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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I’m going to finally break my silence and start blogging/commenting over the comment that Romar’s “player development ability” shouldn’t be overlooked.
Please don’t get me wrong, I love what he has brought to the table in terms of character, recruiting, and a general consistency. I believe he will be at UW for many years to come for resurrecting a dead Bender program and, for the most part, I’m happy with that.
However, I just don’t understand when people say that he’s a good X’s and O’s coach and player development coach. I just haven’t seen that in the material he has had to work with. If your example is Quincy, I would argue that he’s a senior and his experience, strength, and personal work habit have created the opportunity to be drafted in the 1st round of the draft this summer and not Romar’s coaching and guidance. I look back at these players and wonder how much they developed their game outside of the criteria Pondexter used to mature his game:
Brockman – Never developed a strong post move/game or jump shot
Dentmon – Never learned how to manage the clock and take care of the ball
BJones – Decent all-around college player but never developed into a great offensive player
MBA – Soft and doesn’t have power post moves
Venoy – Outside shot has not developed along with suspect decision making when he manages the offenseReally, the only players that I have seen developed are guys that were legit from the get go like Roy. I think his own ability and staying 4 years had a lot to do with where he is today, not Romar. Here are two things I find interesting:
1. Now that Venoy, MBA, and Holliday are playing better, people are assuming that Romar is developing them. Once again, could it not be that they are juniors who are going up against weaker, less experienced underclassman in the PAC10?
2. To say that Brockman and Pondexter were “far from sure things” is a bit of an exaggeration. Both were top of their classes. All Americans? McDonalds?? Either way, they were huge recruits for UW and I would have to argue that if they went elsewhere, their overall game would have developed faster due to coaching and system vs. time/strength/experience/and solo gym time. -
Your opinion is well referenced Ballard, but I don’t agree that Romar is anything but the best possible fit for UW. There is not a coach who is as loyal to the school that is as good as him. They tried former Dawg Lynn Nance and he was the pits. I’m sure Ken Bone, would be a very good choice, if Lorenzo were not available.
I feel that you are underestimating what Romar has done for the kids that have been at UW on a number of important levels in regards to their games. I also think that you are making the mistake that you can turn someone into someone that they are not.
Joe Wolfinger could shoot and was over seven feet tall, but is it Romar’s fault that a foot injury made him so immobile that he could not compete? The same can be said about every one of your other examples. Brockman worked his butt off on shooting and made noticeable improvements, but could it be that he just doesn’t have that gift on top of his phenomenal ability to rebound and get garbage points?
I believe that UW could use help on their staff in the area of some support in the area of shooting and game management. That could come from outside the staff of from the staff taking steps to correct itself. How can you or I make that call? To say that Romar should not be the head coach is way too radical of a notion and self-destructive if you are a Husky fan.
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Good thoughts. The emergence of MBA is the one thing that gives me hope when it comes to life after QP. Really, his career thus far has been similar to Quincy’s in a lot of ways: flashed potential early and often (especially against inferior competition), struggled to maintain consistency and seemed to be a case of mental hang ups getting in the way of pretty ridiculous physical ability, finally and for no apparent reason something “clicks” and the guy starts producing commensurably with his level of talent. Even the timing is similar, as he’s coming on late in his Jr. year much the same way QP did. We can only hope he gets a chance to blossom on the March Madness stage the way Pondexter did and continues to follow the same growth arc.
Whenever I see him catch the ball under the hoop and then tomahawk it down in the blink of an eye, I wonder why its never occurred to him to do this until now. It just looks so darn easy for him and I’ve been yelling at him through the TV to do it for a couple years now. I guess he finally heard somebody.
His D is improving too, but I think he still has room for improvement when it comes to court awareness. (Ditto for most of the team.)
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(And I’ll leave it to other posters to debate whether these basketball epiphanies are Romar’s handiwork or come from somewhere else because I really have no idea. I just like when they happen.)
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Lorenzo is a good recruiter and brings in good talent, but he has a lot of work to do if he wants to be considered an elite coach. This year’s team has been pretty disappointing, and I would place the majority of the blame on him.
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Josh,
can you give us any info on all of the prospects that were in attendance yesterday. I heard that TJ was there along with Tony Wroten. Any one else/ updates esc
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I hope to see these last three games more full court press with these athletes. That press against USC had bodies flying all over the place. Maybe we should do that more often with our kids.
Anyone who wants Romar gone is just crazy. I’ve been a fan for 32 years and finally we have a chance at post season play every year. Hopefully we can go to the dance every year and win a couple of games, then anything can happen.
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Ditto with the press AND the zone. The Huskies really have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Since none of the big dance is at Hec they will have to perform at a higher level than demonstrated thus far and having a larger arsenal gives them the possibility.
The press against USC maybe the best played 4 or 5 minutes of the entire season.
The zone may could a fall back when the tough man to man is just not working, and it’s not rocket science.
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All these LoRo haters need to wake up! He’s done more for UW hoops program than any other coach in the modern era, except for maybe coach Harshman.
Stop the hate and recognize how far this program has come. Every program goes through a down year and we seem to be going through one.
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Stay vocal apb…you’re right on but I’m frustrated at how many delusional fans there are. The worst thing that could happen to Husky hoops is if Romar got ran out of town. No way would he be replaced by someone who could do more for Husky hoops than he had.
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Romar is the coach of the Huskies. He is not perfect, but he has taken this program from obsucrity to relevance. As a fan, that is all you could ever ask for. Are we a better program since he has arrived? Absolutely, 100% yes. Every year we have a chance to go the dance, we won the Pac-10 outright last year, etc…
We have to accept the fact that our talent just isn’t that great this year. We are right about where we should be with the current talent.
Although I don’t always agree with his substitutions, his offense or his defense, I know enough about bball to understand that I have NO IDEA what goes on behind the scenes. There is so much more to coaching than simply what we see on TV Thurs/Sat. I have to assume the LoRo knows his team and players better than I do, if for no other reason, than because of the amount of time he spends with these guys. So I have to trust in that.
The results are the results. They are quantifiable and absolute. How well does he develop players? Should we do this more? Should we do that more? These are questions that are fun to ask, but in the end, impossible to answer. If a few more shots went in this season, we would have beaten UCLA on the road, and Texas Tech, too… those two wins would put us back in the tourney picture. Does that make Romar a better coach?
LoRo and staff spend all day every day coaching, strategizing, etc… We have to trust that they are finding the right answers based on what they know about the team, the competition, etc… which is a heck of a lot more than we all do.
Now, if we start NOT being a tournament team every year for the next few years, we can start picking on Romar. Results. Results. Results. The process is not significant. This is a quality basketball program. Romar runs the program. For now, we have to embrace that, cheer for the Huskies and hope that we can continue to compete for the Pac 10.
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Fabulous post G-stache – thanks for better stating what I’ve wanted to for a long time.
Love this paragraph especially:
“Romar is the coach of the Huskies. He is not perfect, but he has taken this program from obsucrity to relevance. As a fan, that is all you could ever ask for. Are we a better program since he has arrived? Absolutely, 100% yes. Every year we have a chance to go the dance, we won the Pac-10 outright last year, etc…”
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Great post Gant! One foul shout against Texas Tech and IT not missing front end of one and one, we are probably dancing. That’s how close it is. Romar is our coach and I’m proud he represents UW.
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People that feel that there is any scenario that Romar should be fired at this point have no historical perspective on Husky Basketball. I think that is a safe statement to make.
The difference between the program with Lorenzo and without is like night and day (And I’m not talking about Errol and Jeffrey).
Yes, there have been problems this year that need to be worked through, but to suggest that Romar should be fired or even hugely blamed in some dark manner for what has happened (so far) this year is an HBN (Husky Basketball Neophyte) or a rival that just wants to stir up trouble.
There may be coaches that are better than Lorenzo, but none as loyal to UW, able to recruit AND as able a representative for UW to the community.
Find me one who comes close and I’ll be shocked if it’s not Ken Bone who Lorenzo brought in and as of yet has not proven near as much as Romar.
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Love Romar and hope to GOD that he does not go anywhere! I do agree though some things need to be tightened up! Weither that is on the coaches or players I don’t know but we do need to remember the asst. coaches that have moved on. How many years in row have we lost at least one? People may not think asst. coaches are a big deal in basketball but they are huge! Romar does not have the time to do everything on his own. These other coaches are the ones building up the players!
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In regards to Terrance Jones.. I sat behind the Huskies bench and he was there with a couple people.. and was sitting near or next to the JC recruit that was there as well. A minute after he arrived, a sign was being passed from the middle of the Dawg Pack towards him. When it got closer, I could see that it was a poster that had a fake LOI letter on it.. and on the bottom, there was a line for him to sign it. I thought that was SUPER creative. It almost got to to TJ but one of the student assistant managers motioned for them to take it away (recruiting violation maybe?) but I know for sure TJ saw it. The guy next to him pointed it out to him before it was taken away.
I hope he enjoyed the thrashing and could envision himself at Hec Ed next year. I don’t know why, but I’m optimistic about our chances to land him. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t get him, but “I Gotta Feelin’!”
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but the real question is…was the Dawg pack loud?
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I enjoy this blog greatly and have though it has done a great job of analyzing the huskies over the years, but this year I have noticed the huskies are in a fight for some great recruiting talent and there has been minimal coverage on any of it. We could be landing some big time talent and I would love to hear more info about that especially on long gameless stretches like these
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