Pregame notes, Brandon Roy addition
Published 8:06 pm Thursday, January 22, 2009
Washington and USC are just a few minutes from tipoff, which means we’re just about to see Brandon Roy’s jersey retired. Should be quite a moment here at Hec Ed.
The current Huskies are wearing T-shirts to mark to occasion with Roy’s name, number and face on the back.
Roy took the time to meet with reporters for a while earlier this evening, and talked about his career at Washington, what this moment means for him, etc. Here’s some of the highlights:
“I’ve been trying to think all week what this moment means, and I really can’t put it into words. But I know that I’m happy to be home and I just have to say I owe this moment to my teammates that I played with, Coach Romar, and you know without those guys this moment wouldn’t be possible. I just think my jersey going in the rafters represents what we did here at Washington. It may seem like it’s Brandon Roy’s jersey. It’s not though. It’s about this team and the moments we shared here.”
What stands out about your time at UW?
“Everything. Just walking into this arena today brings back memories. I was just smiling. It was like, Man, it feels like I’m playing tonight. It feels like I’m coming here for a game. But I just think of the NCAA tournament, Sweet 16 in back-to-back years, that’s special. Not a lot of guys can say they’ve done that. And it’s just those moments off the court that people don’t see all the work you put into these games. For me, our practices were hard, but they were fun. And, of course, things like Pac-10 player of the year: that was an honor for me because it’s like I’d come a long way to reach that goal. So many things that I can go back to for memories.”
On the Impact of Lorenzo Romar on his career:
“I’ve been talking about it a lot today, but he was the guy that I think he seen more in me that I did in myself. I thought I was pretty good already, but he knew that there was more to my game that I wasn’t putting out there and he pushed me to that everyday. He would never settle for less of me. At times it was hard. I would go home and talk to my parents and say I think he’s pushing me too hard. But they would say he’s doing it for a reason. And now that my jersey’s retired, I think he was doing it for a pretty good reason. I’d definitely happy that he never settled for less with me. Coach Romar, he never does that.”
They’ll be more on Roy in tomorrow’s paper.
And a quick note on tonight’s game. Because of the late tipoff, deadlines will be tight tonight, so the usual running game thread will be far less thorough than usual, especially in the second half.
