SEATTLE — A University of Washington men’s basketball team that’s had plenty of preseason question marks in recent years has been steadied by the fact that there were also a few answers.
As for this year’s team? It might not be that simple.
A Huskies team that has no established star in the mold of Isaiah Thomas, Quincy Pondexter or Jon Brockman finally gets to go out and answer a few questions tonight when UW hosts Seattle Pacific University in an exhibition game at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
“It’s been a long wait since our last game, but I’m excited for the season to start,” sophomore swingman Terrence Ross said. “It’s something that everybody’s been looking forward to.”
The best bets on this year’s Huskies include Ross, freshman Tony Wroten and a deep set of wing players with outside marksmanship. But even those areas have some questions as UW prepares to take the court for its final dress rehearsal.
The big question surrounding Ross is whether he’s ready to be the focus of an offense for the entirety of a season. He played the occasional role of a star as a freshman last season — the most notable occasion came when he scored 19 points while outplaying fellow freshman Harrison Barnes in UW’s Sweet 16 loss to North Carolina last March — but mostly took a backseat to primary scoring threats Thomas, big man Matthew Bryan-Amaning and wing Justin Holiday.
With all three of those players gone, the Huskies have to find scoring from other avenues.
Wroten appears to be a decent option in that he’s pretty much been a local superstar since his freshman year at Garfield High School. But he is more of a playmaker than a pure shooter, and he’s also coming off minor knee surgery that could limit his minutes tonight.
The Huskies appear to have plenty of scoring options on the perimeter, but a foot injury to Scott Suggs leaves C.J. Wilcox as the only established 3-point shooter for the immediate future.
Junior point guard Abdul Gaddy missed half of last season because of a knee surgery, and it remains to be seen where the frontcourt will generate points with just two experienced players — 7-footer Aziz N’Diaye and 6-8 Darnell Gant — in the paint.
The Huskies should be able to provide some semblance of answers beginning tonight, when they host a surprising SPU team that shocked 16th-ranked Arizona last week.
While head coach Lorenzo Romar said he’ll try to win the game, he also said he’ll mix and match lineups while giving extended playing time to players such as freshman point guard Andrew Andrews, a likely redshirt this season.
“It’s your last time to experiment with certain combinations before you play them for keeps,” Romar said.
Having already run practices for the good part of the past three weeks, Romar already has learned a lot about his team.
“We have a decent foundation,” said Romar, who has eight freshmen and just one returning starter who will be available tonight. “We have a long ways to go, but we’re not as far away as we thought we were.”
When asked for specifics, he added: “I just think right now our team probably is better off in terms of team defense than I thought we might be. There have been some disastrous days in practice.”
UW had plenty of intrasquad competition at practice — even an afternoon matching up against former Husky stars Nate Robinson, Jon Brockman and Brandon Roy — but tonight marks the first time the public will get to see the 2011-12 Huskies in action.
“There’s a little different feeling when there’s popcorn popping in the lobby and the fans are there,” Romar said.
Notes
N’Diaye is not expected to play tonight due to a concussion he suffered earlier in the week. … Redshirt freshman Desmond Simmons is expected to start in N’Diaye’s place, joining a projected lineup that should also include Gaddy, Wilcox, Ross and Gant.
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