SEATTLE – A year ago, the job fell to Brandon Roy and Bobby Jones. This year, it will be even more of a team effort.
At this point, no one actually stops Rodney Stuckey. It’s just a matter of containing him. And even that is getting more and more difficult. The sophomore guard from Eastern Washington is firmly established as one of the nation’s top scorers, and he’ll bring his show to Hec Edmundson Pavilion today when the No. 16 Huskies (4-0) play host to the Eagles (2-2) at 5 p.m.
“Rodney Stuckey, if he remains healthy, will play in the NBA,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “He’s got great size, he’s got great strength, he can handle the ball, he can pass the ball. He’s got a very, very good knack and very good instincts for the offensive side of the game. And with his athleticism and strength, I don’t see why he couldn’t be a stellar defender. He pretty much has the entire package.”
At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Stuckey has the size to give most guards problems. The Kent native has averaged 24.4 points in 34 games in his career. He already has five of the top 20 scoring games in Eastern history, and has gone over 30 points seven times, and has set seven school records. Last year, he was eighth in the nation at 24.2 points a game in being named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year.
Against the Huskies, with the 6-6 Roy and 6-7 Jones on him, Stuckey had 17 points but was 6-for-20 and had six turnovers in a 91-74 UW win. Romar said much of the success had to do with Roy and Jones, and some had to do with Stuckey simply being a freshman.
“I don’t know if the rest of the team, the older guys, were willing to accept that this freshman was the best player, by far,” Romar said. “He wasn’t quite sure where he fit in. At times, maybe he was a bit tentative. Now there’s no doubt who the best player is in his mind and everyone else’s mind. They have built their system offensively around Rodney Stuckey. He’s playing with so much more confidence than when we faced him last year.”
This season, Stuckey is averaging 25.5 points on 48 percent shooting as Eastern has beaten two NAIA teams but lost to UNLV and Gonzaga. With Roy and Jones in the NBA, the job of defending Stuckey will fall to a host of players, most likely the trio of Quincy Pondexter, Adrian Oliver, both freshman, and Harvey Perry. Joel Smith, who has missed the first four games after recovering from foot surgery, may also join the fun as he is ready to return to game action. It should also help having 7-footer Spencer Hawes guarding the basket.
“It won’t be one particular person that will be asked to shut him down all by themselves,” Romar said.
Eastern has two other players averaging double figures in scoring. Guard Omar Krayem is averaging 13.7 points on 58 percent shooting and 6-10 senior Paul Butorac averages 10.3 points and 12.7 rebounds. Butorac is two blocked shots away from the school career record.
The Huskies are averaging 88.5 points a game, but they’re getting away with some sloppy ball handling. The rotation, which has been about 10 players, will grow with the return of Smith. Romar said the competition to get into the rotation is the most fierce its been since he took over the program five years ago.
“Our first year there was competition for the rotation,” Romar said. ” (But) sometimes you’re picking the best from the worst because no one is really stepping up and saying, ‘Hey Coach, look at what I’m doing day-in and day-out. You have to play me.’ Our first year, we didn’t really have that, we had no one really stepping up. … With this team, there has been a healthy competition.”
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