SEATTLE — Spencer Hawes was such a big target, he was easy to blame.
Husky basketball had to change its mode from all-out harassment on defense and running amok on offense to a slower, half-court style because its strength was in the middle. In Hawes and Jon Brockman, the hope was for a more physical, pound-it-in-the-paint type of play. That the Huskies finished 19-13 and out of any postseason play wasn’t because of Hawes, who left after one season for the NBA.
It was because of youth and immaturity. Also because of immaturity and youth, not because of anything Hawes did or didn’t do.
“Last year, our old players were young,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said.
That’s why I’m of the mind that Washington will return to the postseason this time around. The old guys are a year older. And the young guys just scream with athletic ability. What’s more, the Huskies will add guys who missed last season either because of injury or transfer regulations.
It won’t be easy to break through. The Pac-10 is simply a monster, even better than last season. But the Huskies will be better largely because they’re returning to what they do best — become a major pain on defense, force turnovers and fly into transition. They’re more mature. Their incoming freshman class is loaded.
But mostly, they’re getting back to what the program was about under Romar, the identity that other teams hated when they played the Huskies. They want to be hellish on defense.
“We’ll get up and try to force turnovers and try to make the other team uncomfortable with the basketball,” Romar said. “I think this group has the ability to do that, whereas last year, we didn’t.”
Ah, last year. Snore. A ton of expectations, mostly from media and fans. At one time, after a few victories over teams such as Pepperdine, Southern Utah and Northern Iowa, Washington was 7-0 and ranked in the top 10. A 20-point loss at Gonzaga brought the team crashing back down to Earth, as did a 1-6 start in league play.
The Huskies played lousy defense. They were inexperienced. The road became a House of Horrors (1-10). Hawes fell victim to flu-like symptoms, lost 20 pounds and never showed us what he could do.
Romar built the team around what he thought would be a dominant big man. When circumstances robbed Hawes of his full ability, Washington had little to fall back on. They wanted to run, but youth and inexperience prevented it.
“We weren’t a slower team because of Spencer,” Romar said. “We were a slower team because we didn’t defend as well.”
This year should be different. Right off the bat, Romar will stress defense in preseason camp. Only this year, he’ll have the bodies to execute it.
“We’re a lot longer; we’re a lot more athletic,” Brockman said. “We’re a lot quicker. I think we’re going to be a whole lot tougher than we were last year. Taking those characteristics and those strengths, it fits in a lot better with the way the Huskies are used to playing.”
Most intriguing is 6-foot-9, 235-pound freshman forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning, from London, who has a 7-foot-4 wingspan. Then there’s Venroy Overton, a freshman who’s the only natural point guard on the roster. A most important addition is guard Tim Morris, a transfer from Stanford who was Washington’s second-leading scorer on its tour of Greece. Joel Smith is back from a stress fracture in his foot; Romar says he’s improved in every aspect.
Also intriguing is 7-foot-1 Joe Wolfinger, who has battled a stress fracture in his right foot for two seasons. Reportedly a deadly outside shooter, Wolfinger also has added bulk in order to bang more inside. Freshmen Darnell Gant (6-8, 210) and Justin Holliday (6-6, 170) are raw, but promising and athletic.
Add them all to mainstays Brockman, Ryan Appleby, Quincy Pondexter, Adrian Oliver, Justin Dentmon (slimmed down and more confident) and Artem Wallace and you have a team more in line of what Romar wants. Yes, it’s still young, but it’s a team whose potential, especially on defense, is exciting.
“Having that length, being able to contest guys’ shots, being able to rebound, being able to get hands in the passing lanes, it’s going to help inside and outside,” Appleby said. “It should be a good year.”
Good enough to extend the season a bit.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, click on www.heraldnet.com?danglingparticiples.
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