SEATTLE — The University of Washington men’s basketball team had high expectations for Matthew Bryan-Amaning when his junior season started four months ago.
Not until February did he begin to realize them.
After losing his starting job and averaging just 6.7 points per game through the first three months of this season, Bryan-Amaning has regained his starting job while breaking out for 12.4 points in his past five games.
“The difference from the beginning of the season to now is that he’s making his shots,” teammate Isaiah Thomas said. “He’s letting the game come to him, and he’s been great. We’re getting him the ball, and he’s doing what he can.”
After losing big man Jon Brockman and his 14.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game to the NBA draft, the Huskies were looking for the man they call “MBA” to master his craft. But the 6-foot-9 Bryan-Amaning did not give UW the post presence it needed, and a lack of inside game hampered the Huskies throughout the early part of the season.
The junior from London hit double figures in points just three times — against Belmont (23), Montana (10) and San Francisco (13) — during a preseason of rather soft non-conference opponents, and things didn’t get much better when Pac-10 play began.
After Bryan-Amaning scored just one point and had just three rebounds in a home loss to Oregon on Jan. 2, he lost his starting job to redshirt freshman Tyreese Breshers.
As a reserve, Bryan-Amaning was virtually a non-factor. He scored six points or less five times in nine games before imposing his will in a win over Arizona State two weeks ago, with 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. That turned out to be the beginning of good things, and the struggles of Breshers allowed Bryan-Amaning to regain his starting spot for the Stanford game on Feb. 13.
In his three games since returning to the starting lineup, Bryan-Amaning has provided the inside production the Huskies had hoped to get from him all season. He has averaged 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals in three consecutive starts while shooting 78.9 percent from the field.
Bryan-Amaning scored nine points in the first 4½ minutes of the second half of Saturday’s game, including two dunks, to help lead the Huskies to a comfortable, 97-68 win over UCLA.
“We talked this weekend about how this was going to be a great test for him to play against these great frontlines (of UCLA and USC) to see if he’s turned the corner,” head coach Lorenzo Romar said. “He’s played the most consistent games of his career. These games are Pac-10 games. This is not a non-conference schedule we’re playing where maybe we’re a little ahead of a team.”
Bryan-Amaning said he hasn’t made any adjustments to his game to lead to the recent success.
“Shots are falling for me right now,” he said after scoring 14 points and adding seven rebounds in a loss to USC on Thursday. “I’ve been doing the same thing I have been doing.”
The Huskies are just happy that he’s been more productive.
Finally, Bryan-Amaning is living up to the expectations.
“He is doing what we’ve been wanting him to do,” Romar said. “He’s been performing the way we need him to perform.”
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