AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

I thought this game might be close but that was only because I am Husky biased. I didn’t recognize the team in purple tonight. The hustle, energy, and effort that the Huskies showed tonight was something new for this young team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to overcome a few late mistakes as the Dawgs lose at Madison Square Garden to Marquette, 77-79.

Marquette is a good team. No, they are a really good team. There’s a reason that they are undefeated this year. I hate the typical “that was a good loss” sentiment but it’s hard to not like what you saw tonight.

Yes, there were a lot of head scratching mistakes and wall-punching moments but this team is young and still figuring out what it’s strengths are. I know that I’m sounding like a Husky apologist right now but after getting over the initial heart break, I really like what I saw tonight… except for the final minute.

I know that Husky Nation is coming down hard on Gaddy tonight, and he does deserve criticism, but Romar needs to call a timeout with roughly 6 seconds left after that three and draw SOMETHING up. It was 5 on 1 or 2 with a timeout in his pocket and he sat on it, again. Just like he did against Nevada. At call it and get it into Ross’ hands.

Sour grapes? Probably. On to the notes.

Positives:

• Energy/Effort/Hustle: Whatever you want to call it, it was all there. Minus a few boneheaded mistakes getting back on defense, the relentlessness that we’re used to seeing was back in full force. It won’t show in the stat line, but fighting for the lose balls was a big reason why UW stayed in it down the stretch. UW also had more second chance points, 19-6.
• Terrence Ross – He took the go-ahead shot and made it. That alone was enough for me to put him here. Add that to his 19 point, 9 rebound, 3 assist, and 9 of 14 from the field night. If only he would have had the VERY last possession in his hands…
• Tony Wroten – His aggressiveness with the ball was, at times, the only offense we had going. He makes defenses collapse and he’s a highlight waiting to happen. There’s some value to that in making the defense worry about a player in that way. Loose canons are fun and I’ll always take the Han Solos and Jack Bauers of the world on my team. Stats: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers. If he could get his free throw shooting in line (3-7) he would play more minutes.
• C.J. Wilcox – He “only” made 3 threes, due to stingy MU defense, but his 4 blocks and 1 steal made a huge difference on the defensive end. His superb athleticism is really starting to show. He is becoming more than just a shooter which is great to see. Can’t say enough about how much I’m enjoying watching Wilcox play.
• Desmond Simmons – I really liked what I saw tonight. He has a great mix of energy, shooting, defense, and rebounding that just makes you love him. It was great to see him come back after a rough game at Nevada and his season high of 22 minutes (only 6 less than Gant) shows that Romar likes it too. He finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds with only 1 turnover.
• Aziz N’diaye (defense) – What a great defensive presence he was in the second half. He got key rebounds and made clutch blocks. If he can continue to improve his boxing out and body position for a full game, he can be special (don’t hold your breath).
• Rebounding – Even with MU losing their big man, Otule, early to injury, UW did a great job on the boards winning the battle 46-32 with 18 offensive boards.

It doesn’t get much better than that, folks. After hearing about the less-than-perfect outing last night against FAU, I expected to see a work in progress from this Husky squad. Instead, we were treated to an offensive and defensive clinic. While it wasn’t all perfect, I wasn’t expecting anything close to what I saw out of those Dawgs tonight.

Portland seamed shell-shocked from the opening tip as the shooting ability and defense of the Huskies stymied them all night. They Pilots lack a true star player like they had in Sikma and it definitely showed on the court.

The game was never close and it was great to see the Huskies come out fired up at halftime and continue to extend their lead.

“I didn’t think anyone had their own agenda.  I thought we all just played Husky basketball and those were the results,” Romar said after the game.

That pretty much sums it up.

Positives:

• C.J. Wilcox and Terrence Ross – Wilcox, who won the “tournament” MVP after the game, and Ross were sensational tonight. They were 9 of 13 combined from three and scored 17 and 24 respectively. Wilcox has shooting down to a science this season and he requires a double team every time he gets the ball on the perimeter. Not to be outdone, Ross’ defense tonight was arguably even more impressive than his shot. Romar had this to say about Ross’ defense after the game: “I don’t know if I’ve been more proud of someone on the defensive end than Terrence Ross.”
• Abdul Gaddy – You watch him and you can’t help but wonder what could have been if he didn’t get hurt last year. He’s the definition of a floor general. He’s like a little Coach Romar on the court. He understands what needs to be done and find the open man. 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 turnover. Whenever a player would make a bad play or get out of position, Gaddy would grab that player at the next stoppage and coach him up. When Gaddy would leave the game, the offense began to stagnate which is the true test of how much Gaddy matters to this team.
• Tony Wroten – The most electric Husky that I’ve ever seen. He is a highlight waiting to happen at all times. His passing borderlines on absurd and his creativity is something that comes along once in a generation. With that said, he is VERY raw. His shot needs a lot of work and his free throw shooting is “terrible” as Wroten put it after the game. And you know what? I don’t even care.
• Team Defense – It wasn’t just Ross who was a defensive stud tonight. Wroten reminded me of Venoy at times with his on-ball defense and 3 steals. Shawn Kemp Jr. impressed me a lot with his post defense. He had great body position all night and altered countless shots with his size and perfect footwork. Very impressive from the freshman big man. UW held Portland to 34% shooting.
• Aziz N’diaye – Leaps and bounds. That’s what he’s made since last season’s end. He looks like an NBA player on the court in terms of his size and build. His hook shot needs (a lot) of work but at least he has a hook shot this year. He can catch the ball and even finish at the rim every now and then. His 11 points were great but I’d like to see more than 7 rebounds against a team like Portland.

Negatives:

• Offensive Boards – Portland had 20 offensive rebounds to UW’s 10 and had 17 second chance points to UW’s 9. UW had great defense to force bad shots but struggled to box out their men which led to way too many second chance points. “Teams are getting a lot of rebounds on us. We need to box out and be more scrappy, especially our guards,” Abdul Gaddy said after the game.
• Points in the Paint – Portland led UW 32 to 28 in this category which is unacceptable with the size advantage that UW had tonight. This is partly due to some easy baskets given up late but it’s still not a good sign for when UW runs into some bigger front court teams.
• Free Throws – Aziz and Wroten, this one’s one you two. They shot 11 of UW’s 18 free throws and only made two of them. Yep, they were 2 for 11 combined. The rest of the team was 7 of 7.

Summary:

It’s great to have Husky basketball back. I’ve missed it so much. I walked into Hec Ed not knowing what I’d be seeing. The team is young but very talented so I didn’t want to get myself too excited. If that was only game three, I can’t imagine how this squad will look in late February/March. With the news of UCLA’s Reeves Nelson being suspended indefinitely and Arizona struggling early with it’s youth, the Pac-12 is wide open and ready to for the Huskies to rise to the top.

Can you tell that I’m excited? Regardless, this is going to be a very fun team to watch. Bow Down.

AARON JAFFE / THE SEATTLE TIMES

It was ugly, but a win is a win. The Huskies played a very sloppy game where the theme of the night was missed opportunities. UW shot an atrocious 38% from the field and committed 17 turnovers on the night, which allowed FAU to shoot themselves back into the game in the waning minutes. To highlight how terrible UW shot and how fortunate they were to win the game, FAU made more field goals and more 3-pointers, while UW attempted 10 more free throws and made 11 more than FAU.

The Huskies may have needed this humbling experience to remind them that they cannot play down to their opponents or risk an upset. Tony Wroten Jr. literally had to play down to his opponent as he often matched up against FAU’s 5-6 point guard, which led to Wroten racking up 4 fouls due to overplaying the ball and the man. The Owl point guard was also able to get away with hand checks and push offs due to his diminutive size as they did not have a noticeable effect on the defender. Just because he is small does not mean he cannot foul. Thankfully, the refs finally started calling the fouls in the final 3-5 minutes when the Owls were looking to slow the game down.

Abdul Gaddy showed why he starts over Tony Wroten once more. With 6 assists, only 3 turnovers and a very nice 15 points, Gaddy was much calmer, collected, and efficient than the flashy Wroten. Wroten racked up 4 assists, but also committed 5 turnovers and missed several lay-ins due to playing an extremely fast tempo that just doesn’t work at the collegiate level. Gaddy went 4-6 from the line, while Wroten went 3-7 (he shot 2-9 from the field).

Aziz N’Diaye had some nice looks today as well. While he again looked a little rough offensively, he showed signs of improving post moves and was a lot more effective at creating shot opportunities for himself on the block. He went 5-12 from the field and made 3 of his 5 free throw attempts. He also collected 12 rebounds (5 offensive) to pull in the double-double.

C.J. Wilcox again led all players in scoring with 19 to put his average in the tournament thus far at 20.5 points per game, a fantastic result. Wilcox, like most of the team, struggled on the easy inside shots. He went 5-13 from the field, 3-5 from range. His struggles were highlighted by an easy fast break lay-in opportunities that rolled out. In reality, he should have jammed the ball through the hoop to prevent exactly what happened. If you have an open opportunity and you can dunk, DO IT! It does not need to be a monster jam, just a simple two-handed dunk.

Four players made double digits in scoring today and all four were starters. Darnell Gant was the only starter not to hit double digits and finished the night with only 2 points on 1-4 shooting. He did have a 3-pointer taken away due to an offensive foul committed by Tony Wroten after he had dished it off. Gant played a very quiet 25 minutes only managing to pull down 5 boards.

One very concerning stat was the rebounding line. UW went into half holding a 26-16 lead in the rebounding column, but only finished with a 3 board advantage, 42-39. This was another big reason FAU was able to stay in the game. UW was not boxing out well or communicating, which led to at least 3 UW rebounds knocked away by our own players. Romar needed to use a timeout or two to calm the players down as it seemed the close score line was causing our line-up to play overly anxiously.

Martin Breunig played only 9 minutes, but was a perfect 2-2 from the field. His limited time was largely due to his high foul count and ended the night with 5 points and 3 rebounds. Simple freshmen mistakes were a big part of why he picked up the fouls he did.

Hikeem Stewart only came in for a quick 2 minute burst while Romar rested his starting guards and tallied 1 rebound.

Shawn Kemp did not play today and Jernard Jarreau confirmed last night at the press conference that he would indeed be red-shirting (Jarreau, not Kemp).

Terrence Ross had another sub-par shooting night going 4-14 from the field, 1-5 from range. He did shoot a very nice 5-6 from the charity stripe and for that I give him an A+.

What Needed Improvement:

• Rebounding - For having such a height advantage, the Dawgs certainly seemed lost in the second half as to how they should keep their opponent out of the box. It was rather unfortunate as rebounding was one of the few nice stats coming out of the first half. N’Diaye had a fantastic night and with 12 boards and its hard to ask him for much more. The rest of the Dawgs performed below average on the glass. After N’Diaye the next highest rebounder had 5 (Gant and Ross). The Huskies need one other player to really bring their game and average 7 boards along with N’Diaye.
• Free Throws - This is one area where poor performances are unacceptable, no matter who the Huskies are playing. Free throws are named such for one simple reason, the shooter has a free attempt at the basket. No defenders, the same shooting rhythm and motion, and essentially as much time as they wish to take. Seeing our team go 24-35 from the line when the score differential is only 6 is extremely frustrating. Even making 4 more shots puts our lead into a comfortable double digit margin. For a point guard, Wroten sure does shoot like an over-sized post player. Wilcox or Ross need to take Wroten under their wings and show him how to put a soft touch on the ball.
• Lay-Ins - Never thought I’d be writing this under the needs improvement category, but here it is tonight. The Huskies were ugly when it came to converting in the paint. Lay-ins were often overshot or were rejected by the rim. Players missed fast break shots and tried far too hard to get a poor shot off. If I was Romar I’d be doing more than a fair share of lay-in drills at the pregame practice tomorrow.

What Was Good:

• Defensive Pressure - UW forced FAU into 19 turnovers and picked up 6 steals, led by Wilcox who had 4 on the night, as well as tallying up 7 blocks of which N’Diaye had 3. UW held FAU to 32% shooting in the first half before letting up in the second when FAU jumped up to 48%. Overall the Owls finished with 42% shooting from the field and 40% from range. The latter number is a bit troubling, but correctable with better rotating defense.

Final Thoughts:

The Huskies gutted out the win which in itself is a good thing. What is not so good was how poorly we played against such an inferior team. Yes, often teams will end up playing to the level of their opponent, but in this case the opposition level was far below anything the Huskies should consider respectable. With no FAU player taller than 6-8, the Huskies had a big chance to use their size in the paint and when they did get in the paint, the Dawgs couldn’t finish. UW will have to play much better quite soon as better non-conference opponents are approaching and 17 turnovers against a team like Marquette or Duke will absolutely demolish us.

The Dawgs take on the University of Portland tomorrow in the final game of the tournament. UP is 2-0 in the tournament, winning both games by 5 points in what I would consider an upset manner. They have been behind early, only to finish strong and take home the win. If the Huskies do not step their play up, the Pilots could very well leave Seattle 3-0. The key to a Washington win tomorrow is finishing at the basket and controlling the glass throughout the game and not just in one half.

Go Dawgs!

Dean Rutz - Seattle Times

Solid night for the Huskies as C.J. Wilcox led the way with a game high 22 points on 8-12 shooting, 5-8 outside the arc. Wilcox also added in 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers. It was a stellar performance that helped make up for Terrence Ross‘ somewhat quiet night.

Tony Wroten Jr. and Darnell Gant each dropped 18 on the board. Gant had 10 of UW’s first 13 points and shot 7-8 from the field, 2-3 from range. 18 is a career high and Wroten’s performance has to be one of the best career starts for a freshman in UW history. Wroten again showed how good he can be with some nice assists, but he also showed how risky his gameplay can be with 4 turnovers. Wroten had a very nice block on a GSU break away that ended with the Panther player suffering what looked like a broken arm or wrist. Tough break, no pun intended, if the GSU player does indeed have a broken bone as this was the first game of the season.

Aziz N’Diaye had a dominating defensive effort tonight and showed why he is such an important player to our team. He had a game high 8 rebounds and tied his career high with 5 blocks. N’Diaye had a devastating block as a GSU player tried to drive the baseline. N’Diaye stepped across the key, jumped straight up and smashed the ball and player to the ground. N’Diaye later got T’ed up after throwing a ball into the oppositions face. The other player was T’ed as well for pushing N’Diaye.

Abdul Gaddy had a game high 6 assists and an uncommon 4 turnovers. He shot decently on the night scoring 7 points on 3-9 shooting. Gaddy played a team high 32 minutes and was one of the few seasoned players on the court at the end of the game.

Other notable highlights from the night include Alex Wegner, the new walk-on from Vashon Island, hitting his first points as Husky with a nice 3 pointer. He went 1-3 overall, 1-2 from the 3-point line. Brendan Sherrer nearly scored as well but threw up a rather ugly shot. It looked as if he wanted to dunk, but was too far out and had to try for a bank shot instead.

Rashaad Richardson of GSU hit 7 3-pointers and was one of the few Panther players with any real offensive rhythm throughout the game. Josh Micheaux had 8 rebounds for the Panthers and added 9 points.

What Needed Improvement:

• Free Throws - The Huskies were noticeably rough around the edges when it came to the charity stripe. If there is one area that Wroten can improve in, its free throws. He was 4-8 on the night. Wroten has a really hard shot that could be improved with adding more arc or a softer touch. Ross, on the other hand, was 4-4 from the line. Desmond Simmons went 4-6 and looked solid on the floor tonight.
• Ball Control - UW only managed 15 assists on 32 makes. Slightly lower than the usual output for the Dawgs. This goes hand-in-hand with the 12 turnovers the Dawgs had. While 12 is not terrible, several were due to silly mistakes and overplaying the ball. The Huskies need to reign in their handling a bit to reduce unnecessary errors.

What was Good:

• Rebounding - While it was not a completely dominating effort, 44-36, UW controlled the glass fairly well. GSU did manage some lucky offensive boards in the second half that bumped up their stat line. Gaddy and Wroten picked up an impressive 7 boards apiece. UW did manage to get 11 offensive boards, though 15 or 17 would be much better in my opinion.
• Scoring Options - This is not something I would normally write about, but I think its important to note who were the high scorers for the Huskies. Wilcox led all scorers, no big surprise there, but the fact that Gant and Wroten were right behind is fantastic. This should give Husky fans some hope for nights when Ross or Wilcox can;t get in a groove. UW should be able to get in the lane or find production from other players. Hikeem Stewart also came out and drilled his first shot, a 3 pointer.

The most noticeable thing from the night might have been the absence of Jernard Jarreau. Despite the blow out and both walk-ons playing, Jarreau did not step on the court. This implies two possibilities, either Jarreau is hurt or he is redshirting. The later seems more likely as I suspect we would have heard about an injury.

-EDITOR’S NOTE- Lorenzo Romar said after the game that Jernard Jarreau will be redshirting this season.

Final Thoughts:

UW struggled a bit on defense in the first half. GSU tied the game at 23 thanks to good shooting and poor defensive switches. In the end they got their act together and used their superior depth to wear down the Panthers.

Shawn Kemp Jr., Hikeem Stewart, and Martin Breunig all saw between 7 and 10 minutes, but didn’t have much of an impact stat wise. The Dawgs got the win they needed and looked fairly solid throughout.

I predict Wilcox will lead the Dawgs in scoring for the first few games of the season as teams try to shut down Terrence Ross. Wilcox showed the ability to drive the lane and score against the post. Wilcox also has the ability to catch and shoot quickly with skill and precision, which opens up a lot more shot opportunities. If there is a dark horse candidate for Pac-12 POY, its C.J.

Aziz showed himself to be effective against smaller players and zone defenses, something he struggled with last season.

I got to Hec-Ed early and watched the University of Portland-Florida Atlantic game. Portland won 70-65, but FAU should have won. The Owls (FAU) made silly mistakes at the end of the game that came back to bite them in the rear.

The Owls were led in scoring by Greg Gantt who had 18 at half time and 23 when the final buzzer sounded. FAU’s diminutive point guard, Raymond Taylor, absolutely refuses to dribble when he has the ball at the top of the key. He continuously would stand at the point and wave players towards him to run the offense.

This is great for UW as backcourt defensive is our specialty and should be able to really harass FAU through their point guard. I predicted a 94-60 win for the game tomorrow against FAU, but after seeing both teams in action tonight I would be surprised if UW didn’t drop 100 on the Owls and win by 40+.

by: Griffin Bennett

Nine months after a season ending tear of his ACL, Abdul Gaddy has been cleared to fully participate and he couldn’t be more excited. Abdul’s twitter feed read today:

“Pat told me not to but I have to let the world know.. It’s OFFICIAL!! Cleared to play.. Probably happiest day of my life!”

While he may seem quiet on the court, it’s undeniable that his teammates gravitate towards him and from my limited time being around him he is a very personable and friendly guy who won’t hesitate to crack a joke. I would argue that the injury last season not only effected the team on the court but also off of it as, I’m sure, his demeanor somewhat darkened.

Needless to say, It’s good to have him back. With his battle against his injury over, another battle begins. The starting point guard battle.

Fall camp hasn’t yet begun, but Gaddy is far behind freshman Tony Wroten in conditioning and both young stars will make a push to be announced in the starting line-up come November. Who’s your money on, the junior veteran coming off of a knee injury or the young phenom who hasn’t played a minute?

Official UW press release:

Nine months after suffering an ACL injury to his left knee, UW junior Abdul Gaddy is given the okay to return to action on the basketball court

SEATTLE – The Husky Basketball team received good news on Wednesday when they found out that junior guard Abdul Gaddy has been cleared by doctors to return to action on the basketball court.

Gaddy met with team doctor Chris Wahl, head trainer Pat Jenkins and Head Coach Lorenzo Romar on Wednesday morning and received a clean bill of health.

“They pretty much told me it’s like I have never gotten hurt now,” a smiling Gaddy said, just nine months after suffering the injury.

“Just go play,” the doctors told him.

Read complete story on GoHuskies.com:

http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/090711aac.html

As Alice Cooper so iconically put it, school’s out for summer and the real work now begins for the Husky hoops team. The captains have been elected and Gant, Suggs, and Gaddy will be looked upon to lead the rest of the team in off season energy and dedication. The new freshmen will arrive in late July and then we will begin to see how the new-era Dawgs will look. It truly is a new era for Romar’s Huskies. You could divide Romar’s 9 years into three eras: The Roy/Robinson Era, the Brockman Era, and the I.T. Era (Sorry, Q). Yes, they did overlap at times but those players exemplified the identities of their teams. We are now heading into a brand new era where it’s identity has yet to be established. Will it be the beginning of the Wilcox/Ross era or will Gaddy finally put his signature on this team? Either way, this summer will be the start of something new.

Personally, I’m excited to see where this team is headed. The squad has more young talent then in any previous year and I could envision scenarios where either Ross, Gaddy, Wilcox, or Wroten could lead this team in points per game. I don’t think that could be said about most of the teams in the past. The paths to each of those scenarios begins this summer, so let’s look at the top five story lines that we will need to be following.

5. Forward Depth Chart:

I’m more sold on Darnell Gant and Aziz N’diaye being solid starters then most, but the depth down low will certainly be something to keep an eye on. As I have said before, I think Desmond Simmons becomes the first forward off of the bench and quickly shows that his energy and defense is too valuable. On the other hand, Aziz is by no means a finished product and I’m not convinced that Gant has the killer instinct to demand all of the minutes.

Until Martin Breunig and Jernard Jarreau arrive on campus and start to impress people, I’m going to continue to assume that both will be mid-to-deep bench players. I won’t write them off from creeping into the top-3, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

Another option that people aren’t talking about is whether or not Simmons could actually sneak into the starting line up. People who’ve seen him play say that Romar won’t be able to keep him out of the game. He has some of the same hype right now that C.J. Wilcox had as a red-shirt freshman last year. Gant shouldn’t assume that because he’s a senior that the spot is his.

4. The Shooting Guard Battle:

Yes, Terrence Ross could play some shooting-guard this year, but he will be UW’s main threat at the 3 all year due to his size and defensive abilities. While Romar isn’t known for keeping to traditional roles, the depth at PG and SG make Ross the natural candidate to play the 3.

With Ross out of the way, that leaves Scott Suggs and Wilcox to battle for the starting shooting guard role. Suggs has seniority which is worth something to Romar, and Wilcox as the hottest hand on the team along with an increasing amount of athleticism that even had me impressed. Last year, we all had our favorite. I was leading the Suggs bandwagon, I know Craig was all over the Ross bandwagon, and Wilcox had his loyal devotees as well. It’s going to be exciting to see those players battle each other while they all improve each other’s game.

I should also mention that two freshmen, Tony Wroten and Hikeem Stewart, could also get some time at the shooting guard position. Wroten has the penetration and shooting skills to play an effective two guard. I could imagine a 4 guard line-up with Gaddy, Wroten, Wilcox/Suggs, Ross, and Aziz/Gant that could be very dangerous. Stewart has high hopes of earning playing time this year but his role seems destined to be the backup of the backup point guard. Speaking (writing) of freshman…

3. Freshmen Impacts:

Heading into every summer there are always unknowns about freshmen. We need look no further for examples than with our own Abdul Gaddy, who struggled, and Isaiah Thomas, who thrived. I’m very confident that Wroten won’t struggle next year. He already has some elite skills that should allow him to easily succeed. If Vegas was taking odds on Wroten becoming a first team All-Freshmen player, I’d put down a hefty bet.

Outside of Wroten, the rest of the recruits are relative unknowns. Most people haven’t seen the rest play except for edited highlight clips. Andrew Andrews is a player that can only surprise. Most people are expecting him to red shirt due to the logjam at guard this season. Stewart, on the other hand, has been labeled a “sleeper” and could always surprise.

I know that I will be eagerly awaiting updates on Breunig and Jarreau all summer long. If one of the two can surprise us with above-average Pac-12 skills, then I will be thrilled.

2. The Health of Abdul Gaddy:

While I have confidence that he will be fully recovered in time, there is a chance that he won’t. These type of knee injuries can take up to a year to fully heal and even longer for the player to regain confidence in playing on it. He is supposed to start lateral movement drills soon which is a good sign. If he comes back and plays like he was last year before the injury then this team could be exceptionally good. I wouldn’t call Gaddy the “key to the season” but he is a huge piece of the Pac-12 title puzzle for the Huskies.

We will have to keep an eye on his progress all summer long. I want to hear things like “fully participated”, “went 100%”, “back to normal”, and “playing hard”. This is one of those things where we have to just sit back and hope it all works out.

1. Development of Aziz N’diaye:

Unfortunately, Aziz’ summer began with bad news. He has undergone toe surgery which will keep him out 4-6 weeks. Unlike Gaddy, I’m not worried about his health by the time the season starts. I’m worried that he is missing out on a month or more of key development time. He desperately needs to work on his offensive post game and any missed time is not good. I think that Aziz’s level of improvement could be the biggest factor in this team’s success next season. He needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble and finish at the rim. Most of his time missed will be while the coaches aren’t allowed to work with the players which is a good thing.

Can we really expect Aziz to make a huge leap forward? What happens if Gaddy isn’t fully healthy? Will the freshmen be ready? Who’s our starting guards? Do we have enough post depth? These are all questions that we will try to answer as the summer develops. Is it November yet? Bow down.

As noted by Howitzer in the Taking your Pulse piece on Wednesday, Abdul Gaddy didn’t appear in any of the poll questions. He didn’t really fit as an answer for any of the questions except as a dark horse in the MVP category. I don’t have to tell you that Gaddy has gotten better. You can see it on the court every night. I could show you any five minute clip of Gaddy from this year, without knowing his stats, and you could tell that he’s a better player through his body language and confidence.

We all wanted Gaddy to have an amazing freshman year like Isaiah Thomas did, but you have to remember that Gaddy was a full two years younger than Isaiah at the same point. To our delight, Abdul Gaddy is a comepletely different player in 2010. Number Zero looks nothing like 2009’s number Ten. The difference lies in the numbers. WARNING: The nerd level of this post may be too high for some readers.

In the Numbers:

With all of the talk about the traffic jam at guard this year, Abdul Gaddy has played 6.3 more minutes per game. We all speculated that Isaiah may play the point more this year, but Gaddy’s exceptional play has forced Romar to keep him in the game. If you wanted a single stat that showed how well Gaddy is playing, his 24.5 minutes per game on a team with this depth would be enough. Fortunately, there are a few more that I can compare.

Gaddy’s scoring has been his most notable change this year. From a bleak 3.9 ppg in ‘09 (.21 points per minute) to 10.3 ppg in ‘10 (.42 points per minute), his dribble drive, mid range, and 3 point shot have all improved. Whether it be Ryan Appleby or Antoine Tyler, I don’t care who’s helped him improve as long as it sticks around. His field goal percentage has increased from .415 to .569, his free throw percentage has increased from .564 to .800, and his three-point shooting percentage has increased from .150 to a staggering .600. Those numbers are an almost unbelievebale change from a player in only one year.

Being a point guard, his number one job is to run the offense and distribute the ball efficiently. His passing decisions in ’09 were perhaps the most infuriating part of his game. He was averaging 2.3 apg (.13 assists per minute) and 1.7 turnovers per game (.09 turnovers per game) for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35. Those numbers are not good enough for a starting point guard on a great team. This year he is averaging 4.1 apg ( .18 assists per minute) and 1.3 turnovers per game (.05 turnovers per minute) for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.15. Now those are Final Four worthy numbers. Even with his increased minutes, his per-minute rates are still better than last year.

Gaddy is also averaging more rebounds and steals per game this year, but there haven’t been enough games to accurately extrapolate those numbers compared to last year. Keep in mind that there have only been 8 games played, but you could argue that the 8 teams the Huskies have played are better than, or equal to, the 8 best Pac-10 teams (sorry OSU). Abdul has been an ENORMOUS key to this team’s success this year and I think that he deserves even more minutes. I commented that I think Romar should rest Venoy’s hamstring/tailbone after the Texas A&M game until Pac-10 play begins. I want to see what Gaddy can do playing 27+ minutes a game while allowing our best defensive player heal fully before the grind of the regular season.

Is there an award or poll question that Gaddy would win? It’s difficult to think of one, however I might just have it: Who’s the best young player on this team?

Ryan Petitt / UDubSports.com

A bunch of links to share this morning. Up tomorrow, a preview of the Dawgs biggest test to date on Thursday at Texas Tech.

Interesting piece yesterday in the LA Times about Dwayne Polee, Jr., a 6’6″ (ESPN says 6’7″) wing player out of Westchester HS in LA. Polee had committed to USC years ago, but announced this week that he was reopening his recruitment and was considering five schools, one of them being UW.

Well, if Romar Math says we could conceivably fit Desmond Simmons, Enes Kanter and Terrence Jones into next year’s plans, does it also compute that we could fit in another prospect? My sense is that Polee, a top 100 prospect, is a backup to Jones for the Dawgs. Still, interesting to hear him put UW in his final five. . .

Speaking of Terrence Jones, you’ve got a chance to see him play at Hec Ed on Monday, January 18th, at the King Holiday Classic. Jones’ Jefferson HS will take on Federal Way at 6 PM. No word on how to get tickets in advance yet, but tickets were available at the door for last season’s event.

Mike Seely from Seattle Weekly did this piece linking what he feels is an inflated rank for the Huskies with Abdul Gaddy being, essentially, overrated. I left a comment on this story because I felt it was a bit unfair to base his assessment essentially on one game, and not to even mention Gaddy’s sweet showing against San Jose State.

It’s apparent to me, at this point, that Gaddy isn’t instantly going to be either a big scorer or an All-American caliber point guard until he gets some more experience. But, to ignore the good things Gaddy has done so far is, I think, short-sighted and based on what may have been unrealistic expectations on the part of fans and media following the team.

The Dawgs climbed to #10 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, and #12 in the AP Poll. If we’re the #10 team in the country, we should win four of the next five games (at Texas Tech, vs. Cal St. Northridge, vs. Georgetown in Anaheim, vs. Portland, vs. Texas A&M), which are all tougher (except Cal State Northridge at home) than any we’ve played so far. Winning less than four won’t be cause for alarm, but will say that the Huskies are ranked slightly too high at this point.

That’s all for now! Thanks for coming!

Zone defenses will neutralize one of the things the Huskies do best: an up-tempo attack with plenty of guard penetration, and it will force them into more outside shooting, still a question mark for the team.

The good news is that this idea of teams trying to beat the Dawgs with a zone has been apparent since training camp, and the Huskies have been preparing for it. Coach Lorenzo Romar mentioned yesterday that Quincy Pondexter quickly becomes scoring option #1 when teams drop out of man-to-man defense. Quincy’s big game last night (including the first 13 Husky points of the second half, all against a zone) was a big part of the reason San Jose State’s upset dreams never came closer to fruition.

While Quincy will continue to find success working out of the high post against the zone, Isaiah may have his difficulties at times, particularly if his jumper isn’t falling.

In my opinion, there is a lineup the Huskies can employ that’ll be set up for dismantling the zone. However, it will at times require Lorenzo Romar to shorten his bench and take a leap of faith with his three best defensive players (Overton, Holiday, and Gant) all on the bench for certain stretches.

The “Zonebuster” squad looks like this: Abdul Gaddy, with his precision passing and more controlled tempo is necessary when the Huskies find themselves playing against a defense that neutralizes their athletic advantage. Isaiah Thomas is too good not to find a way to be successful against the zone, but will need to temper his urge to drive, and look more to dish once the defense has collapsed on him. Elston Turner is the perfect wing to receive these passes. Clearly more comfortable without a defender in his face, Turner could shoot 40%-45% from deep if most of his shots were the open ones often earned against the zone. Quincy Pondexter moving freely between the high post, or making back door cuts along the baseline, gives the Huskies a zonebusting specialist. And, Tyreese Breshers, who can receive the ball and get a shot up even against double coverage, rounds out my Zonebusters lineup. Breshers is enough of a presence not to get swallowed up even when outnumbered in the post.

What do you think? What will the Huskies do to combat the zone this season? Are you concerned? Let me know below, and thanks for coming.

Venoy has always played with an untamed mindset at UW, or at least that’s the mindset I’ve inferred from his play. As last season wore on, everyone watching the team saw Venoy carve out a role for himself — instant energy and hard-nosed defense. It wasn’t that the recklessness we sometimes saw really went away, it was just that the good stuff (defense and intensity) started to outweigh the bad (turnovers and too many ill-advised razzle-dazzle passes).

If our highly-touted freshman point guard was cut from the same mold, it’d make perfect sense to start Venoy. But Abdul Gaddy is being billed as something of an anti-Venoy: more disciplined with the ball, a better floor leader, and with less need to find his own shot. Going from a frenetic, potentially more mistake-prone pace early on to what we assume will be Gaddy’s slightly more deliberate, careful running of the offense seems odd to me, like solving a problem before it exists. 

It’s early, and my opinion will most certainly change after seeing both play a few games. But, for the moment, I think Coach Romar is selling short his own brilliant stroke from last season in creating the role he did for Overton, and also risks alienating Gaddy, billed as such a unique talent with a ceiling higher than Venoy’s.