Josh Smith

In case you’ve just come back to Husky basketball after six months away, you’ve tuned in at (what we believe to be) the end of a long and dramatic recruiting effort by the Dawgs’ coaching staff to land two of the best high school ballers in the country.

The situation: The early signing period starts next Wednesday, November 11th, and runs for a week. Both Josh Smith and Terrence Jones are expected to announce their decisions during this period. If the Huskies go two-for-two, their recruiting class for 2010 will be one of the best in the country, if not the consensus #1. Even if the Huskies get one of these two likely future stars, their prospects for next season, even with the graduation of Quincy Pondexter, will likely be even higher than this year.

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Josh Smith: Josh is a 6’10″ center from nearby Kentwood High School, ranked somewhere in the top five big men in the country, depending on who’s doing the ranking. ESPN currently has Josh as the #1 center in the land, and the #10 prospect overall. The good news: UW is one of the two schools Josh is still considering. The bad news: nearly all of the intel coming from the voices covering the Huskies points to Josh choosing UCLA.

The buzz on Josh: One theory says that he’s worried about cheap shots on the football field, so he doesn’t want to announce he won’t be playing at home until the gridiron season is over. Another supposition says that Josh’s mom wants UW, but his dad wants UCLA. The biggest reason to hold out hope is that Josh still hasn’t announced anything, even though UCLA has been the word for months.

Terrence Jones: Terrence Jones is a 6’8″ forward from Portland, ranked fifteenth overall by ESPN. Jones has narrowed his list to five schools: UW, Oregon, UCLA, Oklahoma and Kentucky. He takes his final visit, down to UCLA, this weekend. Jones is less of a sure bet to make his choice during the early signing period, but has crammed a whirlwind tour of five schools into a short period of time, which means there’s a good chance he’d like to get the process over with.

The buzz on Terrence: Word on the street is that UW and Oregon are in the driver’s seat, based on the thought (wishful thinking?) that he may be leaning toward staying close to home. Like Josh, Terrence has been mostly silent of late. He’s been complimentary of Coach Romar, but also of Coach Capel at Oklahoma. And, then there’s Kentucky, which can’t ever be counted out of a recruiting battle. Oh… and then there’s UCLA right there in the mix.

Here’s what I think is going to happen: I think we’re not going to get either of them.

Why I don’t think we’ll get Smith: Sometimes, where there’s smoke, there is really fire. While I don’t know which of the theories, if any, I really buy into, I just get a sense that the answer has always been UCLA, and, for whatever reason, Josh has held off announcing.

Why I don’t think we’ll get Jones: I think we have as good a shot to land Jones as any of the other schools on his list. Despite his looking glum and unexcited at UW’s Midnight Madness event, I believe he truly considers UW a distinct possibility. But, we’re one of five — that’s 20%. If I’m betting, I’m betting on the field at 80%.

Why you shouldn’t think we’re getting these guys either: Wouldn’t you rather be pleasantly surprised than bitterly disappointed? No one (read: NO ONE) really knows anything, particularly since both recruits have played things very close to the vest. The “truth” won’t exist until these kids announce and make something true. So, until then, wouldn’t you rather be excited about Desmond Simmons coming in 2010, and the fact that every player on the Dawgs, except Quincy Pondexter is likely to come back? That way, you have nowhere to go but up.

Since, like everyone else, I know absolutely nothing, that’s my mindset. What’s yours? Would love to hear whether you agree or not, so please vote in the poll above.

Thanks for coming!

Again, reports of the demise of UW’s Josh Smith recruitment have proven premature. The Seattle Times’ Sandy Ringer talked to Josh Smith’s mom recently who told her that Josh is only considering UCLA and UW at this point.

The story reports that they’ve let Oklahoma know that Smith won’t be taking a visit there, but will visit UW in the next few weeks, and announce his decision shortly thereafter.

This has been the story of the off-season for Husky fans, with a lot of back and forth on message boards and websites, and an awful lot of will he?/won’t he? rumors. I’ve enjoyed watching this unfold and sharing what we know with you. This, after all, is college basketball’s version of the hot stove, and what better to occupy our minds with during the (too) long off-season? Anyone feeling fatigued by the ups and downs of waiting to see if Smith will come play at UW should consider the alternative: nary a prized recruit even considering the Huskies.

Yes, the buzz I’ve heard definitely tends to lean in the direction of UCLA. Examples pointing to this abound, like this one after his official visit to LA: Josh’s current Facebook status (from Monday) is “had the best weekend of life. shout out to my ucla family.” (sic)

One of the interesting points I’ve read now and then is that Smith, a potential one-and-done player (although this is purely speculation), would be a bad addition for UW. Some point to Spencer Hawes setting back the program (which I disagree with), and think Smith will be a similar example. Others point to the 6’9″, 270 pound Smith being a player who will fit poorly into Coach Romar’s run-and-gun offense.

I’m not going to argue that Terrence Jones (recruiting story #1B of the off-season), a long and athletic forward might be a better fit style-wise, but can anyone really make the case that one of the top big men in the country coming to UW would be a bad thing? Really?

I know a lot of the sources out there covering the team think Josh Smith to UCLA is a done deal. But, we’re here to bring you the fan’s perspective, shamelessly. And what does a fan do? Die hard.

So, we’ll keep covering the recruitments of Josh Smith and Terrence Jones until they declare elsewhere, because getting either of them would put the UW program in a position to enter the national championship discussion. Can you even imagine getting both?

Thanks for coming! What do you think? Is the recruiting roller coaster tiresome for you? Why? Let us know!