You won’t see it on ESPN Classic.
Monday’s men’s basketball game between Washington and Seattle Pacific was a typically sloppy preseason exhibition. Neither team put on a devastating run. Washington fell behind with six minutes left, but the Huskies never appeared to lose control of the game. Still, the contest suffered from chronic blahs.
The game needed something. Even with it coming down to the final minutes and the Huskies clinging to a single-digit lead, much of the crowd filed out to beat traffic or to catch the last few minutes of “Reality Series Follies.”
It lacked a spark. And neither team had one on its active roster.
The one proven spark sat in street clothes at the end of Washington’s bench. On his right arm, from the elbow down, he wore a wrap and a cast approximately the size of one of Shaquille O’Neal’s legs.
This wasn’t the way Ryan Appleby envisioned the beginning of his senior year at Washington. A fractured thumb on his treasured shooting hand will keep him out until mid-December, about six weeks from the time of the break.
That’s the opinion, anyway, of doctors.
“That’s what you’re hearing,” Appleby said. “I’m thinking, like, three weeks. It’s feeling good. It didn’t feel too bad after surgery. I think I’ll have a speedy recovery.”
That’s good news for the Huskies. The team simply has no one who can fill Appleby’s role. An unapologetically willing outside bomber, Appleby’s range is Ballard on in. Of his 107 field goals last season, 84 came from beyond the three-point line.
No one on either roster — a select few in the country — can instantly change a game the way Appleby can.
“The one thing they are missing is Appleby,” SPU coach Jeff Hironaka said.
Such marksmanship routinely brings the hometown crowd to its feet and opponents to their knees. It’s nothing new to Appleby, who’s broken opposing hearts since he prepped at Stanwood High School.
But the Huskies don’t have him now. And it shows.
“It’s not a matter of replacing Ryan,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “There aren’t 10 guys in the country who are better shooters than he is. We’re going to have to have other guys step up, and when Ryan comes back, we’ll be better.”
Until then, the Huskies will have to find other ways to draw defenses out, in order to take pressure off power forward Jon Brockman and other inside guys. But who? Justin Dentmon, Adrian Oliver, Joe Wolfinger and Tim Morris all are fine outside shooters, but none can immediately change a defense as Appleby can.
“Ryan does so much to a defense, stretching it out,” Brockman said. “They have to respect the guy. He’ll hit a three from all the way to half court. We don’t have him for six weeks, so we’ve got to suck it up.”
Appleby can sleep with the cast. He can eat. But maybe his most challenging act is to get through the electronically-locked door of the Huskies’ locker room, which — you guessed it — requires a thumbprint for entry.
“I’ve got to knock on the door and hope somebody lets me in,” he said, grinning. “The thumb’s not working right now.”
But here’s the potential problem: Appleby has had all the usual sprained ankles and floor burns. He broke his nose two seasons ago, thanks to a cheap shot by Oregon’s Aaron Brooks.
He has never, however, suffered an injury that directly affects his shooting — his specialty, the part of Appleby’s game that is most dangerous and the weapon few other teams in the nation possess.
How will the layoff and recovery affect The Shot?
“I’m not worried about my shot,” he said. “I’ve got plenty of confidence in it. Looking at the X-rays after surgery, it looks better, maybe, than it was even before. The doctor did a real good job of putting it back together. It’ll be straight and fine. I’ll be able to be ready to go out there and shoot when my time comes.”
Until then, Appleby has to sit and watch. He’ll miss the NIT Season Tip-Off. Although he believes he’ll be back by then, he’ll likely miss the highly anticipated home game against national-power Pittsburgh. Most important, though, is that Appleby should return and be in reasonable physical condition by the time the Pac-10 season starts, when the Huskies play host to Washington State Jan. 5.
“It’s hard, going into my senior year, my fifth year,” Appleby said. “Sitting out and having to watch is tough. But at least it happened now and not in the middle of the Pac-10. Then my season would be just over.”
Instead, Appleby will be back in plenty of time to cause the usual sleepless nights among the league’s coaches.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, turn to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.
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