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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald Head coach Lorenzo Romar yells at the officials during the second half. Photo taken 032109 Sports - NCAA basketball - University of Washington Huskies vs. Purdue Boilermakers   ADVERTISEMENT   ATHLETES IN ACTION TOURNAMENT At Hec Edmondson Pavilion Today’s games Belmont vs. Portland State, 4:30 p.m. UW vs. Wright State, 7 p.m. Saturday’s games Portland State vs. Wright State, 4:30 p.m. UW vs. Belmont, 7 p.m . Sunday’s games Belmont vs. Wright State, 4:30 p.m. UW vs. Portland State, 7 p.m.   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, November 13, 2009 Huskies wary of unheralded opponents By Scott M. Johnson Herald Writer SEATTLE — It’s not going to take a Kansas or a Florida to snap the University of Washington men’s basketball team to attention this season. On the verge of opening their season with a three-game, three-day tournament that includes some of the country’s most anonymous teams, the Huskies know all too well what sleeping giants they might be. “Portland wasn’t Kansas, in people’s minds, last year,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said this week as his team prepared for the Athletes In Action Classic that begins tonight at Bank of America Arena. “But they beat us.” Last year’s season-opening loss to the University of Portland has been on the Huskies’ minds this week as they prepare for another season to begin. “It was a reminder at that time that, as individuals, we weren’t very good,” Romar said. “We had to be a team. We had to really work in order to be successful. We couldn’t just walk onto the floor and win games. That got our attention, big time.” So even though the 14th-ranked Huskies might see Wright State, Belmont and Portland State on the schedule for the next three nights, they’re not planning on an easy weekend. Not after what happened in last year’s opener. “The people who are coming back from last year, we know,” said Isaiah Thomas, one of eight current players from the 2008-09 team. “For these teams, it’s like their Super Bowl. They’re not as good as us, in terms of the rankings and whatnot, so it’s their Super Bowl. “They’re going to come out bringing their A-game and playing hard. So we’ve got to come back and play harder than they do.” Effort was not a question when UW unofficially opened its 2009-10 season with an exhibition game against Central Washington last week. The Huskies played an inspired game, but a somewhat sloppy one. The 77-48 victory included 18-for-37 free-throw shooting, 15 turnovers and 26 personal fouls. UW is hoping it got some of the kinks out in that game, and that this weekend’s round-robin tournament will see a more consistent team. The Huskies return three starters as well as key reserves Venoy Overton and Matthew Bryan-Amaning from last year’s team that won the school’s first Pac-10 regular-season title in more than 50 years. UW added McDonald’s All-American Abdul Gaddy, versatile freshman Clarence Trent and bruising redshirt freshman Tyrese Breshers to the mix. Missing from last year’s team are all-Pac-10 players Jon Brockman and Justin Dentmon as well as two of the program’s taller players: 7-foot Joe Wolfinger and 6-8 Artem Wallace. Of this weekend’s opponents, Belmont has the most size. The Bruins have two 6-9 players, a 6-10 and a 6-11 on their roster. But they graduated four starters from last year’s 20-win team and seem like the least likely challenger among this weekend’s opponents. Portland State _ not to be confused with the University of Portland _ has been to two consecutive NCAA tournaments but lost leading scorer Jeremiah Dominguez to graduation. And tonight’s opponent, Wright State, is a guard-oriented team that has emerged as nationally-ranked Butler’s biggest challenger in the Horizon League. Romar cautioned that Wright State is not the no-name program that local basketball fans might expect. “If we have any aspirations of doing well in that game, we have to take it from them,” Romar said. “They’re a senior-dominated team, they play good, solid, strong defense., they’re very organized offensively. They’re going to be a tough opener for us. “… This is not just coaches talk; it’s the real deal. They could come in here and hand it to us if we’re not ready to go.” The Huskies vow to be ready this time. And despite the three-games-in-three-days format, they just can’t wait to get started for real. “These three games are going to be lovely for me,” said Thomas. “They’re better than practice.” READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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