Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Washington, WSU

Romar's Huskies Look to Overtake Bennett's Cougars

Jan 2, 2009

Washington State and Coach Tony Bennett have dominated Pac-10 play in the Northwest the past two years but Lorenzo Romar's Washington team wants to change that.

Pacific-10 Conference basketball in the Northwest has been dominated by Coach Tony Bennett and Washington State the past two seasons but Lorenzo Romar's Washington team looks like its ready to sing a different tune this year.

Bennett was the National Coach of the Year in 2007 and has led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons in Pullman, losing in the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. But Romar and the Huskies appear primed to regain their status as the best Pac-10 Team from the state. The following is the last in a five-part series, previewing the Pac-10 Basketball teams from Washington. Conference play began Friday, Jan. 2.

Huskies Looking to Return to Prominence

Romar is in his seventh year in Seattle, a longer tenure than any coach in the conference except Oregon's Ernie Kent. He took over a team that finished eighth or ninth in the conference for three consecutive seasons, began a string of three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament in his second year, and then watched the Huskies slip to seventh and eighth place finishes the past two seasons.

Last year, Washington was 16-17, just its second year below .500 under Romar. They have looked much better so far this season, with a 9-3 record that includes a 9-0 mark at home. Since opening the season with an embarrassing loss at the University of Portland, the Huskies have only suffered losses to Kansas and Florida.

Brockman Seeks Place Among Conference Greats

Jon Brockman, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, returns to lead the Huskies and seeks to join Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Trevor Wilson and Adam Keefe as the only players to win three consecutive conference rebounding titles. Brockman is averaging 16.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game after posting figures of 17.8 and 11.6, respectively, last season. He is also shooting nearly 58 percent from the field.

Little freshman guard Isaiah Thomas (5-8) has been the most impressive newcomer so far, averaging 14.8 points and 3.1 assists per game while making 14 of 42 3-point tries.

Justin Dentmon, a 5-11 guard who was a part-time starter a year ago, is averaging 12.4 points and has made 16 of 41 3-point attempts while 6-6 forward Quinton Pondexter is averaging 8.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game..

The top player off the bench has been Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who is averaging 9.0 points and has been a big help to Brockman inside on both ends of the floor: grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game and shooting just under 60 percent from the field.

Washington has played solid defense to date, holding opponents to under 41 percent shooting while outrebounding them by nearly 12 boards per game.

Growing Pains for Bennett, Cougars

Bennett, who led the Cougars to records of 26-9 and 26-8 the past two seasons, enters only his third year as head coach, but that's much more experience than most of his players have. Nine freshman dot the Cougars' roster and the team's lack of game experience could prove insurmountable in conference play this season.

The Cougars are 8-4, with losses to Pittsburgh, Baylor, Gonzaga and Louisiana State. They still seemed to be searching for their identity as conference play began, and in fact very few of the freshman had made a noticeable impact.

Aron Baynes and Taylor Rochestie, the only two returning starters and two of just four seniors on the roster, have done their best to lead the young group. Baynes, a 6-10 center, leads the team in scoring (11.4 points per game) and rebounding (6.0). Rochestie, a 6-1 point guard, is averaging 10 points, leads the team at 4.8 assists per game and has made 14 of 45 3-pointers.

Freshman With NBA Ties

Klay Thompson, son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson, has by far been the most impressive freshman for the Cougars. The 6-6 guard is averaging 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds while making 17 of 51 3-point tries.

Senior Daven Harmeling, a 6-7 forward who was a key sub last year, has moved into the starting lineup and is averaging 7.3 points per game. He has also been the team's top 3-point shooter, making 20 of 46 attempts.

Senior forward Caleb Forrest (6.2 points per game), junior guard Nikola Koprivica (5.3) and freshman forward DeAngelo Casto (4.3 and 4.0 rebounds) have been Washington State's other key players.

Bennett took over a Washington State program that had a string of 10 consecutive losing seasons, and led it to second and third place finishes in the Pac-10. Just finishing above .500 this year would be a major accomplishment.

http://college-basketball.suite101.com/article.cfm/pac10_basketball_preview_ucla_usc

The copyright of the article Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Washington, WSU in College Basketball is owned by Billy Rhodes. Permission to republish Pac-10 Basketball Preview: Washington, WSU in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Jan 5, 2009 10:03 AM

Phil Partington :

Might behoove you to mention that UW had the single worst FT% last year in the nation! Yikes!

Dentmon sucks. Thomas is looking solid and Brockman's a beast. I'm excited for next year when Abdul Gaddey joins the team.