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Thoughts on UW’s Blowout of UCLA on Quincy’s Senior Night

February 20, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 18 comments

Kevin P. Casey / AP

Kevin P. Casey / AP

The Huskies (8-7, 18-9 overall) defeated the UCLA Bruins (7-7, 12-14 overall), 97-68, tonight at Hec Ed.

The Least You Should Know:

On his senior night, Quincy Pondexter paced the Huskies early, scoring 10 of the Dawgs’ first 14 points, as the team built a lead over the Bruins that they’d never relinquish.

Pondexter finished with 20 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two assists on his big night.

In front of a national TV audience on ESPN, the Huskies dominated the game in every way and looked like one of the better teams in the country. But, the ESPN broadcast team seemed to believe, as most fans now do, that the Huskies will have to win the Pac-10 Tournament to advance to the Big Dance in March.

Analysis and Observation:

Great to hear the ESPN guys talking about Quincy as a future NBA player. Q-Pon has gone from questionable as an NBA Draft prospect to projected first-round pick.

Coach has deservedly taken some heat for the Huskies falling short of expectations so far this season. But two years in a row, Romar will send guys to the NBA who were far from sure things at the start of their college careers. The team’s result is how he will (and should) be judged, but LoRo’s ability as a talent developer shouldn’t be overlooked.

Almost on cue, given that it was senior night, the Huskies’ three juniors (Justin Holiday – 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal; Matthew Bryan-Amaning – 12 points, five rebounds, three steals; Venoy Overton – seven points, two assists, two steals) all had impressive games.

The ESPN guys brought this up because it was so obvious: Isaiah Thomas’s demeanor and energy on the court got so much better after he started scoring. Along with the typical early Quincy jumper in the first minute or two of most games, I’d like to see the Dawgs try to get Isaiah going right at the outset. Thomas finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Is it possible that Matthew Bryan-Amaning is just coming out of a three-year long cold streak? The adjustments he’s made are so slight — less dribbling in the post, taking an extra second to make a decision, moving toward the basket when he shoots — but MBA looks like a completely different player.

When Tyreese Breshers can avoid picking up a foul-per-minute, he looks good. Tonight was a good omen for next year when he’ll play a more prominent role, particularly if he can get into better shape. (In truth, it’s really closer to a foul for every three-and-a-half minutes he plays — by far the worst ratio on the team.)

It’s all about winning the Pac-10 Tournament at this point, and why not UW? When the Dawgs play their best, like they did tonight, there’s no one in the conference they can’t beat.

I know he’s got to improve his shooting, but tell me it’s not possible that Justin Holiday is a 12-13 point-per-game scorer next season.

When Elston Turner and Scott Suggs are feeling it, you know it’s going well for the Dawgs.

Up about 20, there was no need for Abdul Gaddy to let the ball roll to midcourt before picking it up at the end of the first half. Not a big deal, but sometimes it looks like he’s and actor playing the part of a point guard instead of a basketball player just navigating the game. He had a couple of nice passes, but Abdul was the only Husky to have anything resembling a tough night, finishing with zero points, four assists and six turnovers.

So, now Romar has got to coach these next few games in a way that best prepares the Dawgs for the conference tournament. How about a little experimentation so we can add a little something to the toolbelt before we get down to LA? I’d like to see the Huskies zone up a bit. I’d like to see us press. And, I’d like to see how we look with two guards, Q-Pon, MBA and Tyreese on the floor together. Even if it turns out not to work, shouldn’t we try to have something to pull out that other teams haven’t seen before.

Looking ahead to seeding for the conference tournament, here’s the way the nine-team bracket looks. In order to avoid a potential matchup with Cal in the semifinals, the Dawgs are going to need to reach third place in the conference (or fall to sixth). If the tournament started today, the Dawgs would play Arizona in the 4 vs. 5 game.

Next up, a trip to Pullman next Saturday. The Dawgs get a chance to build up some road momentum against Wazzu, and then the Oregon schools, before their season-on-the-line appearance in the Pac-10 Tournament, beginning on March 10 in LA.

Thanks for coming!

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Thoughts and Observations on the Huskies’ 62-61 Loss to UCLA

January 22, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 4 comments

hamid shot Bret Hartman LA Times

Bret Hartman / LA Times

Ugh. . .

After the game, nearly in tears, Quincy Pondexter talked about how he didn’t think there was any chance the Huskies would lose this game. Me neither, and I’m not sure where this leaves us.

Here’s some thoughts on last night’s game:

Poor Quincy. He really was struggling during his post-game radio interview to keep it together. And, rightfully so. Win this game, and the team could legitimately say they’d turned a corner. Now, though, the road woes hang over them like black cloud.

Conventional wisdom says that home court is worth about 10 points in a basketball game. To the Huskies, though, it looks like it’s worth about 30.

We forced 16 turnovers, which isn’t terrible, but the defensive intensity of last weekend just wasn’t there.

Justin Holiday wasn’t a huge factor tonight. He had two ugly turnovers. And even his defense looked only pedestrian against Nikola Dragovic, who looked good early, but then disappeared late in the game.

Bright side: Abdul Gaddy is looking better every game. I even thought his defense looked okay tonight.

What’s up with the rotation? Venoy played only 12 minutes tonight, and Matthew Bryan-Amaning only four. Sometimes our substitution patterns seem almost random.

Instead of MBA, we get Darnell Gant picking up two costly fouls late in the game, and taking an inexplicable turnaround jumper in the lane when we’re down three points with four minutes to go.

Our interior defense is horrific. We got beat three or four times with simple passes over our entire defense Thursday night.

Reeves Nelson looks a little like a poor man’s Jon Brockman — if Brockman were a whiny little snot. (Sorry, I’m still upset about the game)

Isn’t the midrange jumper something we should be able to hit more consistently than the three-point shot?

Isaiah looked good on defense tonight, but gawd, he needs to find a way to score against the zone. A simple 2-3 turns him from Mighty Mouse to Minnie Mouse.

Dammit. Here’s what I wrote in my notes with 9:53 left in the first half, and the Huskies up 24-21:  Only hanging because shot is falling! Not playing great, but hitting shots.

Final thought: This one would’ve been easier to digest if we’d laid a total egg. But we didn’t. We just didn’t play enough D, and our shot stopped falling in the second half. As Romar said, the effort wasn’t bad at all. But, the result was the same.

Final thought #2: Sure, we could’ve won by 8-10 points if our shot was falling in the second half. But, we also could’ve lost by eight or 10 if our first half shooting hadn’t been so great.

It’s gonna get late early for the Dawgs if they can’t get up off the mat for a win on Saturday.

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Huskies Drop Heartbreaker at Pauley, 62-61

January 22, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | No comments

The Huskies (3-4, 12-6 overall) lost to the UCLA Bruins (3-3, 8-10), 62-61, at Pauley Pavilion Thursday night.

The least you should know:

The Huskies lost a see-saw battle on a last-second jumper by Mustafa Abdul-Hamid.

The Dawgs shot 58.3% in the first half, building a 41-37 lead, but only managed 20 points on 29.6% shooting in the second.

Quincy Pondexter shot 4-4 from beyond the arc, nearing keeping the Huskies in it all by himself, finishing with 23 points and six rebounds.

To read the rest of the game post (for free, of course), please click here to go over to UDubSports.com.

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Game Preview: UW at UCLA (game #18)

January 20, 2010 in Uncategorized by Themod | 3 comments

UW UCLA preview copyWho: Washington Huskies (3-3, 12-5 overall) at UCLA Bruins (2-3, 7-10 overall)

When: Thursday, 7:30 PM

Where: Pauley Pavilion

Huskies 101: What more can be said about the Huskies’ dominant weekend against Cal and Stanford?

Seeing the Dawgs play so well last week forces the question, coming into this week, of whether this team is capable of sustaining this level of play on the road. The Huskies have not won outside of Hec Ed all season, and likely won’t be able earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament without some quality road wins over the next six weeks.

Husky leader Quincy Pondexter broke out of his mini-slump by averaging 26 points and 7.5 rebounds in the Stanford and Cal games, and earning Pac-10 Player of the Week for the third time this year.

Isaiah Thomas has played within himself more recently, averaging 17.6 points and distributing an average of five assists in the last three games.

Lorenzo Romar seems to have firmed up his rotation, the biggest change being the addition of Justin Holiday to the starting lineup.

Holiday’s pedestrian statistical totals (3.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) fail to tell the whole story of his impact on the court. Holiday suffered a concussion last weekend, but is expected to start Thursday.

Projected lineup: G – Abdul Gaddy, G – Isaiah Thomas, F – Justin Holiday, F – Quincy Pondexter, F – Tyreese Breshers

UW UCLA tale of the tape copy

UCLA 101: The Bruins have lost three of their last four, and are in the midst of a wildly inconsistent season. No one is accusing the Bruins of being a Final Four contender this year, but at their best, as in their wins against Cal and Arizona State, they’re a dangerous team.

They’ve also had their share of headscratcher losses against teams like Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton.

Guard Malcolm Lee (13.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.6 apg) is, arguably, the most talented Bruin, and Michael Roll (13.4 ppg, 43.3% 3-pt.) is a skilled marksman.

Freshman Reeves Nelson (10.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg) has filled in nicely for the Bruins top post player, Drew Gordon, who left the team for good early this season.

Even in a down year, UCLA will be a formidable opponent for the Huskies at Pauley Pavilion, where the Huskies have only won once since 1988.

Projected lineup: G – Malcolm Lee, G – Michael Roll, F – Tyler Honeycutt, F – Nikola Dragovic, F – Reeves Nelson

The Huskies will win if: They forget that they’re not in the friendly confines of Hec Ed and pick right up where they left off this weekend.

The Dawgs will win if they continue to let defense be their guide. When the Huskies force turnovers, they win.

The Dawgs will win if they can again get out to a fast start and not look back. They have more talent than the Bruins and the first eight to ten minutes of the game will be the best chance to overwhelm UCLA and assert their dominance.

The Huskies will lose if: We see the same team we’ve seen on the road in efforts against the Arizona schools and Georgetown. There’s something about the team’s execution that’s been off on the road thus far, and it’s time to put that in the past.

A humble suggestion: Pain me as it does (since it’s taken me a bit to become a believer), I admit Scott Suggs has been more impressive than Elston Turner this season. Having a reliable outside shooter on the team adds another necessary dimension to the Husky offense. But, neither Turner or Suggs bring much besides shooting, and I’m underwhelmed with the team’s play when both players are on the floor. Great to see Suggs improve, and give Turner the chance to find his shot again, but how ’bout we only see these guys one at a time?

Predictions: The road woes end here. The team can’t afford to look past this one, but I can, and I think we’ve got a battle on tap Saturday against a tough USC team. This one’s all about the Huskies, though, as they continue to roll against UCLA, 81-64.

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UCLA Loses Top Freshman for 3-4 Weeks

November 8, 2009 in Uncategorized by Themod | No comments

igu 2 Honeycutt copyThings went from bad (barely defeating NAIA school Concordia in an exhibition game) to worse for UCLA.

One of their top freshman, Tyler Honeycutt, is out with a stress reaction in his tibia for 3-4 weeks. Honeycutt had made his way back from a spinal stress fracture, and given the severity of his previous injury, it’s hard to know if 3-4 weeks may be an optimistic timetable for him.

The 6’8″ Honeycutt didn’t score, but started in UCLA’s exhibition game, logging 21 minutes, grabbing three rebounds and dishing three assists.

Best of luck to Tyler for a speedy recovery.

Thanks for coming!

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Huskies at #13 in First USA Today/ESPN Poll

October 29, 2009 in Uncategorized by Themod | 3 comments

Scroll down for part I of today’s Desmond Simmons interview.

The Dawgs are picked 13th in the nation in today’s preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll, just behind Cal (12th). No other Pac-10 school made the top 25, but UCLA earned the 29th-most votes, just missing out.

USC earned multiple votes at well. Go figure.

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Reconnaissance Mission: UCLA Junior Guard, Spencer Soo

September 26, 2009 in Uncategorized by Themod | 3 comments

Spencer Soo interview pic for site copyFor the next in our series of opposing player interviews, called “Reconnaissance Mission,” I had the opportunity to speak with Spencer Soo, a 5’8″ guard from UCLA. Soo will be starting his junior season this year, playing again as a walk-on. Soo only appeared in six games last season, but is a fan favorite at Pauley Pavilion, in part at least for his ridiculous ability to do things like this.

Montlake Madness: UCLA has had a lot of guys leave in the last couple of years for the NBA. Explain how this season’s team will have a different makeup than last year’s squad.

Spencer Soo: Besides youth, there really isn’t any change in the team’s makeup. Our coaches do a great job recruiting all around great guys. The team is still the same UCLA players as far as hustle, toughness, heart, and passion.

MM: Who are the two or three guys that need to have big years for UCLA to compete for the Pac-10 title?

SS: As you already know, it’s going to take team effort to capture the Pac-10 title. Leadership from our seniors Roll, Keefe, and Dragovic is a must considering we are a young team. But I am expecting great things out of sophomore Malcolm Lee and freshman Mike Moser.

MM: Who’s been the freshman to impress you the most so far when you’ve played together this off-season?

SS: I actually just got back from a trip to Seattle this past summer. I visited my friend Quincy Pondexter and I got to play with a lot of previous Huskies.

I am impressed with them all (our freshmen). They all have an intense passion for the game and are very competitive. However, I am most impressed with Moser and Reeves Nelson.

MM: Malcolm Lee is a guy who didn’t put up big numbers last season, but is becoming a trendy pick to challenge for a spot on the all-conference team. Explain why his potential is so great.

SS: Malcolm is a special player. He kind of reminds me of another Russell Westbrook. Russ didn’t put up the best numbers or even minutes his first year, and look what happened after his second. Malcolm has worked hard over the summer in the weight room and in the gym, and it is paying off. He will be an explosive player for us.

MM: You’ve got ridiculous hops for a shorter guard. I know your playing time was limited during your first two seasons, but have you gotten a chance to throw down in a game yet?

SS: I have not yet tried to throw one down. To me, two points is two points. Although, I feel if I were to dunk in a game, it would end up on Sportscenter: “5’8″ walk-on dunks.” I am not really worried about getting one though, I’m just excited to be on the floor representing UCLA.

MM: I would imagine that every player wants to earn more time on the floor. You may have an opportunity to play a little more just by virtue of what some feel is a lack of depth at the PG position. What do you need to do personally to earn more time on the floor?

SS: I have to keep working hard. It’s simple. But for the most part, my role the past couple of years has been to make my teammates better in practice.

MM: Do you have aspirations to make basketball a career after school?

SS: Actually, I do. I do feel my height has its major disadvantages, and to play in the NBA would be awesome, but it’s not very realistic for me. After college, I will look into the Asian leagues. I just want to play basketball as long as I can — I love it. I will graduate with a degree from UCLA, and I understand the nine-to-five job will always be there; my athleticism won’t.

MM: There’s a lot of guys out there around 5’8″ who would love to be able to dunk — if for no other reason than to impress the ladies! — As someone who can, what can they do to increase their chances?

SS: I believe I can jump high due to all the stretching I’ve done in my life. I had 10 years under my belt with Tae Kwon Do, and I am very flexible.

So, my advice to anyone that wants to jump higher is to set attainable goals, stretch as often as possible, and practice jumping (play as much ball as possible).

MM: Tell me about playing for Ben Howland. Best thing? Worst thing?

SS: The best: He knows what he’s talking about, and has a passion for the game. His attention to detail is another thing that I admire.

The worst: His attention to detail points out our mistakes, but it’s only to make us better.

MM: Finally, do you guys currently on the team pay much attention to the recruiting stuff? For instance, UCLA and UW are duking it out for Josh Smith, a guy from up here near UW. Is that even on your radar, or do you just wait it out and see who your teammates will be when guys commit?

SS: We let the coaches handle the recruiting. We focus on the team that we do have, and build on the relationships that are in front of us.

MM: So, no awareness at all of the HS landscape?

SS: Not really.

Hey, thanks for coming!

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