SEATTLE – Breanne Watson is no dummy.
The Pacific-10 Conference season has just started its second round of play and already the starting forward for the University of Washington women’s basketball team has found a solution to the league’s physical style of play, even as a freshman.
“I push back,” she said.
Hey, whatever you can get away with, you do. And Watson, who prepped in Richmond, British Columbia, has learned as quickly as anyone.
“I’ve learned that I have to control my emotions more,” she said. “If you get called for a foul, you don’t want to look at the referee. And to play at this level, if you get pushed, you’ve got to push right back.”
Call it Pac-10 101. The first round of Pac-10 play was an introductory course. Preseason was a preparatory course for the league.
But really, not much can prepare freshmen for the Pac-10. It’s something one simply has to experience and learn from.
And if you don’t learn, you don’t play.
The six (count ‘em, six) Husky freshmen are seeing that.
“It’s a steep learning curve and it’s a high one,” UW coach June Daugherty said. “They’re thrown into the frying pan. It’s a big deal. The quicker kids learn from it and adjust, the better they’re going to be.”
These freshmen have, arguably, a steeper learning curve than the ones before them. The conference is generally regarded as the best in several years. Stanford, a storied program, might be better than it’s been in a decade. Arizona may have the most balance between excellent inside and outside players in the conference.
USC, with a home victory over Stanford, finally is coming around. Arizona State is maturing quickly.
The young Huskies (12-8, 5-6 in the Pac-10) took their lumps at the beginning of the first round of league play, starting out 1-5. Since then, they have won four of their past five, with the Los Angeles schools coming to Hec Edmundson Pavilion this week.
With four of their past seven games at home, Washington can make great headway in determining its own seeding for the Pac-10 tournament, set for March 5-8 in San Jose, Calif. The Huskies also can gain the attention of the NCAA Committee for a possible tournament berth if they knock off some of the league’s heavyweights, both in the regular season and in the Pac-10 tournament.
A lot, of course, depends on the way the six freshmen play from here on out.
The indications are favorable. Turnovers are down, as are defensive breakdowns. Scoring is up. And the 72-67 win at Cal Saturday could help a team that has had trouble winning on the road.
“They have a way better understanding of how critical each game is,” Daugherty said. “And how you have to generate your own energy on the road. You’re not going to get much help. I think the other thing is the Pac-10 is more physical than it’s been in the past. Every possession is critical. Whether you play 40 minutes or four, you have to go out and contribute at a very high level.”
The level of aggressiveness needed to play in the league is the biggest issue for someone new to the Pac-10. Most were good enough in high school to beat defenders with sheer athletic talent. That doesn’t work at this level.
“They’re learning to play against aggressiveness and that’s a huge climb,” Daugherty said. “That’s hard, because all of a sudden, you’re forced to do some things you’ve never had to do before.”
Freshman Cameo Hicks says she is a different player in many respects than she was as a star guard in Tracy, Calif.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from the coaches and from the overall experience,” Hicks said. “I’ve learned more now, and at an increased pace than I ever have.”
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