Jarreau decides to redshirt before the Huskies season opening win

UW freshman Jernard Jarreau was the only healthy Husky not to see action the in the UW’s season opening 91-74 win over Georgia State and the reason why was a bit of surprise. Lorenzo Romar revealed that Jarreau informed him hours before tipoff that he had decided to redshirt.

“We have had conversations about it,” Romar explained. “He understands that he has some talent and can get stronger and learn the system then come out here with a fresh start.”

It is a move that Romar believes can benefit both the player and the team in the long run.

“I think it is a good move for him in that he doesn’t have to go through this year with the ups and downs emotionally of playing not playing, maybe frustrated that you are not getting some of the concepts at times. Learning all that and at the same time getting stronger. He puts on seventeen or so pounds since he has been here in June, what’s he going to do between now and next year? Right now he’s 211, he gets up to 225 next year? He’s going to be an entirely different player. He will be a lot better player next year and still be a freshman.”

That’s not to say that he won’t be missed on the floor for the Huskies this year.

“Because of his length he presents problems,” Romar answered when asked if he could have contributed. “He can put the ball on the floor, he dribbles literally like a guard. He is going to be a mismatch problem. There are times we could have used that this year.”

Today was not one of those times. After a slow start the Huskies showed they had more than enough to beat a smaller, less heralded Georgia State team. Still, there was much to be learned and Romar was pleased with the adjustments he saw.

“This is a very good beginning of the year in terms of comp we have faced,” he explained. “In Seattle Pacific, although it was an exhibition game, we faced a team that was very deliberate, a team that slowed the game considerably. Tonight we faced against a totally different style.”

“Not only was Georgia State very uptempo in how they approached things but they changed defenses. They went from zone, to presses, did a number of different things, and I feel at this stage of the game teams are not usually ready for those types of changes in defenses, but I think our guys did a good job. That team was very atletic, they forced us to really look at how we were not containing the dribble. I think we did a better job of that in the second half.”

Containing Rashaad Richardson who led the Panthers with 27 points while going 7-10 from the three point line was a challenge. Inability to stop the middle drive early was giving Richardson open looks early as defenders left him too early and he took advantage. According to Darnell Grant this was brought to their attention after a time out midway through the first half.

“Just to locate shooters,” Gant answered when asked what was discussed in the timeout. “We were doing a poor job of keeping them out of the middle and every time they drove the middle they seemed to get a wide open shot. We had to shut that down quick and after that we came out with a better sense of urgency and took that away.”

It also helped that the the Huskies sharp-shooter CJ Wilcox was on and on early. Wilcox led the Dawgs with 22 points and went 5-8 from the three point line. While also grabbing six boards he was not the only guard to have a nice final line. Tony Wroten fared well in his first game as a Husky and Wilcox enjoyed sharing the floor with him.

“I was surprised that the chemistry (with Wroten) good so early. He knows how to find me,” he said.

Wroten finished with 18 points after not hitting his first field goal until there was just over two minutes to go in the first half. He was relentless in going to the basket rather that pulling up for jumpers but after an early adjustment was able to get his points there. He also pulled down seven rebounds.

“I was more excited than nervous today,” he said of his first game that counts. “I was more relaxed and focused. I think I played well, not perfect, I think I could do better.”

The Huskies will be back in action tomorrow as when they take on Florida Atlantic at 5:00.