SEATTLE – Washington men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar said the Seahawks’ run to the Super Bowl just illustrates how good Seattle sports fans can be.
“I was here when the Sonics won it,” Romar said. “I wasn’t here when the Mariners won it but I remember what it was like. Our season (last year) was a lot of fun, not to put us up there with those guys. The fans in Seattle are unbelievable. I’ve always said that when you do well, not only do they come out, but they really get behind you. It’s really exciting.”
Romar called the Seahawks’ achievement “awesome,” and said he feels especially good for coach Mike Holmgren.
“People last year were very critical of coach Holmgren,” Romar said. “He had been successful and to go through this period where criticisms are flying (is tough). People are not very patient. Now here they are in the Super Bowl. …I’m happy for them.”
So, how about a prediction?
“Twenty-four (to) seventeen, Seahawks,” Romar said.
Dentmon must adjust: Freshman point guard Justin Dentmon has continued to struggle from a turnovers standpoint, but Romar said it’s just a matter of Dentmon adjusting to the adjustments that have been made to him.
“We talked about Jon Brockman playing above a scout, and I think he’s playing above a scout,” Romar said. “Now Justin has to play above a scout. Lanes that appear to be open aren’t open. Games are a lot closer now, a lot more intense on both ends. …But we’re confident that he will get better.”
Dentmon has continued to distribute the ball well. He’s tied with UCLA star Jordan Farmar for assists in conference play at 5.57 a game, and is rebounding better in Pac-10 play (5.0 a game) than he did during non-league play.
But Dentmon also has 27 turnovers in seven Pac-10 games, averaging 3.9 a game. Overall this season he’s averaging 2.9 turnovers a game. His scoring is also down in Pac-10 play at 7.1 on 32.6 percent shooting. Overall, he’s averaging 8.3 points on 41.3 percent shooting.
Jensen getting better: Senior forward Mike Jensen, who missed most of the non-conference season recovering from shoulder surgery, played without his arm brace last weekend and said physically he was fine. Now it’s just a matter of adjusting mentally.
He said against Oregon State, he was defending Nick DeWitz, who hit his arms and bent them back, causing a brief moment of panic until Jensen realized it didn’t hurt.
“I was just nervous about it,” Jensen said. “It’s a mental thing.”
Jensen admits he’s getting used to coming off the bench. Minutes-wise, he’s about the same at least year, playing almost 20 a game in Pac-10 play.
“The minutes I’m playing is pretty much the same, but it’s definitely a different role,” he said.
Romar on Kobe: Romar called Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game on Sunday “phenomenal.”
“It’s phenomenal that, while he took 46 shots, he made 28 of them and didn’t make a lot of 3-pointers,” Romar said. “I thought those days were history when a guy could go out and score 80.”
Romar remembered exactly what his career-high point total in his five-year NBA career was: 22.
“New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers,” said Romar, who said both games came in the 1982-83 season.. “You don’t forget those.”
Romar averaged 5.9 points while playing for Golden State, Milwaukee and Detroit from 1981-85. So why the breakout games?
“Coach finally let me play my game, that’s all it was,” Romar joked. “Coach would always remind me if I was scoring 30 or 40 in the summer, that was not my job. I wasn’t getting paid to score. I wanted to keep my job, so I stayed away from scoring 30 points.”
Where’s Artem? Freshman forward Artem Wallace played a few seconds against Oregon, breaking a string of four games in a row in which he didn’t leave the bench. In fact, Wallace has sat out six of seven Pac-10 games. Romar said Wallace is not hurt, and it’s just a matter of numbers.
“It’s hard to play five bigs in one game for any extended amount of minutes,” Romar said.
Keeping it clean: Romar said he’s pleased with the way the Dawg Pack (Washington’s student section) has handled taunting the opposition.
“Everywhere we go, the student section tries to get under our skin,” Romar said. “Some are creative, some are obnoxious, some are not creative, they just cuss you out. Our Dawg Pack is very creative. I don’t think we cross the line.”
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