Published: Sunday, February 5, 2012
Big Dawgs finally speak up
Trio of N'Diaye, Gant and Kemp Jr. establish inside presence for Huskies in victories over UCLA and USC
SEATTLE -- For much of the 2011-12 men's basketball season, the University of Washington has had a big problem.
Make that a bigs problem.
Just about every UW player taller than 6-foot-6 had become an afterthought on offense, and the trio of freshman big men expected to contribute had all been relegated to cheerleading duty from the bench.
And yet as the Huskies continue to roll through the Pacific-12 Conference, it has been the play of their big men that has carried them through early parts of some recent victories.
During the first half of a win over UCLA on Thursday night, the frontcourt trio of Aziz N'Diaye, Darnell Gant and Shawn Kemp Jr. combined for 18 first-half points -- seven more than the go-to threesome of Tony Wroten Jr., Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox -- on the way to a 35-34 halftime lead.
Two days later, while building up what turned out to be an insurmountable first-half lead, UW jumped out on a 9-0 run that included a dunk and strong post-up move by Kemp and Gant's layup and 3-pointer. By halftime, that duo had 14 of the Huskies' 29 points.
"When we have good bigs," Wroten said after Saturday night's blowout win over USC, "we've got big potential -- and we have a good future."
From the opening of practice, the perception of this year's Huskies was that they were a guard-oriented team that would get most of its points from the perimeter. The emergence of Wroten as a penetrating guard gave UW a consistent inside presence, but the Huskies' frontcourt was still rather quiet on the offensive end for most of the season.
With Wilcox hobbled by a leg injury, Gant has become one of UW's top 3-point threats. N'Diaye's offensive game has started to develop, with a solid hook shot and a fairly effective drop-step move, while Kemp has really come on since football player Austin Seferian-Jenkins joined the team and stole away all of his minutes to close out the month of January.
Kemp got back on the floor against UCLA, but only because N'Diaye was in foul trouble and Seferian-Jenkins was struggling against the Bruins' 6-foot-10 star, Joshua Smith. Kemp had his own struggles defensively against Smith but put on his most impressive offensive flourish as a Husky by contributing a pair of dunks in less than 90 seconds.
Having earned enough playing time to warrant 13 more minutes in Saturday's USC game, he added six more points and two more thunderous dunks that brought back memories of his biological father, a former star with the Seattle Sonics.
"I've been working hard in practice, trying to get more minutes," Kemp Jr. said after Saturday's win. "I'm just trying to help the team so we can get those W's."
Coach Lorenzo Romar has said that Kemp's two years away from the game -- academic issues delayed his transition from high school to college -- are the biggest factor in his slow start as a Husky.
"The first thing he had to do was get in condition," Romar said. "Then he had to learn the game at this level. I just think, this is the second half of the year, and he's beginning to figure things out and he has some confidence."
Scoring hasn't been the only thing UW's bigs have provided as of late. With help from big guards like the 6-5 Wroten and a 6-6 Ross, the Huskies have outrebounded four of their past five opponents. The most extreme example came Saturday night, when UW outrebounded a short-handed USC team 52-23.
Kemp, who had just one of the Huskies' season-high 52 rebounds against USC, shrugged off the eye-popping statistical advantage to the Trojans' lack of size and depth.
"That was pretty much the size," the 6-10 Kemp said. "I don't think that'll happen with anybody else in the Pac-12."
There was a time when the Huskies' frontcourt was getting shrugged off as well. Whether it's on the boards or scoring in the paint, UW's big men have finally started to make an impression.
"It's very helpful," Romar said. "It gives us a little more balance. Other teams have to pay a little more attention to what's going on down low."
Make that a bigs problem.
Just about every UW player taller than 6-foot-6 had become an afterthought on offense, and the trio of freshman big men expected to contribute had all been relegated to cheerleading duty from the bench.
And yet as the Huskies continue to roll through the Pacific-12 Conference, it has been the play of their big men that has carried them through early parts of some recent victories.
During the first half of a win over UCLA on Thursday night, the frontcourt trio of Aziz N'Diaye, Darnell Gant and Shawn Kemp Jr. combined for 18 first-half points -- seven more than the go-to threesome of Tony Wroten Jr., Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox -- on the way to a 35-34 halftime lead.
Two days later, while building up what turned out to be an insurmountable first-half lead, UW jumped out on a 9-0 run that included a dunk and strong post-up move by Kemp and Gant's layup and 3-pointer. By halftime, that duo had 14 of the Huskies' 29 points.
"When we have good bigs," Wroten said after Saturday night's blowout win over USC, "we've got big potential -- and we have a good future."
From the opening of practice, the perception of this year's Huskies was that they were a guard-oriented team that would get most of its points from the perimeter. The emergence of Wroten as a penetrating guard gave UW a consistent inside presence, but the Huskies' frontcourt was still rather quiet on the offensive end for most of the season.
With Wilcox hobbled by a leg injury, Gant has become one of UW's top 3-point threats. N'Diaye's offensive game has started to develop, with a solid hook shot and a fairly effective drop-step move, while Kemp has really come on since football player Austin Seferian-Jenkins joined the team and stole away all of his minutes to close out the month of January.
Kemp got back on the floor against UCLA, but only because N'Diaye was in foul trouble and Seferian-Jenkins was struggling against the Bruins' 6-foot-10 star, Joshua Smith. Kemp had his own struggles defensively against Smith but put on his most impressive offensive flourish as a Husky by contributing a pair of dunks in less than 90 seconds.
Having earned enough playing time to warrant 13 more minutes in Saturday's USC game, he added six more points and two more thunderous dunks that brought back memories of his biological father, a former star with the Seattle Sonics.
"I've been working hard in practice, trying to get more minutes," Kemp Jr. said after Saturday's win. "I'm just trying to help the team so we can get those W's."
Coach Lorenzo Romar has said that Kemp's two years away from the game -- academic issues delayed his transition from high school to college -- are the biggest factor in his slow start as a Husky.
"The first thing he had to do was get in condition," Romar said. "Then he had to learn the game at this level. I just think, this is the second half of the year, and he's beginning to figure things out and he has some confidence."
Scoring hasn't been the only thing UW's bigs have provided as of late. With help from big guards like the 6-5 Wroten and a 6-6 Ross, the Huskies have outrebounded four of their past five opponents. The most extreme example came Saturday night, when UW outrebounded a short-handed USC team 52-23.
Kemp, who had just one of the Huskies' season-high 52 rebounds against USC, shrugged off the eye-popping statistical advantage to the Trojans' lack of size and depth.
"That was pretty much the size," the 6-10 Kemp said. "I don't think that'll happen with anybody else in the Pac-12."
There was a time when the Huskies' frontcourt was getting shrugged off as well. Whether it's on the boards or scoring in the paint, UW's big men have finally started to make an impression.
"It's very helpful," Romar said. "It gives us a little more balance. Other teams have to pay a little more attention to what's going on down low."
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