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.

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+.

Today the annual season awards came out which were voted on by the coaches. The coaches are probably the most qualified voters as they watch film on every team all through out the year, but sometimes the votes just don’t add up. They aren’t allowed to vote for their own players which in some cases can cause some sleepers to sneak into the ranks. Who else does Ben Howland vote for the first team All-Pac 10 if he can’t vote for his own players? Here’s a look at the awards and some of my thoughts along with it.

All-Pac 10 Team:

First Team:

• Matthew Bryan-Amaning – WASH – F – Sr. – 6-9 – 240
• Jeremy Green – STAN – G – Jr. – 6-4 – 198
• Jorge Gutierrez – CAL – G – Jr. – 6-3 – 195
• Tyler Honeycutt – UCLA – F – So. – 6-8 – 183
• Malcolm Lee – UCLA – G – Jr. – 6-4 – 195
• Reeves Nelson – UCLA – F – So. – 6-8 – 235
• Isaiah Thomas – WASH – G – Jr. – 5-9 – 185
• Klay Thompson – WSU – G – Jr. – 6-6 – 202
• Nikola Vucevic – USC – F – Jr. – 6-10 – 240
• Derrick Williams – ARIZ – F – So. – 6-8 – 240

Second Team:

• DeAngelo Casto – WSU – F – Jr. – 6-8 – 255
• Joevan Catron – ORE – F – Sr. – 6-6 – 237
• Jared Cunningham – OSU – G – So. – 6-4 – 182
• Harper Kamp – CAL – F – Jr. – 6-8 – 245
• Trent Lockett – ASU – G – So. – 6-4 – 211

Honorable Mention (receiving at least three votes):

• Ty Abbott (ASU, Sr., G)
• Allen Crabbe (CAL, Fr., G)
• Lamont Jones (ARIZ, So., G)
• Josh Owens (STAN, Jr., F).

What they got wrong:

First off, let me rant about the relatively new 10 person first team squad . The same people who complain about dodge ball and peanut butter being dangerous in schools are the same people who wanted to expand the first team from 5 to 10. Including everyone is boring and now I can’t argue about whether or not Reeves Nelson or MBA is better. I hate all of you, who ever you are. At least release the voting totals so we can know who were the last ones in and in what order.

Anyways, with 10 first team slots it becomes very easy for the coaches to not make any mistakes. With that said, there was one glaring mistake that the coaches made: Malcolm Lee over Joevan Catron. Catron finished 7th in scoring while Lee finished 11th. Catron was the best player on a surprising Oregon squad and scared my much more than Lee did. I’m sure the coaches voted for Lee based on his hype, but Catron got shafted on this one.

Other than that, there is one more that stand out to me. How did Lamont Jones get an honorable mention? He averaged 11.3 points, 2.5 assists, 1.8 rebounds and .8 steals. Were the coaches just looking to award another Wildcat for winning the title? For me, that spot should belong to Justin Holiday. He averaged 10.6 points, 2.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. It’s nit-picky, but Jones was a little bit better than average and Holiday had better defense for most of the year.

Pac-10 All-Freshman Team:

• Anthony Brown – STAN – G/F – 6-7 – 200
• Allen Crabbe – CAL – G – 6-4 – 165
• Maurice Jones – USC – G – 5-7 – 155
• Dwight Powell – STAN – F – 6-10 – 227
• Joshua Smith – UCLA – C – 6-10 – 305
• C.J. Wilcox – WASH – G – 6-5 – 190

Honorable Mention (receiving at least three votes):

• Jordin Mayes (ARIZ, G)
• Terrence Ross (WASH, G)

What they got wrong:

Once again, it’s hard to get something wrong when you just randomly add an extra spot to a 5 person team. I’d love to know who were the two players that tied for fifth, assuming that was why there are six spots. I think Wilcox took Ross’ spot based purely on the last 3 games, and that is probably right. This team was pretty much black and white all year.

Pac-10 All-Defensive Team:

• DeAngelo Casto – WSU – F – Jr. – 6-8 – 255
• Jared Cunningham – OSU – G – So. – 6-4 – 182
• Jorge Gutierrez – CAL – G – Jr. – 6-3 – 195
• Malcolm Lee – UCLA – G – Jr. – 6-4 – 195
• Marcus Simmons – USC – G – Sr. – 6-6 – 220

Honorable Mention (receiving at least three votes):

• Matthew Bryan-Amaning (WASH, Sr. F)
• Kyle Fogg (ARIZ, Jr., G)
• Justin Holiday (WASH, Sr., F).

What they got wrong:

The defensive team awards are always tough because it’s less stat based than some of the others. I hate to keep picking on him, but Malcolm Lee as an all-defensive first teamer? Did I miss something? MBA should have made the team over Lee, especially because there is only one forward on the list. In the Pac-10, Lee finished 52nd in rebounds per game, 38th in steals per game, and 30th in blocks with 5. I don’t remember him being any type of lock-down defender. A very interesting pick. MBA, on the other hand, finished 4th in rebounds per game, 18th in steals per game, and 2nd in blocks per game. He was a top 3 post defender and should have been on this list. I’m not trying to be a homer, but last I checked rebounds are blocks are defensive statistics.

Pac-10 Player of the Year:

Derrick Williams: Williams becomes the sixth Arizona player to earn Pac-10 Player of the Year, and !rst since 1999, joining Sean Elliott (1988, 1989), Chris Mills (1993), Damon Stoudamire (1995), Mike Bibby (1998), and Jason Terry (1999). Williams led the Wildcats in scoring (18.8 ppg/2nd in Pac-10), !eld goal percentage (.612/1st), and rebounding (8.2 rpg/5th in Pac-10).  He’s posted 20 or more points 13 times this season, and posted 10 double-doubles.  In just two seasons, the 2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year has scored 1,070 points, while grabbing 472 rebounds. He’s the fourth sophomore in Pac-10 history to earn Player of the Year honors, joining California’s Jason Kidd (1994), Arizona’s Mike Bibby (1998) and Arizona State’s James Harden (2009).

Notes: Nothing wrong about this one. Williams, and the Wildcats, pulled away from Isaiah Thomas and Klay Thompson down the stretch to walk across the finished line. He was the best player on the best team and I don’t think that there is a single player that you wouldn’t trade for Williams straight up. He did have his ups and downs and his defense was questionable, but he was a force all year. Good call, and an easy pick.

Pac-10 Freshman of the Year:

Allen Crabbe: CRABBE becomes the seventh California player to earn Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and !rst since 2004, joining Dave Butler (1983), Leonard Taylor (1985), Jason Kidd (1993), Tremaine Fowlkes (1995) Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1996), and Leon Powe (2004).  Crabbe was 14th in the league in scoring (13.0 ppg), fourth in free throw percentage (.824) and sixth in three-point !eld goal percentage (.406), which led all Pac-10 freshmen. His numbers are more impressive in Pac-10 play as he posted 16.4 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game, while leading the league in three-point !eld goal percentage (.481).

Notes: This award was wrapped up halfway through the season. Crabbe was instantly a starter and was needed for output from a Cal team that lost almost it’s entire team. Maurice Jones and Dwight Powell are nice additions to note, but Crabbe was easily the best freshman due to his opportunity that was given to him. Is he the BEST freshman in the Pac-10? That could certainly be argued heavily.

Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year:

Marcus Simmons: Simmons has been key in leading USC’s defense, allowing a league-leading low of 62.9 points per game overall, and 63.3 ppg in Pac-10 play. He’s been frequently called upon this season to guard the opponent’s top scorer, having limited several All-Pac-10 performers below their shooting percentages – Washington State’s Klay Thompson (12-of-35/.343), Stanford’s Jeremy Green (5-of-22/.228), UCLA’s Tyler Honeycutt (6-of-16/.375), and Washington’s Isaiah Thomas (8-of-20/.400), He’s the second Trojan to earn the honor as Taj Gibson collected the award in 2009.

Notes: Whatever. I’m sure the voting was real close on this one, but I would have probably voted for Cunningham. The stats that the Pac-10 lists for holding those players below their average shooting percentages is kind of laughable as he wasn’t guarding those players the whole game. I could try to make my case for Cunningham based on stats, but it would be like shouting at a wall.

Pac-10 Most Improved Player of the Year:

Matthew Bryan-Amaning: Bryan-Amaning is among the Pac-10 leaders in scoring (16.0 ppg/6th) and rebounding (8.3 rpg/4th) and has posted 10 double-doubles this season. He has appeared in all 30 games, with 26 starts this season.  Bryan-Amaning has steadily improved his numbers each season from 4.2 points/3.2 rebounds as a freshman, to 6.0 points/4.0 rebounds as a sophomore, to 8.8 points/5.9 rebounds in 22.8 minutes of action last season.

Notes: I’m still not sure what the qualifications are for this award. Do Harper Kamp and Josh Owens qualify because they missed all of last season with injuries? Would you compare their ’08/’09 numbers to this years? Are they even eligible for the award. I’ve tried asking around and no one seems to know the answer. If they DID qualify then my vote would be for Kamp. He overcame a terrible injury and made second-team All-Pac 10. If they didn’t qualify then I think the MBA choice is a nice one. Another good candidate would be Jared Cunningham. Can we please get some clarity on this issue?

Pac-10 Coach of the Year:

Sean Miller – Arizona - Miller, 42, has guided ARIZONA to its 12th Pac-10 title, and !rst since 2005, with a 14-4 league mark, 25-6 record overall. Under Miller, the Wildcats put together an eight-game winning streak at one point this season and found themselves back in the Top 25 of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll for the !rst time since Dec. 31, 2007. Collecting his !rst Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor, he now has earned Coach of the Year honors in on both coasts, having been honored by the Atlantic-10 Conference in 2008. He’s the second Arizona coach to receive Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors, joining Hall of Famer Lute Olson, a seven-time recipient (1986, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998, and 2003). Miller has a career record of 161-68 (.703), while his Arizona record stands at 41-21 (.661).

Notes: Here’s another award in which it’s qualifications are unclear. Is the coach who over-performed their expectations or is it the coach who won the most games? If it’s the latter then Sean Miller is your guy. The Wildcats were picked to finish second in the pre-season and ended up winning the league. He had the best player in the league and some average-to-good role players. In my opinion, the coach of the year was Cal’s Mike Montgomery. After winning the Pac-10 last year, Cal lost 4 of their starters and almost the entirety of their offense. Somehow the Bears finished tied for 4th place with a 10-8 record in the league. That is an impressive accomplishment and I think Montgomery got hosed.

We all have our favorite line-ups. Some want to see more Wilcox and less Gant. Some want to see more Venoy and less Gaddy. Some even get more specific and never want to see Venoy and Isaiah on the court at the same time. The right answer is that there is no right answer. So much depends on the opponent, style of play, score, defense, etc. Especially on a deep team like the Huskies, you can end up hurting your team by trying too many different line ups and not letting the players gel on the court. For the sake of argument, here’s a look at the who the statistics say should be playing the most.

Qualifications:

I fall in love with kenpom.com all over again every year. It breaks down players and teams better than any other site. Using these stats, I’ll try to determine what would be the most effective line-ups and who should be sitting at the end of the bench. Keep in mind that this is based entirely off of efficiency stats and doesn’t take leadership, motivation, experience, and basically any intangibles into account. WARNING: The nerd level of this post may be too high for some readers.

Click here to get an explanation on the stats that I will be referencing. Like most stats, some people love them while others hates them.

Starters:

PG: Abdul Gaddy – His offensive rating (ORtg) is the second highest on the team at 134.3. That’s a good enough rate to be 23rd most efficient and effective scorer in basketball. If the Huskies want to score, Gaddy needs to get his looks. His assist rate (ARate) is 24.3 while his turnover rate (TORate) is 18.7. Those numbers are good enough to warrant starting point guard time on a contender.

SG: C.J. Wilcox – He is the most effective offensive player on the team so far with a ORtg of 139.6. To qualify for Kenpom.com’s national leaders list, you have to play 40% of your team’s total minutes. Wilcox is currently playing 38.3%. The highest ORtg in the nation is posted by UConn’s Kemba Walker. His rating? 139.6. If Wilcox gains 1.7% more minutes he will be tied for the highest ORtg in the nation! How is this man not starting, or at least playing more minutes! When he’s on the floor he’s taking 25.9% of the team’s shots which is highest on the team. He has the highest effective field goal percentage (eFG%) on the team as well. Can we get the man some more minutes?

SF: Justin Holiday – Posting an impressive 130.4 ORtg, which is good for 47th in the nation, he has been everyone’s MVP so far. Outside of Gaddy and Wilcox, he has the best offensive shooting numbers on the team. Not only does he rate high in shooting, but his defense and rebounding guarantee him a starting spot. his offensive and defensive rebounding % (OR% and DR%) are an impressive 10.0% and 15.9% respectively. Match that with a low TORate of 15.1 and a high steal percentage (Stl%) of 4.0 you can see why he needs to be on the floor as a great all-around player.

PF: Matthew Bryan-Amaning – The stats like him! I never would have guessed. He posts an surprisingly high ORtg of 111.8 but that’s not even the best he has to offer. I know it sounds crazy, but he posts decent numbers in OR% and DR% at 12.5% and 15.0%. BUT WAIT, THERE’s MORE! He has a block percentage (Blk%) of 4.7 and a Stl% of 2.8 which aren’t terrible either. While none of these are chart-topping, he plays an effective game in post.

C: Aziz N’Diaye – If it weren’t for Wilcox, here is your statistical MVP. Aziz posts a impressive 19.1 OR% as well as a 23.4 DR%. Like Wilcox, he plays only 38.3% total minutes, but if he could qualify nationally, he would rank 10th in OR% and 88th in DR%. He also is the team leader in Blk% at 8.3 as well as an astounding free-throw rate of 110.7. He does have his drawbacks, though. He has a high TORate of 19.8 but his fouls committed per 40 minutes (FC/40) is a rediculous 7.8, which is a team high.

Bench: (in order of effectiveness)

1. Isaiah Thomas – His ORtg is the third lowest on the team at 111.2. That’s not good. He does everything at a below average rate and nothing jumps off of the page at you. His most effective stats are his FC/40 at a team low of 1.8 and his fouls drawn per 40 minutes (FD/40) at a team high 6.8 which is good for 76th nationally. That’s about it.

2. Venoy Overton – While his ORtg is slightly better than IT’s at 111.6, his passing numbers aren’t very good either. He leads the team in ARate at 26.8 but he also leads the team in TORate at 22.1. He is sink or swim and too risky to be the starter at point for this team. Luckily, his Stl% is 4.9 which is a team high as well as 39th in the nation.

3. Scott Suggs – After Wilcox, Gaddy, and Holiday, Suggs posts the fourth highest ORtg of 126.5. He posts decent OR% and DR% of 8.0 and 6.8 respectively, but that’s about it for Scott.

4. Terrence Ross – An ORtg of 120.4 isn’t terrible, but only average. He also posts decent OR% and DR% for a guard at 6.9 and 12.2 respectively. Not much more stands out for Ross, either.

5. Darnell Gant – The man is the obvious choice for least effective player. He has a team low 102.7 ORtg with terrible OR% and DR% for a forward at 5.3 and 10.1 respectively. He’s shooting a team high .613 three-point percentage, but he’s only attempted 13 total. He’s also second worst in TORate at 21.8. I was shocked at how bad his numbers looked.

In Review:

I’m not sure what we can actually take away from this other than maybe some adjustment of minutes. Although Romar will never start this line-up, I want to see if these starting five are ever on the court together. I know that I will be keeping my eye out for it to see if it is effective at all. I think Gaddy and Wilcox need to be playing more minutes. There efficiencies are too high to not be getting more. Aziz, on the other hand, can’t stay on the court long enough to gather enough minutes. His comical 7.8 fouls per 40 minutes needs to lower if wants to play starting minutes.

I know Isaiah doesn’t play a “stat friendly” style of play, but it’s interesting to see how he compares. His ORtg has actually increased from last year from 107.7 to 111.2. I personally don’t think that IT should not start because his intangibles as a leader are so important to this team’s success. With all of the line-up talk, I figured I would make a post about it. Make your own conclusions and maybe use some of this information in your decisions.

Ryan Petitt / UDubSports.com

Coach Lorenzo Romar may have gotten all the proof he needed, during last week’s exhibition game as Tyreese Breshers was dazzling the arena, that this year’s team may be a lot more similar to last season’s squad than originally envisioned.

Today’s decision to redshirt freshman C.J. Wilcox, universally proclaimed by coaches and teammates to be the Huskies’ “best shooter,” seemed like an odd move to me at first. We’re just not deep enough with shooters for C.J. to be expendable. Not if we’re a team that, having lost its best forward, will rely much more heavily on its strong backcourt for production.

But, then it clicked. Maybe in Coach’s ideal vision, we’re not going to play all that differently from last year. And, if we’re going to rely heavily on our inside game, who’s going to lead that charge? Do we trust MBA yet? Not completely. At least, I don’t.

I kept hearing voices mention Tyreese Breshers. There were hints on media day. Heck, Jon Brockman even said it to me.  And more recently statements by Coach Romar that a starting role may be in line once he’s healthy enough to run 20-25 minutes per game.

A lot more is being expected of Breshers, once he’s finally healthy, than I’d anticipated coming into this season. And, if he can live up to these expectations, and we can get some major production in the paint, then we can get by with one sharpshooter on the roster, with Elston Turner playing the role of gunner-off-the-bench. This allows C.J. to be a part of Husky basketball until 2014, and helps ease some of the crowding in the Husky backcourt.

Of course, Breshers needs to get fully healthy. If Coach too often needs to move Quincy Pondexter down low to the “4″ spot just to firm up a weakness in rebounding, or the lack of a low-post scoring threat, I think there will be nights we miss C.J. too much to make the move worth it.

But, if Tyreese can live up to the growing cacophony of whispers, and be that main presence in the paint, this years’ Dawgs might resemble last years’ more than we ever expected.

Here’s a link to the SICK dunk by Clarence Trent off a lob by C.J. Wilcox.

Thanks for coming!

Turner had more ups and downs than the average freshman last year. He averaged 17 minutes per game as a key scoring option off the bench early on, before an ankle injury caused him to miss four games. When he returned, his scoring touch was there, but his minutes went way down. Then, in the NCAA Tournament, Elston Turner averaged 20 minutes per contest, showing off a more well-rounded game and raising expectations for this season.

I had a chance to speak with Turner recently. Here’s what we discussed:

Montlake Madness: What’s new? What part of your game have you been working on this off-season?

Elston Turner: You’re gonna see how much more I’m gonna be aggressive. Not just being a three-point shooter, but getting to the foul line, going to the basket, a lot of mid-range. You know, that’s 80-85% of the main things I’ve worked on this summer: being more aggressive and not just settling for the three-point jumper.

MM: How much do the increased minutes you saw very late last year in the NCAA Tournament bolster your confidence coming into this year?

ET: It helps a good deal. Going into the tournament, my dad was talking about how I have to be more aggressive, and if I have an open shot, don’t pass it up. And, if I feel like I can do something with the ball, then go ahead and do it. And, I started to do it in the Tournament and a lot of people could see it then.

MM: What’s it like having a coach at home (NBA coach, Elston Turner, Sr.) and a coach at school? Any discrepancy between the advice that they suggest to you?

ET: No, not really, because they talk all the time. They played in the NBA together. They both know what’s the best thing for me. When they both tell me one thing, it’s likely right. So, I haven’t had a problem with that yet.

MM: What’s the path from here to a professional career for you? What do you need to develop?

ET: Being more aggressive. Having more people notice me. Doing little things. Not just being an offensive player, but also playing defense and rebounding. Getting to the ball, stuff like that. Just so I can stay on the court and have more people notice me.

MM: What’s the battle like for rotation spots at practice? How do you work that out with being friends off the court? You and C.J. (Wilcox) particularly?

ET: You really don’t think about it as a player. Like you said, we’re real good friends. (C.J. and I) are roommates. We hang out a lot. And, I mean, really we’re just encouraging each other, so whoever gets the minutes, we’re not gonna be mad. We’re gonna be encouraging. I’m just trying to tell him a little bit about the offense. Because, I’ve been through it last year. I’m just trying to help him out and have him be the best player he can be.

MM: Would you rather start or finish?

ET: I’d rather finish.

Hey, thanks for coming.

You can read all about it from Percy Allen, along with a report on today’s practice (with more props for C.J. Wilcox’s shooting) here. I still say there’s not a chance this guy redshirts, but we’ll see in a few weeks.

And, we’re not the only Pac-10 team ailing:

ASU guard Ty Abbott will miss the beginning of the season.

Stanford lost freshman forward Andy Brown for the entire season.

And, UCLA has five injured players right now, including their likely starting backcourt: Jerime Anderson (groin injury) and Malcolm Lee (concussion).

And, Terrence Jones cut his list of schools down to five today, erasing Arizona and Kansas. He told me earlier this week that his trip to UW went well, and that (despite the looks of it) he did indeed enjoy the Midnight Madness celebration. The schools remaining in play for TJ are UW, UCLA, Oregon, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Thanks for coming! (And best of luck to all of the Dawgs and other injured Pac-10 players for speedy recoveries!)

Some of you have asked about the possibility of C.J. redshirting this season. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s very likely with only a 12-man team. What seems like a deep rotation, that will be difficult to break into, could become dangerously thin with an injury or two. Here’s what we discussed:

Montlake Madness: Everyone talks about your shooting. What aspect of your game are people missing? What should they be talking about?

C.J. Wilcox: They could also talk about my quickness, I guess. My agility. Stuff like that. But, mostly it’s my shooting. That’s what I spend most of my time on, is my shooting.

MM: Does there come a point where you know you’re a good shooter so you work on other things more? How do you decide to mix between polishing your strengths and working on the things you need to improve on?

C.J.: I’ll do the same shooting every day. I’ll do other stuff. I mean, I’ll do ball-handling. Of course, weights and stuff. But, I never miss a shooting practice. If you can shoot, you can play anywhere you want to.

MM: What don’t we know about you?

C.J.: I play guitar. A lot of people don’t know that.

MM: What kind of music do you play?

C.J. Just anything that sounds good, really.

MM: Who’s your favorite guitarist?

C.J.: I’d probably have to say, Jimi Hendrix.

MM: What’s been unexpected so far about your experience at UW?

C.J.: I guess it’s the transition. The physical part of playing. Playing with people as fast as you. Jumping as high. Everything like that. It’s just an adjustment, the whole thing.

MM: How’s the adjustment to Seattle been, being away from home?

C.J.: I came in the summer, so I kinda got used to being away from home. So, right now, it’s not that big of a deal. But early in the summer, I kinda missed home. But, now I can wait, so. . .

MM: Do you guys get to go home at all during the season?

C.J.: I know we go home at Christmas, but that’s the only time I can think of.

Thanks for coming.