, shot-after-shot. And, that scared look is gone. Somewhere along the line, Mr. Missouri Basketball carved himself out a nice little niche as the Huskies’ best shooter.

I’ve seen every single shot the team has taken this season. When that ball goes up, every fan, consciously or not — and having nothing to do with statistics — makes an instant prediction of success or failure. Here’s the entire list of ballers on this Husky team who make me think, in that brief instant the ball is in the air, “yeah, this one’s going in”:

Quincy Pondexter

Scott Suggs

That’s it. Consider this: Isaiah Thomas has taken 38 more three-pointers than you, Scott, and only hit four more!

You’ve even become relatively emotive, which lets me know you’ve got the confidence to stand out a bit. And, your defense is not bad.

Bottom line, it’s gotten to the point where we are decisively a better offensive team when you are on the floor. (According to basketball-statistics.com’s new feature, you have the second-highest plus-minus rating on the team this season.)

Now, don’t go thinking I’m saying you’re good to go, and can stop working hard. My wish list for you would be: 20 extra pounds, a little bit more moving when you’re off the ball, and a true gunslinger’s mentality to shoot your way out of it on nights when it doesn’t come so easy (although lately, it looks like you have the green light you need).

So Scott, please let this serve as my official apology. I can’t say I’ll never write something negative about you again, because I will. But, I’ll never write that you don’t belong on the court with these guys, because you do.

And, thanks too for being one of the first Huskies willing to talk to Montlake Madness. Those early interviews helped us gain a small readership, which eventually became a less-small readership, and I try not to forget when someone does something they didn’t have to do for me.

Sincerely,
Josh

Tags:

Huskies Pummel Sun Devils; Will Play for First Place on Thursday

February 7, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 8 comments

Ted S. Warren / AP

Ted S. Warren / AP

The Washington Huskies (6-5, 16-7 overall) defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-5, 16-8 overall), 79-56, on Saturday night at Hec Ed.

The basics:

The Huskies again were downright dominating at home. This one was over early, as the Huskies built a 27-7 advantage, and led 42-25 at halftime.

The Huskies managed to dismantle Arizona’s seventh-in-the-nation defense without even shooting the lights out (43.1% FG, 4-15 3-pt. FG) on a night when it felt like every roll went the Dawgs way.

Isaiah Thomas had a bounce-back game, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and only one turnover.

The Huskies moved into a five-way tie for second place in the conference, and will get a shot Thursday night against Cal to earn a share of the conference lead.

Here’s some more thoughts on this game and beyond:

Quincy Pondexter had an absolutely sick move, where he drove on a break, and got hammered by two Sun Devil. As he skidded to the floor, he flicked the ball to the high part of the glass, and it banked it. With respect to Clarence Trent’s dunk last week, Q-Pon now owns the move of the year.

Quincy put up 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. And, other than “the move,” he did it so quietly that for the next 48 hours most people who watched the game won’t even think about how good he was. Then on Monday, he’ll win Pac-10 Player of the Week. . . again.

It really is amazing how much better the team looks when Thomas embraces his underrated passing skills. The team is 8-1 in games in which I.T. has three or more assists.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning had a productive game (12 points, nine boards, two blocks). It looked early like he was taking a little more time in the post, really working to get a good look, and they weren’t falling. Then, he started getting some rolls in the second half.

MBA’s nine boards tied his career-high in a Pac-10 game.

Other than a Husky win, I got what I wanted most out of the game: Venoy Overton shut down Derek Glasser tonight, clearly sending the message: “I’m your daddy.” And, in case there was any doubt, the Dawg Pack helped clear things up.

Looking for a turning point in the Huskies’ season? Since moving Justin Holiday into the starting lineup, the team is 6-2, winning by an average of 25 points. And, one of the two losses was by a single point.

Speaking of Holiday (seven points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, one block), he’s a pretty terrific rebounder. And, it’s all through hustle. Imagine what he could do if he weighed more than 105 pounds.

I know, I know. He was out of action for so long. He’s not at full strength. Blah. Blah. Blah. It’s not like Tyreese Breshers hasn’t played organized ball before. How is it that he can’t play defense without fouling? He’s 10th on the team in minutes played, but running a close second in personal fouls (67) to Venoy Overton (72). Unacceptable. And, what’s even more unacceptable? Not looking nearly pissed off enough at himself for doing it.

Scott Suggs has gone from being the one guy I didn’t ever want on the court to one of my favorite Huskies to watch. I’m truly proud of how he’s stepped up. Ever notice, even when he misses, his shot always looks like it’s going in? Can’t say that about Elston Turner.

And now, after all this drama, the Huskies are one big win away from being back on top of the conference. I want so badly not to believe in these guys, because every time they go on the road, they rip my heart out. But, I believe. I do believe.

Thanks for coming!

Tags: ,

Further Thoughts on the Huskies 81-75 Win Over Arizona

February 5, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 10 comments

Ted S. Warren / AP

Ted S. Warren / AP

Caught last night’s game from the stands with Gant’s Moustache.

I’ve been lucky enough to sit in the press box and attend post-game press conferences this year, but I’m glad I got to experience one game this year as a fan.

Getting to scream your head off and act like a maniac is one of the best things about the game experience, and, even if just for a night, I’m glad I got to do it. And, I’m glad I got to go with GM, my favorite dude to watch a Husky game with.

Here’s some thoughts on the squeaker:

What’s up with Isaiah? This wasn’t just an off night. Something’s up, and I hope it’s just the residual effects of the flu. Tonight, he was nothing like the sparkplug we’ve come to expect and looked downright slow out there.

This is me not taking Quincy Pondexter’s awesomeness for granted. This is me not taking Quincy Pondexter’s awesomeness for granted. This is me not taking Quincy Pondexter’s awesomeness for granted. . .

And speaking of guys we need to remember not to take for granted: Justin Holiday (five points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks) has been the catalyst for everything good that’s happened to the Huskies during the Pac-10 portion of their schedule. If the Dawgs go on to salvage this season and make the Tournament, we’ll all look back to the decision to start Holiday as the turning point.

Looks like the coaches have given Scott Suggs the green light and it’s paying off. He had 13 points, and looks more confident every day. He also forced the turnover that led to Quincy’s big breakaway dunk — a key turning point as the Huskies were grabbing control of the game.

Gant’s Moustache is a proponent of the Dawgs sometimes going with a lineup that includes I.T. at the point, with one of the shooters (Suggs or Turner), Holiday, Quincy and one of the bigs. I used to call him crazy, but when Venoy goes to the bench, I’m starting to come around to the idea that it shouldn’t automatically mean Romar goes back to Abdul Gaddy.

Easily the best interior defensive effort of the season — dare I say that the Huskies looked semi-intimidating down low last night? Fantastic effort Thursday, given that Arizona has some tough competitors, including Ivan Drago, on its front line.

More on the Huskies interior D: their nine blocks are the most for them in a Pac-10 game this year.

Again, MBA + Tyreese = a decent performance from a post player (12 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, eight fouls, in 29 minutes).

Nic Wise isn’t half the player Quincy Pondexter is.

Call me crazy, but I was a lot more worried about this game than I am for Saturday against ASU. I feel like we can own the Sun Devils a second time around, and predict a slow grind of a game, but feel ultra confident the Dawgs will come out on top . What do you think?

Tags: ,

Nice ESPN Feature on Quincy

February 5, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | No comments

QP vs AM by Elaine Thompson AP copyGreat ESPN.com feature story on Quincy Pondexter here.

Good to see a little Draft buzz for Q-Pon, who looks right now like a first-round pick, based on his play.

Hope scouts see it the same way.

Tags:

Huskies Avenge Disaster in Dessert; Slip by Wildcats, 81-75

February 5, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 2 comments

Ted S. Warren / AP

Ted S. Warren / AP

The Washington Huskies (5-5, 15-7 overall) defeated the Arizona Wildcats (6-4, 12-10 overall), 81-75, on Thursday night at Hec Ed.

The least you should know:

The Huskies didn’t put this one away until the final minute, shooting 10-10 from the free throw line in the final 50 seconds to overcome the plucky Wildcats.

As he’s done so often, Quincy Pondexter carried the team for long stretches tonight, finishing with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

The Huskies forced the Wildcats into 20 turnovers, and contained leading scorers Nic Wise (12 points on 4-17 shooting) and Derrick Williams (3 points in eight minutes, five fouls).

The narrative:

The Huskies had been so dominant on their home floor of prior to Thursday night, going 14-1 this season, and winning the last four home games by an average of 30 points, that Venoy Overton found himself thankful for a close game.

“We needed a game like this,” said Overton after the Huskies’ hard-fought 81-75 victory over the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday evening.

For the second straight game, the Huskies fell behind in the first half, going into the locker room down, 37-31. The Huskies shot 29% in the first 20 minutes, missed nine of 17 free throws, and had only two assists.

Quincy Pondexter’s 15 points at the break were responsible for nearly half of the Huskies’ scoring.

With 17:38 remaining in the game, the Huskies regained the lead, 40-39, on a layup by Tyreese Breshers and never fell behind again. The Huskies held their largest lead, 68-58, with 6:45 remaining.

In the final 1:20 of the game, Arizona managed to pull within two points three separate times, only to see the Huskies put the game away at the free throw line, hitting on their last ten free throws.

Overton, who connected on six free throws in the final minute and scored 12 in the game, started the second half in place of Isaiah Thomas, who struggled early on and finished with only seven points.

Thoughts and Observations:

Isaiah Thomas looked like he was going half speed tonight. For the first time in two seasons, I didn’t get the sense he was playing very hard. Still feeling the effects of the flu?

Great games tonight by Tyreese Breshers (nine points, six rebounds, two blocks in 12 minutes) and Scott Suggs (13 points).

The game was won for the Huskies at the free throw line. They hit their last 10, and shot 21-25 in the second half, to preserve a close win.

However, the game was nearly lost at the line too. The Huskies looked to me like they outplayed the Wildcats for much of the first half, but shot 8-17 from the line, 29% from the field, and went to locker room down six.

Big break for the Huskies that Derrick Williams got into foul trouble so early and never really got going in the game.

Nice job overall by the Husky bigs tonight, who finished with a combined six blocks (four for Matthew Bryan-Amaning, two for Breshers).

Next up: Arizona State, which destroyed the Huskies in Tempe, 68-51, in January. The Huskies have beaten many teams with more talent than the Sun Devils, but looked clueless against the Sun Devils gimmicky zone defense last time out.

Tags: ,

Game Preview: UW vs. Arizona (game #22)

February 2, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 4 comments

UW Arizona preview copyWho: Washington Huskies (4-5, 14-7 overall) vs. Arizona Wildcats (6-3, 12-9 overall)

When: Thursday, 7:30 PM

Where: Hec Edmundson Pavilion

Huskies 101: UW won both of its games last week at home, against Seattle U. (123-76) and Washington State (92-64).

This is game #2 of the Huskies’ “Ten and Your In” portion of the season. The task is no easy feat, but it’s nearly impossible to argue that the Huskies wouldn’t earn an NCAA bid — conference champs or not — if they can win the final ten games on their schedule. So far, so good.

Quincy Pondexter has scored 23 or more points in five of his last six games, and averages 20.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, and shoots 43.2% on 3-pt. FG.

Projected lineup: G – Abdul Gaddy, G – Isaiah Thomas, F – Justin Holiday, F – Quincy Pondexter, F – Tyreese Breshers

Last time out: The Wildcats destroyed the Huskies, 87-70, at the McKale Center.

The Wildcats shot 50% from the field, 8-17 from deep, and had six players in double figures. The Dawgs had no answer for Jamelle Horne (22 points, six rebounds, two steals).

Quincy Pondexter had one of his worst games (7 points, only five FGAs); Elston Turner had one of his best (12 points, 3-6 on 3-pt. FG)

Wildcats 101: Winners of their last four games, Arizona is the hottest team in the Pac-10. The Wildcats are fresh off a character-building home win over Cal (76-72) on Sunday.

Nic Wise (16 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.8 apg) is the team’s senior leader, but freshman Derrick Williams (15.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 57.4 FG%) is making a strong case that he’s the team’s best player.

Projected lineup: G – Nic Wise, G – Kevin Parrom, G – Kyle Fogg, F – Jamelle Horne, F – Derrick Williams

The Huskies will win if: The Huskies will win if they play the way they have at home, where they’ve looked like a team that could beat (nearly) anyone in the country.

The Dawgs will win if Quincy and our bigs can contain the potent Wildcat frontcourt of Horne and Williams. The two combined for 34 points last time the teams played, compared to 15 total for Pondexter, Tyreese Breshers, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, and Darnell Gant, combined.

The Huskies will lose if: The Huskies will lose if they don’t focus on defense. The Dawgs only turned it over nine times, and shot a (semi-) respectable 44.2% last time. We just had no answer for Arizona on the defensive end.

The Dawgs will lose if theydon’t get something going from the outside. UW shot 5-17 from 3-pt. range the last time the teams met, and must do better this time around.

A humble suggestion: It’s not his favorite move — and maybe we’re so good at home we don’t need to — but what about double-teaming the post in a more “official” sense, as opposed to the flawed help defense the Huskies regularly run. I’d like to see our guys in the post get some more help possession-to-possession and try to keep Arizona taking lower-percentage outside shots. It’s unlikely they’ll find the hot streak from outside they did against us in Tucson.

Prediction: If we can win this, we’ll be in a good place going into Saturday’s game vs. ASU, with a chance to sweep our four-game homestand. I believe this is our toughest home game remaining (USC included) and truly could go either way. . .

But, I’m picking the Huskies in a high-scoring affair. The Oregon fluke aside, how can you pick against these guys at Hec Ed? 90-86, Dawgs.

Tags: ,

I.T. is Key, But This is Venoy’s Team Next Year

February 1, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 4 comments

Kevin P. Casey / AP

Kevin P. Casey / AP

I was thinking a lot this past week about how it seems that fans and media alike have already anointed Isaiah Thomas as next year’s team leader without considering the potential alternative.

If all goes as expected, we’ll have three seniors on next year’s squad: Justin Holiday, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, and Venoy Overton.

Holiday will bring poise and defensive toughness and likely starts as a senior. Matthew Bryan-Amaning has the tools to improve, but can’t be counted on to be a leader until he can carve out a productive niche for himself consistently in games.

But, Venoy Overton, as a senior, may have more upside potential as the heart-and-soul leader of next year’s squad than he’s getting credit for. Before you call me crazy, consider these three points:

He leads by example: I wrote about this a little the other day, but as far as I’ve seen, Venoy is a fairly soft-spoken kid. Whether it’s because he doesn’t get the attention of Quincy or Isaiah, or he’s simply not as comfortable being a mouthpiece for the team (unless, of course, you happen to be the opposing point guard), Venoy does exhibit some great leadership qualities.

His hustle and energy on the court rubs off on everyone. When he can keep himself from running kamikaze missions up and down the court, and stay away from those shoulder and hip fouls he picks up too often, Venoy has frequently been the catalyst for the team’s good play this year.

He, not Isaiah, is the team’s best penetrator: I.T. may lead the team in “ooh!” finishes around the basket, but in how many games have we seen the team stall when Isaiah can’t figure his way into a zone defense? And, at his size, Thomas will always be a risk for getting stuffed by players a foot taller.

Venoy, on the other hand, has shown recently a great ability to force himself into the lane and pick up fouls against bigger defenders. More impressive, though, is Venoy’s sense of when to drive and when not to. Consider this: he’s the only Husky (Quincy included) who regularly picks up what could be called “easy” baskets, because he knows when the defense is asleep, and can identify when he’s got a step on his defender.

The would-be game-winning bucket against UCLA was no fluke. If I’m coaching, and we have one possession and need one basket, I’m going to Quincy on the baseline or Venoy driving the lane.

Venoy may be taking a Quincy-like “mini-leap” at the end of his junior season: If I asked you, before the season started, which Husky averaging more than 20 mins/game would lead the team in assist-to-turnover ratio, you wouldn’t have said Venoy, right? Me neither.

But there we go: Venoy’s 1.7/1 assit-to-turnover number for the season isn’t a thing of beauty, but his 4.3/1 number over the last six games certainly is. And, his 2.46/1 figure in conference play (raising his game as the competition has gotten better!) leads the Pac-10 and ranks on the list of the nation’s leaders. Low on the list, but still.

No, Venoy’s 8.8 ppg, 3.6 apg, and 1.1 spg in conference play won’t qualify him for the All-Pac-10 team this year. But, bump those up to, say, 13 points (as the team’s second scoring option) and five assists next year, while continuing his progress with taking care of the basketball, and then tell me who’s a better point guard in the Pac-10?

Isaiah’s fire is critical to the team, and will be as long as he’s here. But, the same way Quincy emerged late last year, I’m getting that sense with Venoy right now.

And I expect more of the same. Because if the Huskies are going to find a way to finally win on the road, my guess is that Venoy Overton and some hardcore pressure defense are going to have a lot to do with it.

What do you think? Let me hear you!

Thanks for coming!

Tags:

Newer entries »

Array