WhoLetTheDawgsOut

Here’s a final look at yesterday’s amazing win against Cal by one of our new staff writers. Big night tonight. Where do the Dawgs wind up? Who will we play? Can’t wait.

by WhoLetTheDawgsOut – Staff Writer

UW has conjured its own modern routine for The Big Dance. It’s quick. It’s easy. And even you can do it. Follow my lead:

1. Double Arm Flex
2. Kiss the bicep
3. Scowl at your opponent
4. Salute the crowd

And evacuate the dance floor because the Dawgs are dancing!

The wait is finally over! Dawg Nation’s biggest question for the last month was emphatically answered yesterday. Final answer: We’re in. Now, not even our biggest critics, mainly Greg Anthony or Seth Davis, can dispute UW crashing the party. Following a nail-biter 79-75 victory over Cal to take home the Pac-10 Championship, UW clinched an automatic birth into the NCAA Tourney, leaving all of their doubters by the wayside.

Game Recap:

In case you missed it, the game was a shootout from start to finish. The opening possession resulted in a bizarre missed dunk by Jamal Boykin. The ball seemingly went down the cylinder and popped back out like there was a lid on the rim. Thank you Antoine Tyler, our real sixth man. Following that play, UW began the game with great energy. They maintained their aggressiveness and hunger on defense to help create opportunities in transition.

Romar tried to get Abdul Gaddy going early by trying to exploit his matchup against Jerome Randle. Gaddy flashed signs of potential as he scored four points in the first two minutes, but soon failed to convert on some easy opportunities. It didn’t take long for Venoy Overton to sub in and stabilize our lineup.

But, Theo Robertson and Jamal Boykin kept Cal nipping on our heels as they combined for a 9 for 15, 24 point first half. Boykin remained virtually unguardable throughout the entire game as he could not miss.

IT and Venoy, however, combined efforts kept and kept Player of the Year Jerome Randle out of rhythm, reminiscent of his performance in Seattle back in January. Randle finished with 12 points in only 31 minutes (four below his average), due to foul trouble.

Q-Pon and IT fueled the Dawgs offensively, pouring in over half of UW’s points in the first half. Quincy’s Dayquil must’ve kicked in at the right time as his moves in the lane kept Cal scratching their heads. Justin Holiday, normally known for his defensive prowess, played an integral role offensively. He converted on 4 of 6 shooting for 8 points, including a couple of big jump shots. UW went into the half with a four-point lead.

The Huskies extended their lead to seven early in the second half. As expected, though, Cal went on a run midway through the second half to take the lead on the wings of Boykin and Robertson.

Venoy was quick to respond with a huge three-pointer from the corner to pull us even again. Several lead changes ensued resulting in an Elston Turner drive to the hoop that pulled UW even again.

The turning point in the game came with about 3:25 left when Quincy assisted on an Elston Turner three-pointer to put the Huskies up 71-68.  UW would never surrender the lead again after that.

ET made a great play on Randle at the end to force him to the line instead of allowing him a three-point opportunity to tie. Venoy closed out the game with two clutch free throws and that was all she wrote.

The Good:

I.T. played stellar defense on Jerome Randle all day when Venoy was in foul trouble. Thomas is becoming a great under-the-radar defender — he doesn’t gamble on defense and forces his man to pass.

Quincy Pondexter returned to form in this game as he scored inside and out at will to lead the team with 18 points.

Breshers was a force on the defensive end with 4 blocks that prevented Cal from gaining momentum.

Free Throws: 17-18 for the day.

UW threw up a 2-3 zone defense for two defensive sets toward the end of the game to force two huge defensive stops.

Elston “Kyra Sedgwick” Turner made some huge clutch plays to close the game today. He has definitely gained favor over Scott Suggs as each game has become a must-win affair. (from Themod: Montlake Madness: Where references to “The Closer” happen.)

The Bad:

Foul Trouble: Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Tyreese Breshers both left the game midway through the second half with four fouls leaving Darnell Gant with a heavy burden on defense.

Forcing Abdul Gaddy to become a scorer garnered mixed results. Gaddy just seemed rattled today as he missed several easy layups.

Gaddy got called for yet another failed attempt to draw a charge. He and Breshers need a lesson on setting their feet without leaning back or bumping the player with their hip. And staying out of the area below the basket where drawing a charge is essentially impossible.

Although Venoy was clutch down the stretch, he was erratic with his drives to the hoop early on as he drove into double teams and threw up circus shots.

A great win today. And now it’s on to the NCAA Tournament. Where will the Dawgs end up? We’ll know by 4 PM.

Where do you think we’ll be seeded?

Thanks for coming!

This thief averaged less than a steal per game.

In case you haven’t heard, the Pac-10 awards came out on Monday. Here’s a link to the results.

As you’ll see in another really great piece here by a new contributor, Quincy Pondexter came up short for the Player of the Year award, despite winning his fifth Player of the Week award (a record). A questionable choice accoring to WhoLetTheDawgsOut. . .

Agree with the sentiments below? Disagree? Let us hear you in the comments section!

by WhoLetTheDawgsOut

DATELINE: WALNUT CREEK, CA

Pac-10 Commissioner: “And the winner of Pac 10 Player of the Year (POY) is…”

(pause for suspense… opens the envelope)

Pac -10 Commissioner: “…not Quincy Pondexter.”

Jerome Randle pauses for a second, only to give the best Michael Strahan smile of his life and accepts the trophy with gratitude and enthusiasm.

Q-Pon graciously claps for his comrade and does not show an ounce of disappointment or jealousy.

As the ceremony concludes, Q-Pon makes his way toward the door as Roscoe consoles his son.

Pac -10 Commissioner: “Quincy, where are you going? You forgot your door prize. You won Pac 10 Player of the Week (POW). Come on up and get your Tootsie Pop.”

(end scene)

The coaches may as well have just given Q-Pon the Sportsmanship Award instead today. Sometimes, a consolation prize leaves a bigger scar than receiving nothing at all. Simply put, today was a kick in the face to the record-setting five-time POW recipient.

The Question: What prestigious fraternity do Sean Lampley, Sam Clancy, Luke Ridnour, Ike Diogu, Brandon Roy, and James Harden all belong to?

Answer:  Pac-10 Players of the Year who were not members of the Pac-10 champion that year.

The Takeaway: Past seasons have proven that Pac-10 coaches have recognized the best conference player based upon his merit, not just on the results on his team’s final position in the standings.

The Frustration: Why couldn’t they be consistent with that same assessment this year? Lorenzo Romar said it best today when he claimed that there “should have been a CO-MVP.”  Playing for the conference champion shouldn’t win you that much favor when coaches are selecting the best player.

We have heard a lot about both players’ stat lines today when trying to pick a winner. But in my eyes, the most blaring statistical comparison that was overlooked was something I picked up in the 2^nd grade:  5  > 1. When coaches were asked to vote for the best player in the past week’s games, they voted for Pondexter FIVE times and Randle ONCE.

Not to mention Q-Pon is leading a team, as a lone senior, with only two prominent scorers (himself and IT), whereas Randle (one of four seniors) is leading a team that has three scorers (himself, Patrick Christopher, and Theo Robertson). No person, this writer included, can even fathom the rationale used to leave Pondexter out pf at least a share of the crown this year. Were coaches too spellbound from Quincy’s ballet performance in The Nutcracker that they forgot about his on court performance? Not likely, but that’s the only loophole I can think of.

And even more frustrating: Randle delivered a presumably decisive final blow in the POY race with his 33-point statement game against UW in February. Does this cancel out his five point, eight turnover performance earlier this season? And further, did the Oregon game, when Quincy went for a career-high 34 points, not being televised (nor any highlights) have any impact on the decision? One has to wonder.

The Rebound: As gracious as Quincy has been through today, bet your bottom dollar that he has something to prove. We all know the Dawgs are on the bubble, playing for one of the last tournament bids. But, Quincy will be playing for much more than that. Today’s news today should serve as fuel to help ignite his game to another level.

But is this chip that Quincy is sure to carry on his shoulders enough to carry the Dawgs to a Pac-10 Tourney title? Dawg Nation sure hopes so.

What do you think?

Thanks for coming!