Final Score UW-108 Texas Tech-79
Wow...what a game. UW played absolutely filthy today. The last few minutes of the first half were insane to say the least. Ross had a behind the back to MBA for a lay-in, followed immediately by I.T. tossing a long pass to MBA, again, for a monster slam, and ending with Overton pulling an MJ type move going up left handed, rolling the ball down and around to his right hand and finishing the lay-in. Brendan Sherrer even scored today during his 4 minutes on a beautiful pick and roll passed to him by Overton. Everyone who got in the game scored. Hosley was the only Husky not to play.
Holiday lead the Huskies in scoring today with an completely dominate performance. He scored 13 of UW's first 14 points, finished the first half with 17 and played limited minutes in the second half, finishing with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He was all over the place and he was not to be denied.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning had another great game off the bench. If you ask me, Romar should seriously consider keeping him on the bench and make him a 6th man like Overton. He finished with 18 points, sadly only 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Aziz N'Diaye started again and finished with 4 points and 7 boards. He fouled out with 4 minutes remaining. Several of his fouls were questionable, the last was an accident after falling getting a board.
Isaiah Thomas finished with 16, a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a block, and 2 turnovers. He was a true leader out there and did a great job of penetrating and dishing out to the open man.
C.J. Wilcox's shot was pretty as ever, playing only 19 minutes he went 4 for 7 from the field, 3 for 5 from range, finishing with 11.
Darnell Gant is really coming into his own, finishing with 8 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and 3 turnovers.
UW out rebounded Tech 39-33, finishing with 16 offensive boards. We shot 56.2% from the field, 9 for 17 from range (52.9%), and finally shot a respectable 73.9% from the free throw line. UW had 21 assist on 41 makes (just over 50%), passing excellent once again.
UW held Tech to 30% from range and 46% from the field overall. 3 players for Tech finished with 14+ points, only 1 player had more than 5 rebounds.
Player by Player Review
Venoy Overton
Overton played a pretty good game tonight, he looked to be in a lot better condition and seems to have healed up nicely. He had a great end to the half and played solid in the second as well. He is only credited with 2 turnovers, but it seemed like he had 3 or 4. His turnovers are usually on great play ideas that just aren't quite open. This is something he needs to limit before long; close games won't be able to afford those kind of sloppy give aways. I liked what I saw aside from that. His driving ability really showed this game, his speed allows him to penetrate at will.
Grade: B+
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MBA came off the bench again today and had another huge offensive night. He wasn't much on the boards, but his 18 points were made with authority. He shot 8 for 13 from the floor and put on some good moves, not all of which worked completely. He had several nice hook shots that missed short, something that can easily be corrected. I like him coming off the bench. Aziz does a great job on defense to start the game, allowing our post offense to sub in when the opposition is a little more tired. I'm interested to see if Romar keeps MBA on the bench, personally it seems like the best option for our team as a whole. He was the recipient of several excellent passes that led to great transition baskets. He played better against the post even if he didn't grab the boards we'd like him to. Things are looking better, good performances against A&M and Nevada will make me feel much better about his capabilities this season.
Grade: A-
Justin Holiday
No question, MVP of the game of either team. He scored 13 of our first 14 points on three 3's and two short jumpers. He went 3 for 3 from range before missing, finishing the night at 4 for 7 from range and 7 for 12 overall. He stuffed the stats all night long. Holiday along with Gant held Singultary to 6 points, all in the first half. Holiday's only blemish was his 3 turnovers. I don't know what got into Holiday, but he is really developing into a dangerous talent.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Logged 4 minutes today after Aziz fouled out. Romar is beginning to trust Sherrer with more and more minutes and that's pretty sweet, in my opinion. Scored his first points of the year and is a perfect 1.000 from the field. Also snagged a rebound and picked up a foul, he is in the stat book finally.
Grade: A
Scott Suggs
Fresh off a recent knee injury, he played a good game. Most of his 8 points came in garbage time, but he had some sweet moves including a scoop lay-in and a nice rebound put back. He played a much more complete game and showed an offensive game that doesn't include catch and shoot 3's. This bodes well for us and I honestly don't know how Romar is going to drop down from 10 to 9 in his rotation. I also don't see why he would want to unless there was a chemistry issue and so far I don't see that. I still think he is third in the Wilcox/Ross/Suggs rotation as both Wilcox and Ross have shown better athleticism, defense, and shooting ability.
Grade: B
Darnell Gant
I'm really beginning to love this kid more and more. He plays excellent defense, his offense is a legit threat finally. He had a solid night, 8 points, 4 boards, 3 steals, 2 assist, 1 block. He did a good job taking the ball at the top of the key, drawing defenders, then passing the ball out. He creates a lot of opportunities using his length and outside shot threat. Starting him and Aziz gives us some solid size and defensive strength, allowing us to take the lead early. The Birdman is beginning to fly and he may an unseen X-factor towards our season's success.
Grade: B+
Isaiah Thomas
No three point shots for Isaiah today, he went 5 for 9 from the field and a perfect 6 for 6 from the charity stripe. He looked much calmer and poised on his free throws and it showed. That was the type of performance we needed from him. His 16 points along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists is beautiful. We don't need him to lead our scoring, we need him to do the little things, open up the perimeter with hard drives, pass well, and create opportunities. He did that tonight and looked very good out there.
Grade: A
Aziz N'Diaye
Played solid on the glass tonight pulling in 7 boards. He only scored 4 points, shot 50% from the line. 1 steal and 1 block, but 3 turnovers. His hands still bobble the ball too much, especially on easy passes that should lead to easy baskets. Once he can start grabbing and holding we will find him scoring in the double digits on a regular basis. He doesn't need to be fancy, just needs to take the nice easy shots given to him and dish out when it isn't there. I like him starting, his presence allows our guards to play a little more risky at the start when they are fresh and the game isn't in jeopardy. He picked up a lot of silly fouls today, though the refs certainly didn't help him. I like his progress, I like his potential. We will see a lot of great things out of him in the next three years.
Grade: B
Abdul Gaddy
Quiet tonight offensively. Did not score in the first half, but finished with 6 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal and again, 0 turnovers. Gaddy played a smooth role tonight. He did what we needed from a point guard; good ball distribution, some drives in the middle, points when we need it. This kid has really turned up his play and know what the team needs from him each game. His stepping up is allowing us to be a Final Four team. Solid performance again, let's hope he maintains come conference play.
Grade: B+
Antoine Hosley
Only Husky who did not play tonight. Not sure why Romar didn't put him in with 2 or 3 minutes remaining.
Grade: N/A
Terrence Ross
6 points on 3 for 4 shooting, 1 rebound and an assist. He threw down a monster dunk on a great transition pass. His raw talent is absurd. He does all the right things, just wasn't given the shot opportunities necessary to put up big numbers. He may get much more time next year after Holiday graduates. After a year in the program we will see his talent really begin to unleash. He doesn't look to be a one and done yet, but depending on his sophomore year he could be NBA bound after that. I want him for four years, let's hope he stays that long. Next year with Wroten coming in, our backcourt will continue to be a dominant force.
Grade: B
C.J. Wilcox
While his touches were limited today, it did not effect his stroke at all. His shot is just pretty, plain and simple. His defense is another facet of his game that is under appreciated. He really stepped up from the exhibition game in terms of how effective he is on defense. He comes off well from the screens, stays low and in front of his man, gets up high enough to affect the shot. No rebounds today, but he did get an assist, steal, and a block. He continues to shine for the Huskies. It won't be every game he drops 20 points, but that wasn't a once in a season performance that's for sure.
Grade: B+
Final Thoughts
Solid performance tonight. I'd like to see our defense hold the opponents to 70 or less points, but putting up 100 point games mean opponents will have more opportunities as well (by the way we now have the school record for most 100+ point games in a season). We picked up another 9 steals and forced 20 turnovers. Did fairly well on the boards, winning the rebounding battle by 6. Still not at the 45 or so I would like to see, but we didn't miss a whole lot so there weren't a lot of boards to go around. Holiday was the leading rebounder as I guessed. MBA and Aziz just don't have the read on the glass yet to step up and get 8+ boards a game. Holiday's Go-Go Gadget Arms are glass cleaners. We continue to roll on offense and it doesn't look like we will face a defense that can stop it until conference play. Outlook is good. The rest of non-conference should go pretty well. Texas A&M will be our toughest test, especially since it is on the road. Holiday continues to be the most consistent player for the Dawgs.
Links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDUwJMwtEFM&feature=sub - Highlights
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskymensbasketballblog/2013598450_nothing_but_goo.html
http://www.montlakemadness.com/huskies-thump-red-raiders-108-79/
http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/120410aaa.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=303380264
In other news, UW football is 6-6 (5-4 in conference) and is bowl eligible. Alamos or Holiday Bowl it looks like.
So i did some research and in all of uw's wins this year wilcox has at least 8 points and 15 minutes and in the two losses against ranked teams he saw very limited minutes what the heck romar this guy needs to see serious minutes off the bench and he should have been utilized more in maui (both losses were less than 8 points)and we might be 7-0 with two impressive wins instead we have two losses when wilcox barely touched the ball... a coincidence i think not
ReplyDeleteWilcox is definitely a factor in how we do as a team. He has a deadly outside shot that forces defenders to come out on him. He can hit 25 foot shots, he did it against McNeese. He has developed a great defensive game as well. His size is great as it allows him to defend taller players. By establishing a legit outside game we open up the middle for drives and dishes. This would have been especially nice against UK where they don't have an inside presence.
ReplyDeleteI fully expect him to get 20 minutes a game and continues to average 10+ points a game.
Romar admitted to making a mistake by not trusting in C.J. more and throwing him under the bus against MSU by putting him in the game last second after having only played 3 minutes the entire game.
If C.J. can have a good game against the tougher Texas A&M I think he will establish himself as one of the first off the bench.
What I find amazing is that we have a great starting 5 in Gaddy, Isaiah, Holiday, Gant, and Aziz. We are just as good subbing in Overton, C.J., and MBA. Our first substitution could be three guys simultaneously and we still have Ross and Suggs to consider as well.
I really do think we can contend for the title if we simply learn to finish. We should have demolished MSU with our 10 point lead at half, but our lack of half court offenses limited our effectiveness. UK presented a bigger challenge in my opinion, but we should have won that game as well. We came back from 14 down to go up by 1, we can win and play well when our offense is rolling and I think a lot of our offense will depend on C.J. getting time and making opposing coach's step their defense out further.
when you said our starting five and then listed the bench i think a large portion of coaches would like our bench combo as there starting five haha its nice to have such great depth especially with 3 departures next year but it also means some of them won't get to see the minutes they need/deserve
ReplyDeleteOur first 3, hell, even the first 4 or 5, could probably start for any team in the Pac-10. It's pretty ridiculous how much depth we have. We will definitely miss our seniors next year and it'll be interesting to see how our recruits fill in and how it effects our team.
ReplyDeleteRomar says he would like to go to an 8 or 9 man rotation but I just don't see it happening. I think Simmons made a great decision in redshirting as minutes are sparse as is.
Ross and Suggs look to see the most limited minutes thus far, though either one of them could get hot and deserve more minutes.
It's, in many ways, a dream problem to have.
If the Huskies can land another big man during this next recruitment season we will stay strong. I think all three seniors will be big losses for us in their own separate ways, but Tony Wroten is coming in and will likely fill the gap left by Overton, Jerrard may compensate a bit for MBA, though he is a bit skinny, Stewart will be a nice combo guy who could play SF or a G of some sort. Landing Angelo Chol will be a big part, I think, of how successful we will be next season.