SEATTLE – Washington men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar said he’s happy with the way his team’s schedule has worked out, even if it hasn’t been particularly challenging for his team.
Washington is 8-0 and ranked No. 11 heading into Friday’s 7 p.m. home game against Eastern Washington (4-3). The Huskies have only played one ranked team – Gonzaga – and lead the nation in scoring margin (plus-26.5) and points (96.4). Washington has also only gone on the road once, and that was last week’s neutral-court victory against New Mexico. Romar said the schedule may have given fans a slightly unrealistic view of Washington, but he isn’t surprised at what his team has done.
“We’ve played seven home games and we’ve got a 29-game home winning streak,” Romar said. “So you’d be more surprised if we weren’t able to win those games, because we’ve done fairly well at home.”
This year’s schedule was quite a turnaround from last year, when Washington played one of the nation’s toughest schedules, including the Great Alaska Shootout and games against Gonzaga and North Carolina State. But last year’s schedule made sense because the Huskies were an experienced group. This year’s team is much younger and Romar says would not have been able to handle such a rigorous non-league schedule.
“We didn’t set out to say, ‘Let’s make sure every game is at home and let’s make sure we only play one team that’s in the Top 25,” Romar said. “I wouldn’t change the schedule the way it worked out. We’ve had a wide margin of victory in a lot of those games and that has allowed us to play some guys that were able to gain valuable experience. Now as we get into conference and a guy gets in the game, his tail’s not between his legs because he’s played already. Last year, it was hard to get minutes for some guys because a lot of the games were so close early.”
Still, Romar said this year isn’t exactly his ideal schedule. He said that would include going on the road, playing a high-profile team at home, and playing some teams that shouldn’t provide a ton of competition, to allow younger players to gain experience. He’d also like a tournament to prepare for the postseason.
How about those numbers?: Romar said it isn’t likely that the team would maintain it’s current scoring pace, but that he does expect the Huskies to continue to play well offensively.
“I don’t think those are realistic numbers,” Romar said. “I don’t think we’ll beat teams by an average of 26 points a game. I don’t think we’ll average 96 points a game. But it’s a good start. What it does show is there’s some other teams that are really good that could have the same schedule we have and still not score 96 points a game and not win by that wide a margin. So it has shown that we’re capable of putting numbers on the board.”
Key for the Huskies offense has been their balance. Four players are averaging at least 12 points, but none is over 16. Two others average nine points and the Huskies are shooting 52 percent and averaging 21 assists on 35.6 field goals a game.
“When you’re getting that many assists, you’re sharing the basketball,” Romar said. “When you’re averaging 90-plus points and no one is averaging more than 16, you’re sharing the basketball.”
Hans continues to rise: Junior forward Hans Gasser, who briefly lost is scholarship in the summer before re-gaining it, continues to show he has become a key member of Washington’s rotation. Against New Mexico, Gasser played 15 minutes, scoring all six of his points in a key second-half spurt, and had five rebounds. After seeing very limited action the past two years, Gasser is averaging 14.5 minutes, 6.4 points (on 59.5 shooting) and 3.3 rebounds and has been a valuable addition to an improved UW frontcourt.
“I would say Hans has been a pleasant surprise,” Romar said. “Give Hans all the credit in the world because Hans has worked. He was as valuable as anyone on the team against New Mexico. … I would not have thought, going into the year, that Hans would be in that position. But he has made a case for himself.”
Poll perception: Romar said that the fact that Washington is now No. 11 after being unranked at the start of the season is nothing more than a fun fact for fans.
“It’s great for recruiting and perception and all,” Romar said. “Now, if they said if you’re in the Top 10 you’re guaranteed a top seed, all of a sudden those polls matter a lot. But I don’t think your seeding is based on where you’re ranked. It’s fun to be up there but being ranked doesn’t guarantee we’re going to win a Pac-10 championship.”
Injury update: Romar said senior forward Bobby Jones has a nagging ankle injury and would be limited in practice this week, but the injury would not affect Jones’ playing time.
Senior forward Mike Jensen, out all season after shoulder surgery, is still on track to play in Dec. 23’s game at home against Lehigh.
What could have been: Romar admits that he recruited Eastern Washington freshman guard Rodney Stuckey hard. The 6-foot-4 guard from Kentwood High School leads the Eagles in scoring at 20.3 points, in steals (15), assists (26) and 3-pointers (12).
“We wanted him bad,” Romar said. “The guy’s a very good basketball player.”
Stuckey’s academics prevented him from playing for the Huskies.
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