December 2010

by: Griffin Bennett

AP Photo / Christine Cotter

They say things come in threes. While Husky Nation took over Southern California for two basketball match-ups and football bowl game, no one thought that Romar and Sarkisian could pull of a three-for-three. Sports disappointment has been a major part of all our lives these last 10 years, and it seems rather apropos that things seem to be turning the corner right on New Year’s Eve.

With one more game to go today, Romar needed his Dawgs to beat UCLA in Pauley Pavilion which is something that he had only accomplished once during his coaching tenure. The team remembered last year’s heart breaking loss after a buzzer beating three, and there was never a lack of energy or motivation. While the refs tried their hardest to give the game to the Bruins with a 36 to 15 free-throw attempt advantage, the Huskies relentless defense and post presence led them to their best road victory of the year since….. Wednesday.

Positives:

• MBA – If there was an internet equivalent of the slow clap then I would start one for him right now. He had his first back-to-back good games against top-tier post talent since late last year. If he has truly found his groove for good, then this team can look completely different. His line tonight was very impressive as his 21 points and 10 rebounds came against three of the best post players in Smith, Honeycutt, and Nelson. He also shot 5 for 6 from the free-throw line that ended up being key in extending a second half run.
• Isaiah Thomas – While he can still create his shot in the lane when he wants, he has realized that the team has a better chance to win if he plays a more distributing role. While 17 points isn’t exactly taking a step back in scoring, you can see that he is being more selective with his shots and loves running the pick and roll with MBA in crunch time. He added 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals to his night’s total. More importantly, it seems like IT is taking away some of the point guard duties from Abdul Gaddy. Especially down the stretch of the game. I’m not sure if this is a designed facet, or if it has just naturally been happening, but IT has been handling the ball and running the offense while he shares the court with Gaddy.
• Rebounding – UCLA can be a beast on the boards at times with their wide bodies and aggressive post players. Still, the Huskies won the rebounding battle 33-30. While it may not be a large margin, winning a rebounding battle against a team like that is nothing to overlook. MBA looks to have a new found aggressiveness and Gant seems to be trying to get in the post more on offense. Aziz is still Aziz. He struggles to stay on the court and it looks like he’s always a half-second slow to ball.
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – This Husky team continues to protect the ball superbly well (minus that USC game that no one saw) while also passing the ball at a staggering rate. The 17 dimes and 9 turnovers continues one of the best passing seasons in recent memory.
• Justin Holiday – I just can’t not put him in this category. He played 35 minutes while not being 100% healthy and just makes plays that don’t make it onto a stat sheet. 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, only 1 turnover, and 1 insanely awesome technical as he drained a three in front of the Bruin bench with his brother sitting behind it. Even his newly found swagger is fun to watch.

Negatives:

• Aziz N’Diaye – As I mentioned earlier, he just got owned by Reeves and Smith down low and made some bad decisions on fouls that continue to limit his minutes. Luckily, MBA was there to pick up his slack, but we need Aziz to gain some sort of consistency by the halfway mark of the Pac-10 season. Right now, it seems like a coin flip deciding if Aziz is going to impact the game positively or not. I’m not worried yet, though, as it hasn’t cost us a game.
• Suggs and Wilcox – It’s not really negative, production wise, but they only played a combined 10 minutes Friday night. It’s not even that Romar is starting to favor Ross more, as he only played 9 minutes as well. Is Romar shortening his bench by giving his starters more minutes? Could be. It’s just something to keep an eye on.
• Three Point Shooting – With Suggs, Ross, and Wilcox not playing many minutes, the perimeter shooting suffered. The Huskies can be better than 4 for 15, which they shot on Friday, but Gant’s dagger trey-bomb to ice the game is enough to forget about it for a night.

Overall:

I think one of the major stories is Romar’s willing (and ability) to change his philosophies to help this team win. The newly implemented zone defense looks a little weird, but against teams that can’t shoot, it’s the perfect strategy and Romar realizes this. Aziz’ height and MBA’s block ability allow the lane to be clogged while our guard’s height and speed close down the passing lanes. It is just awesome and impressive to see it working. What’s more impressive is that Romar is still willing to learn and constantly evolve his coaching strategy even after all of his recent success. It’s the sign of a great coach. While I think that Romar is amazing, I was still surprised to see him pull Terrence Ross after one bad pass early and his huge game on Wednesday. He was even playing well early against UCLA but then he was out, and barely played again. Is he trying to teach the young gunner a lesson? Is he making an example out of him? Did he just not need him again? Who knows, but Ross still had the “hot hand” and he wasn’t in the game. Maybe there’s a method to Romar’s bench madness, but Ross has a chance (albeit small) to win Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as his skills are starting to boil over.

Taking a step back to look at what just happened, the Huskies may have just swept their hardest road series of the year. This leaves only, arguably, two tough road games left at Arizona and at Washington State. With our road woes apparently cured, the Huskies are now firmly awaiting the match-up with Arizona to determine just how good this team actually has become. Let’s hope they don’t trip up before then.

AP Photo/Christine Cotter

UW wins convincingly against UCLA today 74-63. They complete the LA sweep for the first time since BRoy’s squad did it in 2006. Great game boys.

Early thoughts:

Who was the MVP tonight: IT or MBA? or Both?

MBA played one of his best Pac-10 career games today. He finished well and was great on the boards. He ran the floor and was rewarded.

Isaiah Thomas did all the little things to win the game today with scoring, finding the open man and converting from the stripe. He even drew a high percentage of Josh Smith’s fouls tonight.

Holiday played very well and was aggressive. He locked down Honeycutt all game long.

Darnell Gant was an unsung hero tonight. Not only because of his huge three pointer, but because of the job he did on Reeves Nelson to open up the second half. His defense on the bruiser allowed UW to go on that big run to open the second half. Once Gant was removed from the game, UW had no answer for Nelson.

by Craig Yamada

Who: UW (9-3) vs. UCLA (9-4)

When: Friday, 1 PM

TV: FSN

Radio: 950 KJR

The Huskies are looking to use their LA brooms for the first time since 2006. Coming off an emotional win at USC on Wednesday, the Dawgs will need to re-focus their attention on their next opponent. The Bruins will be no easy task. The ghost of UCLA past still haunts UW in the form of  Mustafa Abdul-Hamid. The last time UW visited Pauley Pavilion, they were sent home at the hands of a buzzer beating 3 pointer from Abdul-Hamid. UW soon had their revenge when they returned home as they blew out the Bruins by 29 on national television. Better believe that each team will play with a chip on their shoulders left over from last year.  

The Numbers: 

UCLA 101: UCLA is coming off a nice win against Klay Thompson and the WSU Cougars. They are winners of their last six games including an upset of #18 BYU. Needless to say, they are streaking. Similar to UW’s previous opponent, UCLA is playing excellent basketball at the current time. Much like USC, they were able to push #4 Kansas to the end of regulation, losing by just one point. They have had a couple of bad losses to the hands of VCU and Montana, but after watching them against WSU last night, they are gelling well as a team. UW’s defensive strategy may be similar to their treatment of USC. Big freshman center Josh Smith anchors the front line at center. Josh is slowly but surely garnering more minutes each game at close to 20 a game. He is averaging 10.1 ppg and looks much more agile than the last time I watched him play.  UCLA’s biggest threat in the post comes in the form of Reeves Nelson aka “Baby Brockman”. Nelson is definitely playing out of Brockman’s shadow this year as he is having his way inside. He’s second on the team in scoring at 14.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg. At 6’8″ he will prove to be a handful tomorrow as his offensive game looks much more polished this year. Add in his tenacity for offensive rebounds and ability to run the floor, UW bigs will have their hands full.  Their most heralded player is Tyler Honeycutt. Living in the mold of former Bruin, Matt Barnes, Honeycutt is off to a quick start this year averaging 14.8 ppg. He is coming off a shoulder injury but showed no ill effects against WSU last night. Honeycutt erupted in the second half, mostly with his outside shooting. UW will have to be in his hip pocket all game if it hopes to win tomorrow. Malcolm Lee looks much improved from last year. He is shooting the ball much better this year and is as quick as anyone in the Pac in getting up the floor. Look for VO to be on him most of the game.

UCLA Lineup:

F – Reeves Nelson, 6-8,  14.7 ppg
F – Tyler Honeycutt, 6-8,  14.8 ppg
C – Joshua Smith, 6-10, 10.1
G – Malcolm Lee, 6-5, 12.8 ppg
G – Lazeric Jones, 6-0, 11.3 ppg

Huskies win if:

• Aziz stays in the game: This is why we recruited him in the first place, for matchups like this. Aziz will need to avoid early foul trouble in effort to give Josh Smith fits in the post. Aziz has the strength to body up on Smith and will be a valuable asset in keeping him out of rhythm. Smith owns the paint and is a good rebounder. Aziz will need to come up big to win this game.
• Outrebound UCLA: This goes without saying, but after seeing their stellar rebounding performance against USC, we know UW will continue to emphasize this area. They will need to body up on Smith, Nelson and Honeycutt on the offensive glass.
• Holiday locks down Honeycutt: Justin will guard a similarly sized player in Honeycutt and will draw the toughest assignment for the night. It will be vital to keep a hand in his face at all times as he can kill from anywhere on the floor.
• Repeat performance from MBA: UW will need to establish an inside presence like they did against USC. Josh Smith will likely be the one guarding MBA all night. MBA will need to get it going and perhaps force some unwanted fouls on to Josh Smith.
• IT breaks out: Thomas had a slow game against USC, but I fully expect him to rebound quick against UCLA’s faster pace of game.
• Free Throws are made: UW won with their free throws against USC and will need to convert similarly tomorrow. When on the road, making free throws will be vital for them winning a game.

Game Prediction: UCLA will have a big run to open up the game, but UW will come back in fine fashion to close out the first half. UW wins in the final minutes 83-76.

AP Photo/Christine Cotter

by Craig Yamada

A sneeze, a stomach ache, an awkward facial expression or hurt feelings could have merited you a whistle if your last name was Vucevic on Wednesday night. Yes, the new age Ivan Drago played a great game tonight as a result of one of the most ticky tack called games I have seen in lasting memory. Needless to say, he is a great player and he showed us that tonight, but the whistles definitely helped him a lot. Despite all that,  UW was able to outlast the USC Trojans 73-67 to kick start their Pac-10 season.

It was not an easy thing for fans to watch. Oh wait, most of us didn’t watch. Thanks FSN. But even listening to USC’s digital broadcast on their site was painful enough. Going down 16-4 in the early going, UW had to grind out the first half to get on level ground with the Trojans. A defensive adjustment, a soaring freshman, and veteran leadership were the three keys to victory on Wednesday night. After watching the replay, you have to tip your hat to UW tonight as they exuded confidence and patience as the night went on.

Jay-Z’s “Everyday a star is born” jam was just running through my head all night as I listened to Terrence Ross’ name being called after each made bucket. In a night where UW was plagued with foul trouble, the freshman single handedly provided the necessary spark to keep UW in the game. Ross attacked from beyond the arc with back to back threes in the early going and connected with another just before half time. He showed zero hesitation and his stroke was going tonight. In the second half, he made the best B-Roy impression I have seen in a while. He was able to showcase his complete game in the second half by curling off screens for jumpers in the paint. He pump faked defenders from beyond the arc and dribbled in for a better look. And the most impressive moves came in the post as he spun base line against a smaller defender for a contested lay in off the glass.

Overton and Holiday took the overtime period over with their free throw shooting and clutch jumpers. As I watched the replay, I think it is starting to become clear that Romar wants Overton with the ball in his hands when they need to create a shot. And I am definitely coming around to the idea as VO gives UW that instant offense as he can take any man in the country off the dribble with his quickness and draw fouls to get to the stripe. He showed no ill effects of his hamstring or knee today and played like a senior should.

Positives:

• Rebounding: UW finally won the battle of the boards against the Trojans40-26. UW garnered 12 offensive rebounds, none bigger than VO’s huge rebound off his missed free throw to help seal the game. They were able to limit USC’s second chance opportunites and kept the garbage man (Stepheson) in check for most of the night.
• Zone Defense: For the first time in a while, Romar switching to a zone defense got his team back into a game. UW was able to clog the paint and prevent penetration after they made the switch to the 2-3 zone D. They practically dared USC’s shooters to beat them on the perimeter. USC went 5 for 21 from deep. USC went cold from the field and UW was able to garner some big stops as a result.
• Playing the half-court game: Hats off to Coach Romar tonight as he was able to win a half-court game tonight. The transition game was just not there tonight and UW was forced to execute in a half court set. Terrence Ross and MBA’s production certainly helped.
• Terrence Ross: 18 points,  4 rebounds and 2 blocks. Need I say more? He should have won himself a promotion in the pecking order after his performance tonight. You can’t keep talent like his on the bench for too long. Sorry Scotty and CJ, but it was inevitable.
• Venoy Overton: If not for T-Ross’ explosion tonight, I would have handed VO the game ball out right. But I say he deserves to at least honorable mention here as he was the man in OT
• Justin Holiday: All things considered, Holiday was able to make a huge impact on Wednesday night, despite early foul trouble. He was able to knock down two huge threes and grabbed 6 big rebounds to help lead his team to victory.
• UW’s Fans: I couldn’t very well give the fans some props here. When a shot was made on the radio, I couldn’t tell the difference between the home team and our fans. Way to be the 6th man Dawg fans.

Just OK:

• MBA: Although his 18 pts and 9 boards were impressive against a tough USC frontline, I was holding my breath every time he touched the ball. 60% of his shots were acrobatic shots where he was off balance. He did miss a lot of chippies and his free throw shooting nearly costed us a few times tonight. However, you have to give him his due as he performed masterfully on the boards tonight with Aziz in foul trouble all night long. Way to grind it out young chap.
• IT: Not an ideal game for Thomas tonight as he had to earn every single basket he got. He couldn’t seem to get his jumper going, but was able to make some nice drives to the basket and convert contested layups. He did let USC’s size get the better of him at times tonight as he generated 6 TO’s. Romar won’t be happy with that. Expect IT to bounce back in a major fashion on Friday against UCLA

Negatives:

• Turnovers: 17 UW turnovers will not cut it most nights. Luckily USC had a bad shooting night which helped balance out this area a bit.
• Aziz N’Diaye/Darnell Gant: Tough to have a good game when they were sidelined with foul trouble all game. Things got so bad that Brenden Sherrer was at the scorer’s table with 40 seconds left going into half time. And again, half of those fouls were not a result of bad play, more so on bad officiating.

Lord I love being wrong. Just caught the tail end of this game on the radio. But big win for the Dub against arguably the hottest Pac 10 team in USC. More to come on this soon.

Just some thought starters:

The Terrence Ross bandwagon is already occupied by me. Does anyone else want to get on board now?

Venoy Overton and Justin Holiday won this game down the stretch for us.

Zone defense was key for Romar tonight?

by Craig Yamada

Who: UW (8-3) at USC (8-5)

When: Wednesday, 7:30

TV: None (Thanks a lot FSN)

Radio: 950 AM

The time has come for the Huskies to kick start the Pac-10 season. And they will do so for a two game stint in LA, beginning with the Trojans of USC. The Trojans are arguably one of the hottest teams in the Pac-10 right now. After downing top AP 25 teams such as formerly ranked #18 Tennessee and #14 Texas, it is safe to say that USC is carrying the Pac-10 flag going into the regular season. No other team has performed as well as the Trojans against ranked teams this season. They also had a near upset of #3 Kansas, only to be crushed by Josh Selby in the closing seconds of that game. Needless to say, USC is proving that they are the best under the radar team that could push UW to the end of the season for the crown.

After going 0-2 against USC last year, UW will be looking to rebound, literally.

The Numbers:

USC 101: Everything you need to know about USC can be seen in our Pac-10 preview assessment. But the one player we did not give proper credit to was junior transfer,  Jio Fontan. Fontan has three games under his belt this season and has hit the ground running averaging 16.3 ppg. He is leading the team in scoring in his first three games and is proving that he could be worthy of all Pac-10 honors. Fontan gives USC the backcourt presence they were missing with the departure of Dwight Lewis last year. Fontan struggled early on with his long range depth, but quickly worked those kinks out against Lehigh, going 4 for 4 from deep. Coupled with the post presence of Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson, USC now has a well balanced attack inside and out. Vucevic is really stepping up this year as he is averaging nearly a double-double with 15.3 ppg and 9.6 rpg. Vucevic will create plenty matchup problems for the Dawgs as he can stretch the floor with his perimter shooting and can beast in the post. UW will need to treat Vucevic as a very watered down Dirk Nowitzki in terms of how they will defend him. I would assume MBA will draw this assignment to allow Aziz to stay home in the paint to grab boards and protect the rim. Stepheson is their second leading rebounder at 8.6 rpg and is averaging near double figures each game at 9.8 ppg. Stephenson caused plenty fits for UW last year with second chance opportunities and will need to be kept in check. Freshman Maurice Jones has started his 2010 campaign with a bang averaging 11.3 ppg. Jones is quick scoring point guard who has the skills to give UW fits in a half court set. With his dribbling and quickness, Abdul Gaddy could have his hands full in keeping him from penetrating into the lane.

USC Starting Line Up:

PG – Maurice Jones, 5’7” – 11.3 ppg

SG – Jio Fontan, 6 – 16.3 ppg

SF – Marcus Simmons, 6’6” – 5.5 ppg

PF – Nikola Vucevic, 6’10” – 15.2 ppg

PF/C – Alex Stepheson, 6’10” – 9.8 ppg

UW Update: From the looks of things, Venoy Overton and Justin Holiday should be available for tomorrow. Neither player sounds like they are 100%, but will both be needed for this stretch of games in LA. Holiday will have to have a high threshold for pain as his strained foot could prove to hamper his agility. Overton told the Seattle Times that he is around 80% healed which could be even higher come game time on Wednesday. The defensive contributions of both players will be vital in helping to set the tempo of this game.

UW wins if they:

• Win the battle of the boards: On paper, USC does not look like a strong rebounding team as they rank 183rd in the nation in grabbing boards. However, with their length at forward and history for garbage buckets, UW will need to box out their men to limit their second chance opportunities.
• Press: At least 3/4 court pressure will be needed to help speed up the game. USC is a half court team and teams have had difficulties running on them as they always have a player getting back on defense after a missed shot. UW proved that USC couldn’t handle full court pressure toward the end of the game last year. They should deploy their pressure earlier this year to test the waters.
• Get big production from their bench: UW’s depth should help run USC into the ground. USC runs an 8 man rotation. Should UW be successful in getting one of their bigs in foul trouble, USC lacks the bench depth down low to recover. SG Bryce Jones is the only player from their bench that contributes on a regular basis with 9.8 ppg.
• Lock down Fontan: Jio will be a primary concern for Isaiah Thomas and Venoy Overton on Wednesday. They will need to pressure Fontan full court as he can hurt teams in the paint and from beyond the arc.
• Force Turnovers: As a team, USC averages over 12 TO’s per game. As talented as Maurice Jones is, he does average 3 TO’s per game.

Game Prediction: With Holiday not being 100%, this could be a very tough game for UW. I predicted early in the season that this particular game would be one of the few losses for UW this year, and my opinion has not changed. My best guess is that USC controls the tempo of this game and wins with their half court execution and rebounding. USC wins 68-62. However, I would love to be proved wrong here. (And given this game will not be televised, I have a funny feeling UW may just pull it out. )

by: Griffin Bennett

Courtesy of Jim Bates - Seattle Times

In the last game before a week off until Pac-10 play begins, the Huskies gave all of us an early Christmas present with a 90-60 victory over Nevada. It was a dominant performance the whole way through and Nevada couldn’t have shot their way out of paper bag. Same story, different day. The Huskies dominated a weak opponent and looked every bit of a top 10 team. We didn’t really learn anything as we are all waiting to see a performance like this against a good team. Nevertheless, I’m not one to get negative after an impressive win like the one Wednesday night. This time of the year we all know that Santa is making his list, and checking it twice. Let’s see who made his Naughty and Nice lists.

Nice:

• Team Defense – Another dominant night for the Huskies swarming defense. The Huskies packed the stats with seven blocks, seven steals, while forcing the Wolf Pack to 11 turnovers, 28.3 FG%, and 16.7 3Pt%. Their off-ball movement was excellent as they held Nevada to zero assists in the first half. Keep in mind that Venoy didn’t even play.
• Isaiah Thomas – He had the best night of the season and was easily the MVP. He had 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. He should have had upwards of 8+ assists if MBA hadn’t bricked countless point blank lay-ups. It was exactly the night that he needed heading into league play next week.
• Aziz N’Diaye – He recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Even more impressive was his defensive decision making that helped him to limit his fouls to only two while playing 20 minutes. He looks a lot more comfortable on both ends and his circus reverse lay-up was amazing. He could be blossoming at the right time.
• MBA – While his missed lay-ups are causing me to invest in Just For Men at a young age, his rebounding effort looked markedly improved and playing his more natural position at PF looks to be helping his game. His 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks were very nice.
• Justin Holiday – We’re starting to take him for granted. As our most consistent player, we are getting spoiled with his daily lines that looked like his tonight: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 for 3 from deep. I love watching him every night and his reverse dunk was the highlight of the night.
• Rebounding – Huskies won the key stat that they have been focused on all year as they beat Nevada on the boards 55 to 40. Nevada’s cold shooting hands gave the Huskies numerous opportunities to work on their game and it paid off huge. They had 4 different players with 8+ rebounds. It’s a step in the right direction.
• Gant, Suggs, and Ross – They all gave the Huskies what they will need from them the rest of the season. Consistent rebounding and scoring off of the bench will be key all year from these guys. Gant contributed a much needed 4 rebounds while Suggs and Ross scoring with 8 and 9 points respectively. It’s nice to have players like them to come in and help out when players like Gaddy and Wilcox are struggling from the field.

Naughty:

• Abdul Gaddy – It was a rough night for the sophomore as he went 1-6 from the field and 0-3 from downtown. His got his fourth foul early in the second half which hurt, but he came back in with around 7 minutes late and played better. It was dissapointing to see Gaddy struggle after Romar said that he wanted Abdul to start shooting more. Hopefully it won’t carry over into next week. On a positive note, his 5 assists and zero turnovers were very nice to see.
• C.J. Wilcox – He struggled from field shooting 1-7 from the field and 1-4 from deep. He will have off shooting nights, but he missed a few wide open threes that he needs to drill. His defense continues to be his Achilles-heel and may keep Romar from giving him more minutes.
• Free Throws – In a night where everything was working, you’d like to see more than 15 attempts from the line. You would also like to see the team hit more than 9 of them for 60%.

Review:

It was a great night to be a Dawg fan and overall it was a much needed step forward heading into Pac-10 play. The rebounding numbers seem to be improving and I think that Coach Romar is feeling confident about where his team is at this point. Romar said that Overton could have played if he had to, but that his hyper-extended knee needed some rest. Also, Holiday left the game with a sprained ankle and had it x-rayed but Romar doesn’t think that it’s anything to worry about. The week off will help those guys get healthy and it looks like the team will have all of it’s bullets ready for USC next Wednesday. We’re all waiting for the Huskies to dominate a good team and the Trojans will be a great test. I still can’t believe that it won’t be on TV, but I’m ready for the real season to begin. Are you ready?

by Craig Yamada

Who: Nevada (3-8) vs. UW (7-3)

When: Wednesday, 6 PM

Where: Hec Ed

Coverage: FSN NW

The Huskies are fresh off a 28 point route of the San Francisco Dons and are eager for the Pac-10 season to start. As excited as the Dawgs are right now, they will need to focus on Nevada first.  The Wolf Pack is coming off a 79-73 win against Portland State, following up its heartbreaking loss to the ASU Sun Devils just four days prior. Although their record is unimpressive, Nevada is blessed with a lot of athleticism and youth

The Numbers:

Nevada 101: What used to be a two man Wolf Pack in Luke Babbit and Armon Johnson, Nevada has had to reload with youth and a balanced scoring attack in 2010. Nevada lost its three top scorers in Luke Babbit, Armon Johnson, and Brandon Fields to graduation and the NBA Draft. Nevada is now headlined by two transfers who had to sit last year out per NCAA rules. The first is their leading scorer, Malik Story, who played with Indiana in 2008-09. Story is averaging 13.5 ppg with his new team and is the team’s best threat from downtown (47% on the year). The second transfer was a player Nevada received from Duke. Ever heard of the song “Pretty Fly for a White Guy”? Well this dude can fly pretty high for a white guy. His name is Olek Czyz. And in case you haven’t seen his talents, here is a taste:

Czyz hails from Poland originally and played for Coach K for two years where he averaged under 10 minutes a game. He has since found new life with Nevada and has two games under his belt this season. Czyz is a 6’7” small forward who is agile and can stretch the floor inside and out. He is second on the team in rebounding average with 6 per game and is averaging 7.5 points thus far. Nevada is bringing him along slowly in his first two games, but I expect him to see bigger minutes against UW tomorrow.  Their second leading scorer is PF Dario Hunt who is averaging near a double-double each game with 12.1 ppg and 9.5 rebounds per game. However their most talented player may just be their heralded freshman, who Lorenzo Romar knows well, Deonte Burton. UW showed early interest in Burton in 2009, however never offered him a scholarship. Burton is as dynamic a point guard as they come. He has a quick first step, great handles and can explode to the basket. Don’t believe me? Here are some high school highlights:

IT will likely square off against Burton and attempt to keep him out of the lane and pressure him beyond the arc.

Nevada Starting Lineup:

• SF – Olek Czyz, 6-7, 7.5 ppg.
• PF – Dario Hunt, 6-8, 12.1 ppg
• F/C – Kevin Panzer, 6-9, 4.5 ppg
• SG – Malik Story, 6-5, 13.5 ppg
• PG – Deonte Burton, 6-1, 11.2 ppg

UW Starting Lineup:

• PF – MBA
• SF – Justin Holiday
• C – Aziz N’Diaye
• SG – IT
• PG – Abdul Gaddy

UW Wins if:

• Create turnovers: Nevada is coming off a game where they turned the ball over 19 times. As a team they average 16 turnovers a game. And that is against teams not as defensively gifted as UW. I expect UW to showcase a ¾ court press, in effort to get the game at their pace from the opening tip.
• Crash the boards: Same story, different game. With the front court of MBA and Aziz, UW should have the advantage in size in the post for rebounds. They will need to block out Dario Hunt from getting second opportunities as he is averaging over 4 offensive rebounds a game.
• Contain Burton: He’s only a freshman, but he did drop 18 points on a usually effective Herb Sendek Sun Devil defense. IT will need to be in his hip pocket all game taking him out of rhythm.
• Guards off the bench step up: With Venoy Overton hampered with yet another injury, he may have to sit this game. At least two of three swingmen will need to step up big to help relieve IT and Gaddy. Look for Wilcox to come off the bench early and often to spell Abdul Gaddy and move IT to the point. Ross and Suggs will need to be ready for a larger share of minutes as well.

Game Prediction: With as much talent that Nevada possesses, they are 3-8 for a reason. And that reason is turnovers. UW will likely force 19-21 TO’s this game and garner 20+ points off those TO’s. UW rolls 98-70.

by Craig Yamada

I am sure most of you have already seen these highlights, but for those who haven’t, Tony Wroten has already started dominating his senior year at Garfield.

Check out his latest highlights against Federal Way:

Wroten is playing like he could suit up for Romar next week. Hey, I can dream right?  Looking at the possible roster that UW will roll out in the 2011-12 season, one cannot help but get excited.

What we lose:

In Holiday, MBA and Overton, we will lose a wealth of depth and experience. Holiday will not be easy to replace given his defensive prowess and offensive contributions. His lengthy frame and will to win has helped UW get through some tough games.  MBA has matured into a fine addition at the post and his scoring will definitely be missed next year. His ability to finish strong in transition is something that many have grown to love, and is an area that others take for granted. His post presence is still a work in progress, and it should be interesting watching how he develops against other skilled bigs in the Pac 10.  However of all the losses, Venoy Overton  may be the player we end up missing the most. The ability to push the ball up the floor with that kind of quickness will not be found immediately. Overton’s court vision and ability to change a game by simply stepping on the floor on the defensive end will be certainly missed.

Needs:

It should come to no surprise that UW’s lack of depth at the 4 and 5 spots next year will be cause for concern. The decision of Angelo Chol will ultimately make a huge impact on the outlook of next year’s squad. The development of Aziz N’Diaye’s post game will prove to be key for the rest of this year and heading into the next. I think we can start assuming that Romar will roll with Aziz in the starting lineup from here on out given the all out effort he brings game in and game out. Aziz already possesses the Jon Brockman mentality of “sacrifice your body for the good of the team”. The only thing he is missing are a few post moves to be make him a threat on both ends of the floor.

What we gain:

Let’s take a look at next year’s squad so far:

2011 Newcomers:

• Tony Wroten (PG) – 6’4″
• Hikeem Stewart (SG) – 6’3″
• Jernard Jarreau (PF) – 6’10″
• Kevin Davis (PF) – 6’9″  (Assuming he qualifies academically)
• Desmond Simmons (SF/PF) – 6’7″ (coming off redshirt year)

2011 Returnees (assuming no league jumpers and transfers):

• Abdul Gaddy (Jr)
• Isaiah Thomas (Sr)
• Terrence Ross (So)
• CJ Wilcox (So)
• Scott Suggs (Sr)
• Darnell Gant (Sr)
• Aziz N’Diaye (Jr)
• Antoine Hosley (So)
• Brendan Sherrer (Sr)

In Tony Wroten, you have a player that is going to make an immediate impact. Whether we have him for more than one year is the big question. With the stellar play of Abdul Gaddy as of late, the competition for a starting position will be very tight. You really could make a case for either player starting. With Isaiah Thomas likely to return to the Dawgs for his senior year, he will be  a shoe-in for the 2 guard spot next year. It will be difficult to justify having his freshman stud coming off the bench, but Romar has often sided with veterans to start the season off. This battle for starting PG should be interesting to watch next year. Perhaps Romar even goes as far as starting IT, Gaddy and Wroten? Not likely, but that would showcase one of the best backcourts in the NCAA if it happened. Wroten is already off to a quick start for his senior season averaging 22 ppg for his Bulldogs team.

Jernard Jarreau seems like he will be a work in progress heading into the 2011 season. He will need to bulk up significantly if he has hopes to avoid a red-shirt his freshman year. But if he can get his body into a D1 frame, he could be a game changer. At 6’10″ as a player that can stretch the floor with guard ball handling abilities, Romar’s offense could be very dangerous. If his comparison to Kevin Durant holds true, UW will have a lot to look forward to. In his last game, Jarreau tallied 15 points and 9 blocks. Here is the story. It sounds like a revitalized block party is heading toward Montlake.

Hikeem Stewart brings PG abilities with his court vision and has an above average jumper. With the continuing log jam at the guard position, I would not be surprised to see Romar preserve a year of eligibility for Stewart. He is currently playing well for Rainier Beach, averaging 16 ppg. However, according to Husky Digest, he faced off against Jabari Brown’s Oakland High team, but lost by just two. Stewart was held to just 7 points on the night.

The wildcard could be Kevin Davis next year. Just looking at his highlights here (#0), he could be a shoe in to potentially replace MBA as our big finisher in the post:

Husky Digest has been keeping tabs on Kevin Davis on Husky Digest. In his last game for TCC, he tallied 14 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. He has the athleticism to be a force in the post as he has shown incredible bounce in the post. Assuming Davis can get the necessary credits needed to become eligible for UW, I would expect him to battle Darnelle Gant for a starting spot next year.

And let’s not forget about Desmond Simmons. If healthy next year, he could easily step into a Justin Holiday kind of role as a big 3 or possibly small 4. At 6’7″ he has tenacious attitude toward rebounding and doing the little things to help his team win. It should be interesting to see how much sitting out a year benefits Simmons’ development. It worked wonders for CJ Wilcox.

My Dream Lineup for 2011-12:

Let’s assume that Gaddy and IT both stay for another year. Very likely I know, but here is what I would envision Romar to use for his starting lineup assuming Kevin Davis makes it in and Angelo Chol goes elsewhere:

• PG: Abdul Gaddy/Tony Wroten (Too close to call)
• SG: Isaiah Thomas
• SF: CJ Wilcox/Terrence Ross (Will be too close to call by year’s end)
• PF: Darnell Gant/Kevin Davis
• C: Aziz N’Diaye

What is your line up for next year?

by Craig Yamada

All around great game last night for the Dawgs who cruised to an 80-52 victory. In case you missed the game with yet another ugly sweater White Elephant party, here are some highlights compliments of UW:

Romar brought out a fresh lineup coming off his last loss at Texas A&M. MBA got himself back into the starting lineup to play alongside Aziz N’Diaye on Saturday. This may mark the starting five Romar rolls out moving forward in effort to control the boards from the tip. The lineup adjustment paid dividends for the Dawgs as they won the rebounding battle with ease on Saturday and were able to keep USF’s second chance opportunities to a bare a minimum.

UW forced 17 turnovers on defense and scored 23 points off those turnovers. Although they struggled from the field a bit in the early going, they were able to make up for it in other facets of the game. Through rebounding, defense and making the extra pass, they were able to take control of the game in the first half and ran away in the second.

Here are some quick thoughts on the game:

Positives:

• Aziz N’Diaye = Romar said this week that getting Aziz more minutes would be key. And he proved himself correct by giving Aziz big minutes in the first half. Aziz finally looked somewhat comfortable in the post, thanks to some great passes from Gaddy, Overton and IT tonight. They put him in situations where he could convert easy baskets and he flourished with 9 first half points. He also added 4 blocks to his name by nights end on the defensive end.
• Abdul Gaddy = Gaddy threw down his first slam in his Husky career tonight off a Broy-esque drive to the lane. Gaddy found ways to take his man off the dribble all night and was successful in finding the open man all night long as he tallied a team high 7 assists. Gaddy is really coming into his own and if he can sustain this level of play during the Pac-10 season, the Huskies will be in great shape.
• Scott Suggs = Suggs was the only Husky who had his stroke going from deep tonight. He was 3 of 3 from deep and scored 15 points on the night. Suggs was the man off the bench as the rest of the bench failed to make any significant impact on tonight’s game.
• Forcing Turnovers = As a team, forcing turnovers and converting 23 points off those turnovers will win any game for the Dawgs this year. This USF team was down 20 points and stalling the ball tonight. Head scratcher right? UW deployed its 3/4 court trap and was able to get into the passing lanes with ease.
• Unselfishness = Venoy Overton, Gaddy, and IT combined for 19 of UW’s 21 assists tonight. They were a delight to watch in transition tonight. MBA and Aziz both benefited from the extra pass tonight.
• Rebounding = UW won the battle of the boards and thus controlled the game. I expect to see a lot of Aziz and MBA starting games henceforth. UW was tenacious in grabbing offensive and defensive rebounds tonight.

Negatives:

• 3 pt Shooting = Just an off night from top to bottom from deep. The Huskies converted 23% of its attempts from deep tonight (6 of 26). If not for Scott Suggs, this could have been even uglier. Luckily the transition game was on point tonight and carried the load for UW’s scoring output.