Pac-12 Notebook: Huskies retooling, but still command respect
Ken Cross, Pac-12 Columnist
The Washington Huskies are in transition which means Lorenzo Romar’s program is now at a point where it is not rebuilding, but reloading. The Huskies lost the inner-face of last year’s nucleus of Isaiah Thomas, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, and Justin Holiday, but the restructuring of the team has come around the mature play of freshman guards Tony Wroten, Terrence Ross, and C.J. Wilcox (below, Scott Ecklund) coming off the bench.
“Washington is a different animal,” commented Colorado coach Tad Boyle, “I have a lot of respect for them because they do not have many weaknesses. Washington is a team that is capable of transition and pressuring the basket. You have to exert strength from 15 feet in while take shooting jump shots out of their hands.”
When Romar adds guards in returnee Abdul Gaddy and big men Aziz
N’Diaye, and Terrence Ross, he sees a basketball team that
really only needs to develop it’s depth to get firmly back
into the Pac-12 title conversations. Gaddy has returned to
form after an injury sidelined him last season. He leads the Pac-12
in assist-to-turnover ration of 2.9 while placing third on the
Pac-12 charts in assists.
Wroten, the freshman phenom, has joined him to form a prolific tandem in the backcourt that is going to be tough to guard for most teams that UW faces. Through Romar’s tenure, the Huskies have almost always been able to put two impactful guards in the backcourt.
“We have had Nate Robinson and Isaiah Thomas who were very ball dominant and we have had multiple ballhandlers and scorers on the floor together since I have been here,” he said.
Wroten is a special player who could be a one-and-done talent who heads to the NBA after this season. Romar probably would rather not think about that at this juncture as Wroten’s presence on the court has been major in him being second in the Pac-12 with 16.8 ppg. and fourth in steals at 1.6 per contest. He averages 27.3 mpg. and shoots an even 50% from the floor. He commands the ball as well as he has taken 20.1% of UW’s shots.
“Tony is from here,” said Romar, “Guys have played with him and he has been known for quite a while. They know how he has played and what to expect. I don’t think there has been any resentment.”
Wilcox has started 11 of 13 games and is second in scoring. Romar changed his lineup to bring him off the bench last week as he made 12-of-24 shots from the floor and averaged 19.5 ppg. in those two. He is a marksman and will command defensive attention in the game plans as he has shot a blazing 45.3% from behind the arc to lead the Pac-12 with 2.8 triples per game.
“C.J. is one of the best shooters in the game and when you have someone out there like that, it opens up the offense for everyone else,” said Romar. “He is a defender too and we have no problem putting him on the opponents’ best offensive player.”
UW opened its league schedule with a pair of wins over Oregon State and Oregon when the Huskies held the two teams to a combined 41.5%. If they can defend that thoroughly and get more out of their bench, Washington could be a challenger and in the hunt throughout.
Twitter: @kcrossizballin
Pac-12 newsstand: Quick reads from Pullman to Tempe
If things could get worse for Arizona State coach Herb Sendek, he has suspended Keala King, Chris Colvin, and Kyle Cain for this weekend’s action against USC and UCLA.
USC athletic director Pat Haden understands the plight of K.O. in Los Angeles.
Oregon State needs to start quicker and put pressure on its opponents.
Stat of the Week
UCLA’s sophomore guard Tyler Lamb got off to a strong start in Pac-12 play at Cal and Stanford last week. Although the Bruins lost both games in the Bay Area, Lamb averaged 18 ppg. in the two while shooting 59.1% from the floor and making five-of-11 triples. Lamb had 26 points in 38 minutes vs. the Bears.
Spanning the Pac-12: A quick look through each of the divisions
Northern Lights: Washington’s Terrence Ross leads the Huskies with 17.5 ppg in four games away from Seattle, but is third at 13 ppg, in home contests…Washington State’s Faisal Aden missed three games earlier this year with a concussion, but has shown resilience in returning as he is second in scoring, averaging 13 ppg. He has eased back into the lineup in averaging just over 18 mpg. during those four outings...Cal is 11-0 in Haas Pavilion this season and is 2-0 in the conference for the first time since Mike Montgomery’s first season in 2008-09...Stanford has held 10 opponents to 60 points or under this year in getting off to a 12-2 start. Last Saturday, the Cardinal held USC to 34.1% as Trojans leading scorer Maurice Jones was only 1-of-12...Oregon’s Devoe Joseph has scored double figures for the Ducks in seven of eight games since becoming eligible as a transfer from Minnesota on Dec.10...Oregon State had 10 steals in last weekend’s loss at Washington State. It was the sixth time this season that the Beavers had 10 or more thefts.
Southern Comfort: Arizona limited Arizona State to 36.0 percent shooting in a 68-51 win last Saturday. This marked the fifth time this year that the Wildcats have held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting….Arizona State has used 11 different lineups this season, the most since using 13 in the 2003-04 campaign…Colorado coach Tad Boyle is the first Buffaloes coach to win back-to-back conference openers to start a season since Frosty Cox in 1935-36 and 1936-37…USC has been outscored from the free throw line by 36 points although it has taken six more free throws than opponents. The Trojans shoot only at 59.6 percent while the opposition connects at a 76.2 mark….Utah junior forward Dijon Farr has been a nice surprise for the struggling Utes in his last four games as he has averaged 11.5 per game over that period…UCLA guard Lazeric Jones has averaged 16.1 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.6 rebounds with 1.9 steals in the Bruins’ last nine contests.
Who’s Hot: Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado – The freshman point guard from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif. Has been lighting the lamp for CU in the last five games as he leads the team in scoring with 15.6 ppg. and is shooting 54% from the floor, making 11-of-19 three point field goals. At 6-5, Dinwiddie’s length is making him a tough player on the perimeter as he will be a matchup problem throughout the year for the Buffs’ opponents.
Who’s Not: Arizona State. It has been a tough ride for Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek and the Sun Devils so far this campaign. ASU can’t seem to find the keys to prosperity as they are 3-6 in nine games decided by six points or less. They were 1-3 in a stretch between Dec. 10-21 where four consecutive games were decided by three points or less.
Ken’s High Five: Pac-12 players who are producing, but not getting enough love
*Brock Motum, Washington State - The 6-10 post had a 25-point outburst in Wazzu’s 81-76 win over Oregon State last week as he went 10-15 from the floor. In addition, he has turned in to a key go-to player in Ken Bone’s offense in shooting 55.8% from the floor.
* Trent Lockett, Arizona State – Lockett is at the top of most Pac-12 scouting reports, but nationally, with the Sun Devils struggling, he is being overlooked for such unselfish play. Lockett has four double-doubles, third best in the league this year and leads ASU in shooting 52.7% from the field and is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg.
*Andre Roberson, Colorado – Roberson is one
of four Buffalo starters who is averaging double figures at 12.1
ppg. The kicker is that he is averaging a double-double as he leads
CU in rebounding with 12 per contest with 18 total blocks.
(right, courtesy Tony Harman)
*David Kravish, Cal - The Bears’ freshman forward has found himself in Mike Montgomery’s starting lineup with excellent workmanship in the post and a very good court presence. He shoots 55.9% from the floor and had a career-high 13 in last Saturday’s 85-69 win over UCLA.
* Garrett Sim, Oregon - Sim leads four Duck starters in double figures as he leads Oregon with 31.8 mpg. as well. Sim has a very good total floor game and the kind of leadership that could put the 10-4 Ducks on the brink of the NCAA Tournament.
Cross-Continental Take: O’Neill is the King of the Reclamation Projects
I first got to know Kevin O’Neill when I was a high school basketball coach in North Carolina and I took my varsity team to team camp when he was the head coach at Tennessee. I found the man known as “KO” to be very engaging in conversation and just a downright brilliant tactician on the basketball court as well as many other walks of life.
O’Neill is having a tough go right now as USC lost Jio
Fontan for the year and has been forced into playing two freshmen,
two sophomores, and a red-shirt junior with all 10of his players
averaging double figures in minutes. The interesting thing is
that USC has lost six games by four or less points as O’Neill
continues to accentuate his trademark defense which keeps USC in
games.
“I am shocked at how good we have been defensively because these guys are so young and new,” O’Neill said, “I am frustrated though that these guys are no getting rewarded.”
Although his career record is 228-233, check out O’Neill’s stops and the depths of despair that the programs were in when he took over – Marquette (1990-94), Tennessee (1995-1997), and Northwestern (1998-2000). He came back to Lute Olson’s bench at Arizona in 2008 after a stint in the NBA. He was later named interim-coach and led the Wildcats into the NCAA Tournament as he fielded a starting roster of freshmen and sophomores.
His stringent defensive system has allowed his teams to weather storms and stay in games. “I think almost anybody can be a good defender in a system,” O’Neill explained, “They have to be good guys that are selfless. The guys we have brought in buy in on the defensive end.”
* * *
Kevin O'Neill photo courtesy USC Athletics
