Washington Husky Huddle from May 3rd 2011

According to ESPN’s Andy Katz on Thursday, “A number of NBA personnel said they wouldn’t be surprised if Maryland’s Jordan Williams, Butler’s Shelvin Mack, Washington’s Isaiah Thomas, Boston College’s Reggie Jackson or Fresno State’s Greg Smith all stayed in the draft”.

That would go with what I’m hearing as well, that Thomas will stay in the draft. He said he would when he announced and it appears that he won’t waver from that decision, despite a number of critics.

Isaiah also has his supporters though. On Portland fan blog blazersedge.com, Blazer Guy posted his opinion that the way Jason Terry was effective against the taller Blazers, Thomas would be a smart pick-up.

“One thing that really stood out last night (and throughout the series) was the Blazers lack of a speedy ball handler and on-ball-defender. Jason Terry and J.J. Barea drove into the lane at will, setting up easy shots for themselves or dishing

to open guys near the basket….Thomas is short, but he’s lightning quick and is an excellent scorer and facilitator in the paint. He’s also a very good, very underrated defender. I think NBA GMs consistently overvalue height at the PG position. In the post-hand check era — and with the NBA’s bigger 3 point radius and rules against camping in the paint defensively — tiny lightning bug point guards are a major weapon.”

Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated said on Thursday that it’s “difficult to criticize his decision”.

I have criticized his decision and I will continue to do it. Whatever length of pro career Thomas has, it will not be hurt by staying one more year. He will break all of the records, gain much more national notoriety and also get a chance to work on his game more. It will be a challenge for him to make the NBA and more work is only going to help him succeed.

It’s not like Thomas is going to be in the NBA and his choice of when is going to affect how long. I question whether he is going to make it at all and another year will definitely help his chances.The Hoops Report on Monday released the list of players that will be attending the NBA Draft Combine May 7-8 in East Rutherford, NJ and Thomas will play on May 8th.

If he is to pull out, he must file paperwork immediately after the event and I doubt he will. I hope I’m wrong and that Thomas does very well in the NBA draft and next year in the league, but if that doesn’t happen, the next best thing would be that he sees the value of playing one more year at UW if he is not drafted. Bleacher Report listed the “Top-15 college players who probably won’t get drafted” on Tuesday and Thomas made the list.

“Thomas has time and again been compared to fellow U-Dub alum Nate Robinson, as both are diminutive guards who can score in bunches. That comparison doesn’t exactly bode well for Thomas, as Robinson, who is more athletic and has a better shot than Thomas, has been inconsistent in the NBA at best.”

Next year’s UW team will still be a good one, as Husky teams go, despite Thomas’ decision. Romar braced Husky fans for a slow start, or as his team’s history at UW would seem to suggest, another slow start, according to the Seattle Times on Monday.

“Next year I think we’re going to have – not eight 7-footers or anything like that – but our guards are going to be bigger than what we’ve had here. We’ve got some good players returning. I think we can have a really good team. I think it may happen later than earlier, but we’re going to work to try to make it happen earlier. I think we have some tools on this roster to allow us to be pretty good.”

I feel that Romar is telling the truth, but Allen talked about the spring signing period slipping away without UW signing another big man. I don’t think that is going to happen, in fact I think that UW is going to get a good one or two guys.

One excellent prospect is Trinidadian (by way of Canada) center Richard Peters, who got his ACT scores on Tuesday, according to Husky Digest. Peters told Husky Digest that he received a qualifying score, as long as he maintains a 2.5 GPA on his next report card. With that he should be able to sign with Washington, who are his stated leader.

Peters told Husky Digest that he will be visiting UW unofficially this weekend, if everything works out for his and the UW staff’s schedule. When asked if he would commit if everything checked out in Seattle he said “probably”. Peters also mentioned that he didn’t want to burn his bridges with other schools, but he sounded very sold on the Dawgs.

Azcentral.com spoke to Peters coach on Tuesday.

“Westwind Prep coach Bobby Bossman said Peters has great footwork and a shooting touch that extends to 15 feet. He said Peters also understands the game, knowing when to pass out of a double team in the post. ‘He’s not explosive, but he knows how to finish and he works,’ Bossman said.”

Could a guy from frigid Ontario be scared away by the Seattle weather. I doubt it, but until the ink is dry nothing is certain in recruiting. Even then, things can and do happen that aren’t good, like posts Charles Garcia, Zach Johnson and Tyreese Breshers grades and health problems and unexpected transfers like wing Phil Nelson and guard Adrian Oliver.

Another possibility for UW to fill one of the two remaining spots for next fall is Kansas State transfer Wally Judge. It may be that the Dawgs will be on the winning side of a transfer decision with Judge, but it appears that location will play a major part in his decision. Judge has been talking about visiting UW soon, but nothing as of yet is confirmed.

From the sound of comments by Judge in Zagsblog on Monday, he may be an “east coast” guy.

“I feel like a lot of the guys on the team was city guys. That’s a breath of fresh air. Basically they were off the East Coast just like me. A lot of things like team chemistry we can relate. They have guys from all over. At the same time, it’s on the East Coast. The whole city has a comfortable surrounding.”

There are a number of other prospects that UW is looking at, all of them big men and most from overseas. Mark Knight pf Husky Haul and I spoke at length and in detail on that subject on “Talkin’ Hoops” Monday night. We covered the UW 2011 big men prospects, as the well as the possibility of a high-profile walk-on guard.

Why a big man would pass on playing at UW, with so many talented guards and wings is up for debate, but with passers like 2011 signee Tony Wroten and rising junior Abdul Gaddy, a capable big kid is going to look pretty good on any team in my opinion. Wroten was ranked 16th in a consensus 2011 top-100, based on the rankings of ESPN, Scout and Rivals combined.