Husky Basketball Preview

I know that previews are typically done before the season, but I feel like doing my Husky preview four games into the season. Anyway, early non-conference play isn't that important. After watching the Huskies basketball team’s first four games, I’m going to say something that could be viewed as premature or rash: this is the most talented team in UW history. I’m not saying they’re the best UW team ever (yet), but this team is absolutely stacked. What Lorenzo Romar has done in his tenure is nothing short of amazing. In the four years I’ve been at UW, the team has been transformed from a laughingstock to a powerhouse, a truly elite program that is here to stay. Their rotation this year goes twelve men deep. They’ve gone from a team that didn’t have anyone taller than 6’8” to one with six rotation players 6’7” or taller, without having to sacrifice athleticism, and still being able to play their signature up-tempo style. Everyone on the team can shoot; Ryan Appleby, Justin Dentmon, Phil Nelson, Harvey Perry, Quincy Pondexter, Adrian Oliver, Joel Smith and Brandon Burmeister have legitimate three-point range. Even Spencer Hawes and Jon Brockman have 17-foot range, and Hans Gasser can step back and hit a three, while also providing unlimited unintentional comedy with his overly-earnest setting of screens (you kind of have to see him to understand what I’m saying). The only non-shooter, Artem Wallace, is an undersized five who’s an absolute beast on the boards. Combined with Hawes, Brockman, Gasser, and Pondexter, this is the best rebounding group Romar has had, and even Dentmon is a great rebounder for an undersized guard. On defense, their length and quickness allows them to trap and overplay on passes, and they have the first dominant shot blocking force with Hawes since Todd MacCulloch.

As far as the incoming freshmen group, Pondexter and Hawes have been really impressive thus far. Nelson and Oliver seem to be works in progress. I’ve heard a lot of comparisons of Pondexter to Bobby Jones, but I don’t know how apt that comparison is. They have similar body types and athleticism, but Pondexter is a much more accomplished offensive player than Jones ever was in college. Jones didn’t have three-point range until his junior year, and really didn’t have any game off the dribble until his senior year. Pondexter already has both of these aspects in his offensive repertoire, plus a lot more confidence on the offensive end than Jones had.

Hawes already has a good complement of post moves, and his passing ability as a center is astounding, the best I’ve seen from a college center since Andrew Bogut. Early on it actually seems that he’s looking to pass too much, which has resulted in a lot of forced passes and turnovers. This is something that will be easily alleviated with experience. I’ve been really surprised by just how nimble he is, and how confident he is handling the ball. On the defensive end, he’s a dominant shot-blocker who also manages to stay in position well and doesn’t get into foul trouble. These are very rare traits to have.

Nelson and Oliver have shown talent, but both have been erratic so far. Nelson is a very good outside shooter and surprisingly athletic, but has looked tentative on offense, and kind of lost on defense. Oliver is a good penetrator and very active on defense, but prone to trying to do too much and forcing plays on offense, rather than letting the game come to him. He’s also very good at grabbing rebounds in traffic for a guard. My initial impression is that Oliver will get more minutes in the rotation than Nelson, backing up Dentmon for 10-15 minutes a game. I think as the season gets going and the rotation gets set at nine or ten players, Nelson, Burmeister and Wallace will get squeezed for minutes.

Because of their youth, this team will no doubt struggle at points this year, especially early in the season, and we've already seen this with the struggles early in the game against Northern Iowa and Sacramento State. Though it seems like a bad omen to be struggling against Northern Iowa and Sacramento State, one must remember that Northern Iowa is a returning NCAA tournament team that will most likely be back again this year, while Sacramento State is a team with a lot of talent and athleticism, albeit somewhat raw. Both teams also have a lot of experience, and are teams very reliant on a “system,” especially Northern Iowa, and those kinds of teams give young teams problems. What’s important is that the team gets time to gel before they hit conference play, and I think their schedule will allow for that, even with tough games against Gonzaga and LSU on the non-conference schedule. By the end of conference play, I think this team will be pretty damn good, and peaking at the right time of the year. This should be a sweet sixteen team again, and a team with enough talent to keep up that level of play into the future.