Category Archives: Huskies Basketball

Posts dealing with Huskies basketball

by | February 6, 2011 · 12:09 am

It’s Been A Good Year

Today marks one year of existence for the Good Guys blog.  It’s been a funny year in Seattle sports.  One of the first posts I wrote was about the Mariners resigning Erik Bedard.  I was excited, for good reason, saying that even in the worst case scenario, it was a great signing.  What I didn’t expect was that every worst case scenario (save for Felix and Cliff) would come true for the Mariners.  The future looks brighter now for the Mariners.  I can’t wait to watch Dustin Ackley and Michael Pineda develop, and it’s about time that a guy like Michael Saunders became a productive major leaguer.  Still, 2010 was about the most depressing year I could imagine for a baseball team.

Luckily, we got to cover the Huskies last minute run into the Sweet 16. It took three quarters of the season to get them rolling, but once they got there, it couldn’t have been any better. Quincy Pondexter was dominant, Matthew Bryan-Amaning turned into the guy we all were waiting for, and the Pac-10 tournament brought a championship and an amazing amount of unintentional entertainment. And it introduced the world to Beach Girl 5 and Unbreakable. Ultimately, the season ended a little short, but that tends to be the case for most teams, and this was one team that was worth cheering for.

I didn’t really realize it until just now, but the Husky football season somewhat mirrored the basketball season.  After high expectations to start the year, the team fell a little flat, sitting at 3-6 and needing three straight wins for their first bowl game in years.  They got them in dramatic fashion, on the shoulders of Chris Polk, Mason Foster and Jake Locker. More than a few people predicted a Holiday Bowl appearance when the year started, but no one thought they would slide in with a 6-6 record, and no one gave them a chance in a rematch against Nebraska. They surprised us all, with one of the great performances we’ve seen from the Dawgs in a long time. Jake Locker didn’t have the personal season most expected, but he improbably accomplished his goal of leading his team to a bowl game. He leaves Husky Stadium a legend and someone to be remembered for how he played the game and all he gave to the University of Washington. We’ll miss you, Jake.

The year also brought the World Cup, another successful Sounders season, and a Seahawks playoff run that was improbable, controversial, and earth-shaking, literally. Now we’re a week away from spring training for the Mariners, just past football signing day (Andrew’s favorite holiday). If the Huskies can get rolling on the court again, we’ll be well on our way to a great year.

Aside from using this as an opportunity to shamelessly link all of my favorite posts from this year, I want to thank everyone who read anything we wrote this past year.  We started writing this mostly for ourselves.  Andrew (my brother), Dan (brother-in-law), and I thought it would be easier writing all of our sports thoughts than texting them to each other or waiting until we were together to talk about them, so almost on a whim we started this blog.  Joe joined up a few days later, and we’ve had a blast writing this past year.  While we’d probably be writing this whether anyone reads it or not, we’re still excited and honored that anyone takes the time to stop by.

You never know what a year is going to bring, in sports or in life.  This past year has seen Dan become a father, and I went back to school, where I’m about to start student teaching.  This time next year, hopefully I’ll be teaching high schoolers how to write.  Whatever comes along, I’d have a tough time without sports to follow.  It’s a diversion during bad times, and it can make the good times even better.  Hopefully this year brings a Final Four, a Rose Bowl, and anything good at all for the Mariners.  I won’t be picky on that. 

On behalf of all of us writers here, thanks for reading and sharing in the experience.  We’d love to hear from more of you this year.  Take care, and we hope this next year is a good one for all of you.

-Matthew

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by | February 1, 2011 · 4:58 pm

Catching Up

The Good Guys’ are a little busy lately, and you may have noticed by the lack of posting.  Last week was the busiest week of my life.  Matthew is in school, observing school, about to teach school, and working all at once.  Joe is keeping up his busy life.  And Dan trumps us all by being a new father.  That should explain the lack of fresh material.  So, here’s the short end of what we missed this last week (going by teams):

Seattle Mariners: We didn’t miss much… They signed Jamey Wright, which is fine and fits in with all the other minor pieces that add depth to the roster.  They had FanFest, which is pretty cool.  Chone Figgins was about to be traded, and then he wasn’t.  Maybe the most exciting bit of news that’s coming out lately is all of the prospect lists that include Mariner prospects.  Most of the “Top 100 Prospects”  lists include 3 Mariners, and those are Dustin Ackley (second baseman), Michael Pineda (starting pitcher), and Nick Franklin (shortstop).  There are still some pretty significant lists to come out, but all of them are sure to include these 3 players.  Ackley has generally been in the top 5-20 prospects.  Pineda is usually somewhere in the top 10-30 prospects and Franklin generally comes in around 35-50.  This is something to be excited about if you’re a Mariners fan.  The depth in the organization is in a better place than it has been in years and is further proof that I think Jack Z is one of the best GM’s in the game despite the lack of results the big-league club has shown.

Spring Training starts in a couple of weeks and that will give us more meaningless news to talk about.  Yes, you read that right.

Husky Basketball: A week after a very strong showing against the Arizona Wildcats, the Huskies played their worst game of the season in losing to Wazzu on Sunday night.  It was not fun to watch, which is something we don’t say about this team very often.  They played extremely sloppy and couldn’t make a shot to save their lives in the 2nd half.  Lots of people are pretty worried about the way the team looked, I’m not.  That was the most hostile environment the Huskies will play in all year (don’t get me started on their fans), and the Cougars played the best I’ve seen them play.  Frankly, I think the dawgs just had an off-night.  I also think it’s pretty telling that the Huskies played their worst game of the year, the Cougars played one of their best and it was still only a 7-point loss.  We’ll get them back at Hec. Ed.

Husky Football: Here’s what we really missed.  Every year in college football, recruiting gets more hectic, and that has never been more telling than the last 2 weeks.  I won’t go into detail about recruits who will be signing tomorrow (because I plan to be having a live thread throughout the morning and afternoon that will be about the recruits) but there seems to be a new rumor every hour.  Today’s special rumor includes De’Anthony Thomas (who some services have as the number 1 recruit in the nation) coming to UW along with about half his team.  I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that this won’t happen, but it’s nice that the Huskies are in the center of all these rumors and shows that the program is becoming relevant again.  I have a feeling that tomorrow could yield some special surprises.  And if not, this class is still great!

By the way, tomorrow should be a national holiday.  I plan to make it a holiday for myself.  I will be running a live thread throughout the day (aside from going to one class for a test and having to stop by work for 15 minutes).  If you have any questions on recruits or anything Seattle sports related, stop by and put something in the comments.  If all goes as planned, I should be starting around 7 or 7:30 in the morning, so stop by!

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

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by | January 16, 2011 · 9:20 pm

Raise The Roof

Can we put a stop to the discussion of who is the best player in the Pac-10?  I’d take Derrick Williams and Klay Thompson on my team any day, even though Thompson drives me nuts, but no player is doing more better right now than Isaiah Thomas.  He’s gone from a very good shooting guard to the best point guard in the conference, and one of the best in the nation, in what seems like the blink of an eye.

As disappointing as it was to lose Abdul Gaddy for the year, and it would certainly be nice to have him around, his injury could be the catalyst for this team to jump to another level.  With Isaiah running the point to perfection, that allows UW to add one of their rangy swingmen to the line-up, which no team in the Pac can really match.  Or they play Overton and IT together and they can wreak havoc on the perimeter and in the lane.

Following Gaddy’s injury, Thomas seemed to take it upon himself to carry the team, and he has, despite the loss to Stanford.  IT spent the day before the first game without Gaddy proclaiming on Twitter that he was going to start the movement to bring back the Raise the Roof.  That night, he got his first dunk of his college career and started the movement.  He kept it up two nights later to win his first Pac-10 player of the week award, and tonight he posted his first double-double with 27 points and 12 assists, with only 1 turnover.  If the Huskies keep rolling to the conference title and IT plays anywhere close to this level the rest of the way, I can’t see how he doesn’t win the conference player of the year award. 

Keep it up, IT.  I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have running these Huskies.

Some notes after the jump! Continue reading →

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by | January 13, 2011 · 6:24 am

The Situation at Montlake

By now most people have heard about the serious accusations being leveled against a member of the UW’s men’s basketball team. It’s a hot button issue, and only getting hotter since last night. King 5 news had an interview with the alleged victim’s father and the UW hoops team traveled to Stanford with a full roster, meaning the player in question will play tonight verses the Cardinal. I wanted to share my thoughts on this situation because frankly I think it’s a very simple and clear problem that can be addressed easily.

First of all, until charges are filed and a name is made public, Coach Romar simply cannot suspend the player. If he were to do that he could cause irreparable harm to the man’s reputation if the accusations are false or not enough evidence is found and therefore there is no case. He’d have that stigma over his head needlessly (Duke lacrosse comes to mind, slightly different, but similar…). So at this point Romar has no choice but to take the whole team. (I have a feeling this is coming down from the AD who was contacted by Seattle police, Romar isn’t making this call all on his own).

If charges are indeed filed and a name is made public, you suspend the player indefinitely. I think at that point the player has much bigger issues to deal with than a game of basketball. Innocence or guilt don’t come into the equation in this step. It’s the right thing to do for the alleged victim, the player, the team and the university. By suspending him then, he is out of the public eye and the case is allowed to progress normally, and the team can simply move.

The fact is if the accusations are true the player should be thrown off the team for good. The accusations are repulsive and disgusting. Coach Romar is above this and should act accordingly. One player does not define a program, and Romar has built this program on trust, honestly and integrity, and idiots like this player have no place in the UW program. Additionally, we need to remember this is one player, not the whole team. I hope fans and non-fans alike realize this and don’t lump the one idiot in with the other players and coaches. That’s simply not fair.

In short, this is a very clear situation: No name, no charges? Can’t suspend or make public. Charges filed with the player identified? Suspend him for the betterment of all involved and simply move on without him.

-Joe

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by | January 8, 2011 · 7:00 pm

Seattle Sports Twilight Zone

Amazing day in Seattle sports. I’m not really sure all of this happened:

The Seahawks win despite being largest home dog in NFL Playoff history, continuing their improbable run deeper into the NFL playoffs.

Matt Hasselbeck looked like a spry 23 year old out there dropping dimes to Stokely and Williams. Hard to believe since he had his hip drained this morning.

Marshawn Lynch’s run was the greatest ever. Period.

The Huskies hang 63 on the Beavs in the second half en-route to a 31 point blowout and a 4-0 start to Pac-10 league play.

The Huskies football team land a big commit, James Sample, today during the Army All-American bowl. Things just keep getting better for Sark and the Dawgs on the recruiting trail.

I am certain something good happened to the Mariners today, I’ll back to you on that.

One day closer to the Hornets moving to Seattle.

And finally, Bennett Scansen’s first big sports day. Can’t get any better than that! (I’m eagerly awaiting your first post big guy!!).

-Joe

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by | January 5, 2011 · 4:31 pm

Gaddy Out

It was announced today that Abdul Gaddy has torn his ACL and will be out for the rest of the year.  This is obviously bad news.  Gaddy had taken a tremendous step forward this year and is now out for the rest of the year.

Even with this injury, the Huskies are the deepest team in the conference.  Gaddy is a true point guard, but Isaiah Thomas is morphing into that more and more which could soften the blow of losing Gaddy.

Two questions come to mind with this injury:

  • How bad does this hurt the Huskies?
  • Who takes Gaddy’s minutes?

Any injury to a starting player is bad.  That goes without saying.  But, of the 5 Husky starters, Gaddy might have been the least valuable.  That’s not to say he’s not valuable, he clearly was.  But, the Huskies couldn’t afford to lose a big man and they are deep at the guard position.  Overton and Thomas will take over point guard duties.  Sometimes they’ll be in at the same time.  Those two can’t get in foul trouble because the Huskies can’t afford to lose a ball handler.  Also, Gaddy was good at settling down the offense into the half court sets.  That will be missed.

As for who takes Gaddy’s minutes?  Clearly, Overton will get a bump in playing time.  Hopefully he’s healthy enough for that.  Also, the trio of Ross, Wilcox, and Suggs will get more.  Because of his play lately, I’d like to see Ross get more minutes.  As would most of Husky nation.  The Huskies lineup will be taller now and more lengthy, which could be a good thing.  I’m not sure who will take Gaddy’s spot in the stating lineup.  I would vote for Ross, because I think Overton is more effective off the bench.

Make no mistake, this is a big loss for the Huskies, but, I don’t think it ends the Huskies season.  I think they will be just fine.  I could be wrong but I sure hope not.

Andrew

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by | January 3, 2011 · 1:24 pm

Huskies +/- vs. UCLA

I didn’t realize that Matthew and I put up posts right at the same time.  Check out his right below this one.

Here are the +/- numbers from Saturday.

Abdul Gaddy: +15
Isaiah Thomas: +17
Justin Holiday: +15
MBA: +7
Aziz N’Diaye: +1
Venoy Overton: -3
Darnell Gant: +14
Scott Suggs: -1
Terrance Ross:
C.J. Wilcox: +2

A few things stuck out to me.  I didn’t expect Gaddy’s number to be so high.  But, after re-watching the game, he played pretty well.  His shot wasn’t falling but the offense was smoother when he was in the game.  Also, he benefited from being out of the game when UCLA went on their run in the second half.  Overton was in at that time and that’s why his numbers were so low.

I was also surprised by how high Gant ranked on here.  He didn’t score a ton, but he played a great game.  He might be the Huskies best defender, which is really saying something.

MBA’s numbers were a little low, and this is why this stat is somewhat flawed.  MBA played what might have been his best game of the season and this stat doesn’t reflect it.  Otherwise, these are pretty close to what I’d thought they’d be.  (They are who we thought they were!)

Go Seahawks!  Believe Big……

Andrew

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by | January 2, 2011 · 9:42 pm

One Week Down

Week one of the Pac-10 basketball season is over and the Huskies sit atop the Pac, tied at 2-0 in conference with Oregon State, of all teams.  The Dawgs now host the Oregon schools in what should be an easy week, although Saturday’s game against OSU could be interesting.  Some really quick observations:

  • WSU went winless against the same opponents UW swept.  WSU has lots of offensive talent, but it looks like they still have some holes, especially on the inside.  There’s lot of season left, but I can’t say they scare me a ton.  I’m always happy to see the Cougars lose, especially after they’ve been getting hyped up the last few weeks.
  • California and Stanford is now looking like the easiest road trip of the year.  Before the season, everyone would have guessed the Oregon schools would get that honor, and they still might, but Stanford doesn’t have many threats and Cal is extremely young.  Cal at least has a couple of decent post players, which might challenge the Dawgs, but they don’t have much else.
  • It’s hard to say right now who sits at #2 in the conference.  Arizona should be tough, but they just lost to OSU and didn’t look real great doing it.  The L.A. schools are the scariest to me, but they both have some holes.  WSU really came back to earth this week.  It’ll be really interesting seeing who emerges from this group, or if OSU can put together a few more wins.

All for now.  Have a good week, everybody.

-Matthew

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