It’s Saturday afternoon, a few hours before kickoff of the LSU game, and the Husky football team is nowhere to be found. Nothing particularly bad has happened, but the entire team is missing. Game time comes, but there’s nothing UW can do except forfeit, starting this season where they finished off last year: with a loss.

But wait. Coach Lorenzo Romar has invited every one of his players from this year’s Husky basketball team, and the last four UW hoops teams as well, to be his guests at the game. Just as Coach Sark heads toward the referee to tell him that the Dawgs will need to forfeit, Coach Romar runs onto the field and whispers an idea into his ear.

“Let my boys play,” says Coach Romar.

“You’re boys?” says Sark.

“Yes, let the basketball players suit up and play some football. They can do it. They can do anything,” Romar answers.

“You crazy, LoRo,” Sark says. “But, we’ve got no choice. Get your team of too-talls out here and let’s see what they can do.”

The only thing left then would be to take the Husky basketballers from the last five seasons and play them in the best positions on the field to produce. Sure, we’re probably looking at a losing battle against LSU. But, at least we’re not forfeiting.

If I’m Coach Sark, the following is my starting lineup. What’s yours? Send me an email to MontlakeMadness@gmail.com, and we’ll publish some of the best lineups in a future column, and name a Montlake Madness “Honorary Sark” award for the best reader-submitted lineup.

The rules are simple: only Huskies from the 2005-06 season on are eligible, players can’t start on both offense and defense. And, feel free to suggest a lineup with a 4-3 defense instead, or an additional tight end, etc.

Offense:

Abdul Gaddy – Quarterback: I know. He’s a freshman. But, if he’s going to be the QB of our hoops team, let’s give him a shot on the gridiron as well.

Isaiah Thomas – Halfback: You can barely see him moving up and down the court. Can you imagine trying to tackle him?

Clarence Trent – Fullback: Big body opens up holes and picks up blockers as necessary. Can also give us a different look ball carrier a few times during the game.

Brandon Roy – Wide Receiver: Big-time scorer does what it takes to get open and put points on the board.

Joel Smith – Wide Receiver: Under-achieving baller never lacked for athleticism. A good third option in the passing game behind Roy and J-Brock.

Jon Brockman – Tight End: I was tempted to play Jon at Center to anchor up the O-Line, which would need to quickly learn to function as a unit. But, it’s too appealing to think of him going all Tony Gonzalez on the Tiger linebackers and picking up key third-down conversions at will.

Artem Wallace and Tyreese Breshers – Offensive Tackle: Breshers was my original choice at TE, but I love the wingspans on these two keeping out rushing defensive ends.

Jamaal Williams and Phil Nelson – Offensive Guard: I like our athleticism here, although I wish we had some more size. Saving some big bodies for the defensive end, though, to give us a chance for scoring opportunities on the other side of the ball.

Joe Wolfinger – Center: Big body. Never quite looked engaged enough on the court, so a bit of a risk to have him at such a key spot on the line. That said, I think Wolfinger was under-utilized on the basketball team, and I want to rectify that on the football field.

Defense:

Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Darnell Gant – Defensive End: I like the power coming from MBA and the slick speed from Darnell coming off the line. Husky forwards teaming at DE forms maybe my favorite unit on the team.

Spencer Hawes – Nose Tackle: Big Body who looks to be tougher now than he ever looked during one season with the Huskies. And Spence is healthy now, which was never the case when he played at Hec Ed.

Scott Suggs and Elston Turner – Outside Linebacker: I like these two in here using their speed and athleticism for containment, coverage and on blitzes. A bit of a concern with their smallish frames considering the 3-4 defense we’re running.

Quincy Pondexter and Bobby Jones – Middle Linebacker: I love this unit too with Quincy’s getter-done grit and Bobby Jones’ shut-down defensive pedigree. Anything that gets past our line is getting thrashed by our MLB’s.

Justin Dentmon and C.J. Wilcox – Cornerbacks: Headiness of these two makes up for the athleticism edge they’ll give up to top flight receiving groups. But, we could count of these two not to make too many mistakes.

Justin Holiday – Strong Safety: Although stopping a tight end with a full head of steam behind him would be a challenge given Justin’s slight build, I like his combination of speed, brains and hands at the strong safety spot.

Venoy Overton – Free Safety: The biggest no-brainer on the field. He’d be on the ball before it even left the QB’s hand. I see Venoy breaking up as many passes on the gridiron as he does on the court.

Ryan Appleby – Kicker: Would (hopefully) convert his understanding of the angles into long-range marksmanship on the football field as well.

Tim Morris – Punter: Non-descript journeyman fits perfect mold for the position, and you’ve got to like his better-than-average (for a punter) speed for the occasional fake punt as well.

Your turn. Don’t use the comments section for your entry — keep your brilliant lineups to yourselves and try to win the “Honorary Sark” award without giving any ideas to your competition. (But, feel free to comment otherwise, of course, as usual…)

Thanks for coming!

Sadly, we didn’t get to see as much of Wallace as we would’ve liked last year, but simply coming back was an amazing feat, as anyone who’s torn an ACL can attest to.

I caught up with Artem recently to talk a little bit about the future, and a little bit about the past as well. Here’s what we discussed:

Montlake Madness: So, let’s start with right now. What are you up to, both on and off the court?

Artem Wallace: I’m living with my dad in Toledo, saving some money and looking for work.

MM: What kind of work are you looking for?

AW: I want to do something international, because I’m bilingual and have an international background. (Wallace was born in Russia.)

MM: Have you been back to Russia?

AW: I haven’t, but it’s definitely on my list of things to do when I can.

MM: So, what about basketball? What are you hoping for?

AW: I’m hoping the opportunity is there for me to play somewhere. I’m passionate about the game, so hopefully there is. We’ll see.

MM: How’s the knee injury, and how much did it impact your play last season?

AW: The knee is fine now. But, just as it got better last season, my back started giving me problems. I think I have a bulging disc. It gets really sore and I have good days and bad days.

MM: Describe the disappointment of being limited by an injury during your senior season.

AW: Of course it was disappointing. But, I felt really rewarded to be on a winning team so it balanced out. It was a special experience, so it evens out in the end.

MM: Was your playing time ever a bone of contention with Coach Romar, where you felt you were ready to contribute more than he did?

AW: I understood it took me a while to get back from the knee, and then the back started acting up. I accepted the role and I was comfortable with that. You can never predict what’s going to happen with injuries.

MM: Describe your relationship with Lorenzo Romar? What’s it like to play for him?

AW: He’s just a great guy, a great mentor, great coach and teacher. It was a really special experience to play for him for four years.

MM: Tell us a little about Artem Wallace off the court.

AW: Right now, most of my time is focused on trying to find a job. I love hanging out with friends. I enjoy bowling. I play a lot of basketball with friends.

MM: Have you played in open gym with any of your former UW teammates?

AW: No, I’m in Toledo right now, so I’m playing with my high school friends.

MM: Who’s the toughest player you played against in college basketball?

AW: Aron Baynes (from WSU). He’s a big guy –  just a truly physical player. It was a challenge to guard him and keep him away from the rim. I also had to guard Ryan Anderson (Cal) which was a nightmare. The toughest of all of them, though, was guarding Jon Brockman in practice.

MM: What was the highlight of your four years playing with the Huskies?

AW: That’s easy. Winning the Pac-10 championship at home against Wazzu. The crowd rushing the court… It was an unforgettable experience.

MM: What’s the worst memory?

AW: Going down with the ACL injury. I knew right away something was wrong. I heard something pop. When they told me, I was really down.

MM: Tell me something I wouldn’t know about the life of a D-1 college ballplayer.

AW: Well, it’s such a time commitment. It’s really a full time job. You can’t take some of the classes you want to; you have to sacrifice a lot. It requires a lot of discipline and time management. A lot of the time you wake up in the dark, hit the weight room, have your classes and practice, and by the time you come home, it’s dark again. But, it’s totally worth it. It’s a huge rush playing in front of the crowd, particularly when the team is doing well.

MM: Having played with everyone except the incoming freshman, who do you expect to have a breakout season for the Huskies this year?

AW: It’s hard to predict. There are so many great athletes on the team. Isaiah will continue to improve. And, Quincy is going to be the leader of the team, I think.

MM: What about the guys who didn’t put up big numbers last year? Any of them you expect to potentially have a break-out year?

AW: I think Scott Suggs is going to be a good player. But, all of these guys are great. You really can’t predict.

MM: I think I can predict your answer, but who wins the Pac-10 this season?

AW: I’m going with UW. I’ve gotta go with UW.

MM: Who’s going to be the toughest challenger?

AW: UCLA’s going to be tough. They’re always tough.

MM: Thanks for your time, Artem, and best of luck.

Hey, thanks for coming!