Washington Husky Huddle for Thursday January 5th 2012 (Part One)

The Huskies started off Pac-12 conference play against the Oregon State Beavers Thursday night. Coach Lorenzo Romar and the Dawgs opened up conference play with the best game they have played all season. Oregon State is a team that the Huskies couldn’t over look. The Huskies won their first game 95-80 in front of a decent crowd of 9,592, despite the football team playing in the Alamo Bowl during the same time of the game. It was an exciting day for the hoops team, though things didn’t go near as well for the Husky Football team, who lost to Baylor 67-56 in a wild game. The game against OSU at Hec-Ed was also action packed and if you don’t believe me, check out the YouTube highlight reel.

The Huskies were all on the same page against the Beavers. The most impressive stat of the night was that the Huskies only had six fast break points. You ask how that is impressive? The Dawgs have had trouble in the half court setting in previous games. They settled down Thursday and executed their offensive behind freshman guard Tony Wroten Jr., despite not being given a lot of fast break opportunities. Wroten was everywhere on the court and was a key player to the Huskies victory. The Huskies had six players finish in double digits. Everybody who entered the game besides reserve freshman post Martin Breunig contributed to the score.

As a team this was by far the best performance on the court for the Dawgs. Freshman post Desmond Simmons and sophomore guard C.J. Wilcox combined for 28 of the Dawgs 30 bench points. The Huskies only turned the ball over nine times. From the field they shot 51% and 85% from the free throw line. Tony made only two of those turnovers and went 5-7 from the free throw line. Romar seemed to be referring to Wroten’s growth and new found attention to detail when he spoke about the keys to the game.

“We turn the ball over a few more times or miss half of those foul shots, maybe it’s a different game.”

Oregon State gave the Huskies every bit of fight they had in them. The Huskies were resilient and withstood any run the Beavers went on. The point guard play for the Dawgs was well poised between junior Abdul Gaddy and Wroten. Gaddy got UW involved with a team high six assists and also was the most aggressive he has been since the exhibition game at the beginning of the season. Abdul seemed to really get that he and some of the other UW guards need to follow Tony’s example in going hard to the cup, when he commented to the media on Thursday.

“Coach has been talking to us about getting to the free-throw line more. (Wroten) does it really well, but guys like me, CJ (Wilcox), Terrence (Ross) got to get to the free-throw line more and that comes from being more aggressive.”

It’s easy to forget that it has only been a year since ‘Dul had his season ending knee injury. On Tuesday Percy Allen of the Seattle Times recanted all of the events surrounding the injury, the surgery, the rehab and how his presence and/or absence has affected the UW team. It wasn’t because the Dawgs played a weak opponent in OSU, as sophomore guard Roberto Nelson was only one of many Beavers who gave it their all in the paint against the Huskies. Beav junior post Joe Burton finished with 18 points and seven boards. Star OSU junior guard Jared Cunningham finished with 15 points but was held to two points in the second half. Gaddy guarded Cunningham for most of the second half. OSU were able to cut the Husky lead to three points, on an Ahmad Starks lay-up with 2:55 to play, but that’s the closest they got to the Dawgs.

There was a lot of good for UW fans about the win over OSU. It was by far Wroten’s best game as a Husky, though he held steady against the Ducks on Saturday. He was all over the place, active on the boards finishing with nine and he scored at will finishing with 26 points. Wroten also got his team involved with four assists. The best stat was that Tony only turned the ball over two times. Wroten has bought into the system and is letting the game come to him. Gaddy was very aggressive Thursday and was in control of the offense. Hopefully this will be the game where Gaddy took strides forward that will stay with him. He looked comfortable going to the rim. When Wroten and Gaddy are on the same page the Huskies are capable of winning a lot of games. Simmons was very confident on the court. You wouldn’t think he is a freshman (red-shirt). Desmond is comfortable putting the ball on the floor and shooting from the three point line in. He was very active on the boards with eight rebounds and contributed with 13 points.

On Friday Allen talked about how both Wroten and Simmons are making outstanding contributions for freshmen, Tony doing so in ways that are more obvious, while Desmond working his magic more in less noticeable ways. The Dawgs looked good in the half court setting. They have had trouble all year long but against Beavers they all gelled. Free throw percentage was good for what the Huskies have been shooting all year. The Dawgs finished shooting 85% at the line. The Dawgs held Jarred Cunningham to only two points in the second half. The Huskies forced 13 turnovers and had six steals. Junior post Aziz N’Diaye played his kind of game and finished with 10 points and seven boards.

There were a few bad things about the OSU game though. Senior post Darnell Gant continued to struggle on offense. Simmons has stood out recently and appears poised to play a larger role than his back-up. Gant finished with six points, four fouls and two rebounds. Darnell has suffered from foul trouble as well and UW fans need to hope that he may be due to break out of this slump. Though Gant is doing all of the little things to help the team win, it would be disappointing to see him not get back to the much bigger scoring and rebounding role that he seemed to be headed towards earlier in the season. Sophomore guard Ross shot 4-11 from the field and finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Terrence has struggled lately on the offensive side but looked good on defense. Ross was assigned 6-foot-10 sophomore wing Devon Collier, probably the 2nd option after Cunningham for OSU and a dangerous scorer and slowed him to a manageable eight points. All is not completely bad for Ross, but based on his off-season improvements, his offense is due for a reawakening. Sophomore guard C.J. Wilcox didn’t have a good shooting night, but he did hit some key shots down the stretch and that only gave notice to the kind of breakout game that he would have against Oregon two nights later.

On Saturday the Huskies capped off their Oregon home series with a 76-60 win over Oregon. With a mediocre non-conference start, the Dawgs have started the Pac-12 conference 2-0 and now sit at 8-5 overall going into a road weekend in the Rocky Mountains. The contest was much more of a defensive struggle, though the YouTube highlight reel shows off some spectacular UW scoring plays. UW will face Colorado in a marquee match-up on Thursday at 6 p.m. (PST) and then go to Utah on Saturday for an early 11 a.m. (PST) tip off. That is one thing that scares me, as UW has looked it’s worst in early morning situations, like the first half against Duke and against South Dakota State.

There was a lot to be learned about the team in the last two games. One thing that stands out is that this UW team is scary to play when they all are on the same page. The Ducks were supposed to be a challenge to the Huskies. Romar had his team ready, as the Dawgs picked apart Oregon’s defense. Wilcox led the Huskies with 24 points, including six threes. There were questions about who would step up and lead the Husky team. Against the Ducks it was C.J. and Romar didn’t seem to feel as if that meant that Wilcox should necessarily return to the starting line-up, in his comments after the game on Saturday.

“If C.J. starts and he plays, if he comes off the bench and he plays with any combination we have, he’s going to do the same thing. Whatever combination we have C.J. is going to fit in.”

C.J. appeared to be humble and focused, even when getting all of the attention after the game court side, in a YouTube video interview on Saturday. Over the two game stretch, most everyone who was on the court contributed in the UW victories, but Wroten and Wilcox stood out the most. It was a good two game conference test for the Huskies and they aced it. Romar said in his opening remarks after the game on Saturday that one notable key, which included Wilcox again, was stopping Oregon’s go-to-guy.

“I thought we defended as well as we defended all year for an entire game this time. Abdul Gaddy and CJ Wilcox shared the responsibility of guarding their leading scorer Devoe Joseph. He was 1-13 and 0-5 from three. This game was won on the defensive end. And obviously CJ Wilcox gave us a big lift with his scoring and his defense.”

We learned much about the Huskies over the weekend against the Oregon schools. Wroten will be a huge piece of the Huskies success this year. Tony had a great game against Oregon State but looked his best against the Ducks too. What you get out of Wroten is a player any coach would love to have on their team. The sky is the limit for the young freshman. When Wroten has the ball in his hands, good things happen on the court for the Huskies. He can easily break his defender down to get to the rim, rebound, and get his teammates involved in the game. Wroten is also picking it up on defense and disrupting the passing lanes. Tony did regress at the free throw line, going 3-8 against the Ducks, dropping him to 8-15 for the weekend, which is not good for a point guard. It is extremely important for Tony to keep improving and a win/win for him and his UW team. Overall though, the weekend was another strong step forward for Tony, after a more subtle but very important change of direction in the last non-conference game against Cal-State Northridge. For his performances against the Oregon schools over the weekend, Wroten was given the Pac-12 Player of the Week award on Monday.

C.J. has added more intangibles to his game. Wilcox had a great shooting night against Oregon, but has proven that he can put the ball on the floor now and isn’t scared to go get a rebound or drive to the rim. The length of Wilcox is an advantage against shorter defenders. Wilcox can get his shot off real quick and with a shorter defender in his face and the chance of that shot going in are real high. Aziz’ presence down in the paint is a must for the Huskies. He might not put up the biggest numbers, but there is no question that the big man is alternating shots in the paint and making it hard for players to finish around the rim. Once N’Diaye can get his offensive game a little more polished, especially his free throws, he will likely be an NBA prospect, as a defensive oriented specialist.

Aziz blocked three shots against Oregon. The Huskies have the length that Romar has always wanted, especially on defense. The wings can get into the passing lanes and disrupt a team’s offense. When the Huskies are on the same page for close to 40-minutes on defense, like they were against Oregon, they can’t help from benefiting a lot on offense from it. The Huskies look good in a half court setting right now on offense. They have been executing well against the 2-3 Zone, which had been a difficulty early in the year. Simmons has the potential to put in work for the Huskies for the next four years. Dez fits the role of what Romar likes in his big men. He hustles, rebounds, can shoot and stays active on the court. Gant saw less minutes in the game once again versus the Ducks than Simmons. Don’t be surprised to see Simmons in the games more often. Romar talked about Simmons and Wroten, as to what they bring in the area of competition and fight, in between the two games on Friday.

“They’re both junkyard dogs. They’re not intimidated. In terms of how they play, they’re totally different players, but they have a mentality where they’re going to fight you. They’re not going to back down.”

It is a rare luxury in college basketball, to have a veteran starter and a 5th year senior like Darnell able to come off the bench to substitute capably at both post positions, but this is exactly what Romar has in Gant. Though some may feel let down to come off the bench in their senior year, that role may be best for the UW team going forward and the team first Darnell may actually thrive in it. Gaddy is a floor general. When it comes down to handling adversity on the court, Gaddy is the guy. His turnover to assist ratio is the best it has ever been in his career this season at 2.83/1, but over the last six games it is 4/1. With Tony and Abdul in the back court along with Wilcox and Ross, the Huskies possibly have the best rotation of guards in the nation.

Breunig, freshman post Shawn Kemp Jr, and freshman guard Hikeem Stewart won’t see many minutes this year on the court, unless there is injury, illness or foul trouble. Most of their time on the court will be split between garbage minutes and spot action. That isn’t a bad thing, because how many programs can say they have freshman guard Andrew Andrews, senior guard Scott Suggs, Breunig, Kemp, freshman post Jernard Jarreau and Stewart waiting in the wings for next year. All six players will see major minutes next year and for years to come. But for now, job one for Romar is keeping his team focused. The game at Colorado is going to be a huge challenge and the Dawgs have only won two conference home games that they normally win anyway, for all of their jubilation. Romar talked about how quick things can turn in this situation after the game on Saturday.

“There’s 16 more. In this conference you can start out sky high the first week, cause you won two games at home, and two weeks later you can be in eighth place.”

Winning can mess with the mind of a young team like the 2011-12 Huskies. Everyone all of a sudden is talking nice about them, as they did in the off-season and what resulted was losses to South Dakota State at home and all four of their road games. On Monday Seth Davis said to “Buy” Washington in his “Stock Report” column in sportsillustrated.cnn.com and Greg Hansen of azstarnet.com really poured it on thick.

“By March, Wroten should be the most feared player in the Pac-12, and is likely to be projected as an NBA lottery pick, perhaps in the first three or four selections. Given the talent of its first six players, if Washington doesn’t win the Pac-12, an investigation should follow.”

ESPN hasn’t begun to shower praise, but Andy Katz did give a “Shoutout” on Monday, while Eamonn Brennan raised the Dawgs from 6th to 3rd in his Pac-12 “Power Rankings” on Monday. I believe that the game against the Buffs on Thursday is going to be a tremendous challenge for UW. This is the first real chance for Colorado fans to be part of a Pac-12 conference game, with a veritable league power. Utah doesn’t count, as the 73-33 score indicated on Saturday. The Buffaloes will be out in force and though Romar played it down on Tuesday in his weekly press meeting, the altitude can be challenging. Lorenzo finally admitted that it most effects you as a player early in the game, so watch out for an early hole for UW to have to climb out of.

“It really affects you in the beginning of the game. As it goes on, you are all right.”

Sophomore wing Andre Roberson is an incredible player. In the Pac-12 ‘Dre is probably the best NBA prospect, along with Wroten. If you don’t believe me, then it may come as a surprise to you that, according to a tweet from UW media, “16 NBA scouts from 11 different teams will be in Boulder to watch UW and CU play tonight”. Andre has an ability to get to the ball, that reminds me a lot of Dennis Rodman. Like Rodman, but without all of the showmanship of his career in the NBA and beyond, Roberson is almost like an alien. I’ve been using the Rodman comparison for a while, but I thought I might be on an island with that one. I was surprised to also see Colorado coach Tad Boyle use it in the Daily Camera on Sunday. Andre is in possession of remarkable powers. He scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against Utah on Saturday, with three blocks. Lorenzo also talked about CU freshman point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who I feel is going to be a great one in the Pac-12 and likely beyond. Spencer scored 19 points against the Utes.

“He’s a guy that not only takes, but hits big shots early in his career. He looks really good. Defensively they’re very fundamentally sound and solid defensively. They don’t give you many easy baskets. Cal and Stanford. Those guys play defense like that. You’re not going to get anything cheap and easy.”

Alongside Roberson up front is senior Austin Dufault, a serviceable big man that plays his role well. Utah senior transfer Carlon Brown is a dependable scoring threat who must be slowed, while senior guard Nate Tomlinson is another capable role player. Off the bench is freshman guard Askia Booker, who is instant offense and energy off the bench and a dangerous weapon. One thing that jumps out is that other than N’Diaye, the Buffs can match UW’s size 1-5 at 6-foot-3, 6-foot-5, 6-foot-5, 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9. When you consider the skill level in rebounding of Roberson though that looks even more daunting. This is a game where the ability of Gant, Simmons and Aziz switching over, to keep in front of ‘Dre is the key. Roberson and N’Diaye are 1-2 in rebounding so far in the Pac-12. The match-up with Simmons and Roberson, could serve as a rite of passage (with either a good or a bad result) for Desmond, who talked to the media on Tuesday about how he takes great pride in his rebounding.

“It’s just a desire to go get the rebound. When you see the ball go up and go off the rim, my mind is like ‘by all means I have to do whatever it takes to get this rebound’.”

After being beaten on the glass by Oregon, improving their rebounding is essentially a make or break against the Buffs. I think the Dawgs win if they keep the rebounding even or win it, based on better play makers (though Dinwiddie is really good and Brown and Booker as well), as long as UW’s guys stay true to form. That is a very big if though on the road and with the altitude factor. Colorado are no patsies and they will be a major test for UW. The Dawgs passed the test over the weekend, but unless they show that they can win on the road, at least look as if they can win with some consistency, this season is likely to end without a school record 4th straight NCAA bid. Gant can become the only player in UW history to go to four “Big Dances” this season. Darnell talked about the challenge facing UW in Boulder CO, at the media press meeting on Tuesday.

“From past experiences we have so far, everybody knows what we have to do on the road. We got to defend and certain things we do at home, we can’t do on the road.”

This is the type of leadership that is necessary to have a winning environment. It is too bad that Suggs couldn’t be part of this, but his presence next season should be a very big advantage. It’s a trade off and not a bad one, as Scott will have another year to get better. Scott will be one of three seniors, along with Gaddy and N’Diaye in 2012-13. Abdul is already starting to show more leadership. On Tuesday he talked about the growing chemistry between he and Wilcox, who will also be a major factor next season. He also, like Gant, showed leadership by stressing the importance of defense.

“I think we keep getting better each day. We keep playing off each other and we know that if we keep having fun playing defense we’ll be able to get easy buckets on offense. Everyone is going to be able to score and get highlights, dunks, all those type of things. Mainly the focus is on defense so we can have that chemistry on offense.”

Wilcox talked on Tuesday about returning home for the Utah game, to the Salt Lake City area where he grew up a Utah fan.

“(Keith) Van Horn; being in Utah Valley, BYU was the school everyone watched, but I like watching Utah and BYU. I’m more of a Utah fan, but my dad went to BYU so I watched more of them”

Washington is very lucky to have players as good as C.J. and Simmons coming off the bench. Who will start and who will sit, is not as important as who plays when the lights are on. Though he did come off the bench early in the year, it was hard to see a scenario where Romar would not be starting Wroten. As a freshman, he is already one of the top 4-5 players in the Pac-12 and climbing at a rapid rate. On Thursday morning thehoopsreport.com listed Tony as the 7th best freshman so far this season nationally. He should move up after his performance against the Oregon schools. Bleacher Report listed Wroten as the 5th best freshman in the nation on Wednesday. Fox Sports on Tuesday went as far as to say that, “Wroten is the best left-hander out of Seattle Garfield High since Jimi Hendrix”. Funny what playing defense, eliminating TO’s and making FT’s (at least against OSU) can do. On Wednesday Doug Haller asked the question, “Is freshman Wroten a conference POY candidate?” and even Dick Vitale threw Tony into his Diaper Dandy of the Year discussion. What has changed for Wroten appears to be a new found commitment to winning as a team. He spoke to the media about that on Tuesday and it sounds as if Tony and the others behind the scenes are getting it that team play is the only way that they are going to be successful.

“After losing, we realize we hate losing. So we had meetings, talking about (how) we don’t want to lose no more. We want to go undefeated, but we got to look forward and buckle down. We’ve been playing a lot better team ball, bonding more together and it’s helping us on the court too.”