An Early Look at the 2012-2013 Husky Basketball Team

The 2011-2012 season has been over for some time now. Our two stars have declared early for the NBA draft and Lorenzo Romar seems to be done recruiting for next season. The Dawgs have added two new names to the roster, though one will likely redshirt this season as per NCAA regulations regarding transfers.

So what can Husky fans expect out of next year's team? It's a bit hard to tell at the moment, especially in light of last season's less than stellar outcome. While the 2011-2012 team was young, but talented, the lack of depth may have ultimately led to the early season losses and the late season collapses. 2012-2013 looks to be loaded with much more experience and, hopefully, a much deeper bench that will allow Romar and staff to execute the type of high octane defense that has been such a staple of this program.

With 7 freshman on last season's roster it is easy to see why the team may have struggled early on. Next season the roster will feature 2 redshirt freshmen, 5 sophomores (4 if Austin Sefarian-Jenkins does not return), 1 redshirt sophomore, 2 juniors, and 4 seniors (though Perry Blackwell will be redshirting). Now I must state that experience does not always equal talent, but it certainly is not a deterrent. Only two incoming players will have had zero experience with Romar's program and both players are experienced college ball athletes. Along with the preseason trip to Europe and Africa, this team should be a much more prepared unit than the 15 guys that took the court against Seattle Pacific University in early November, 2011.

The biggest question is most certainly "Who will replace Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten?" With Scott Suggs returning from his medical redshirt season, it is easy to imagine Suggs slipping right into Ross' starting possession and immediately make a positive impact. Suggs was our most consistent 3-point threat in the 2010-2011 season and he appeared confident in his shot throughout the exercises in the pregame warm-ups. Suggs has a chance to be one of the leagues leading scorers if he can not only knock down his jumper, but also drive the line with regularity to keep the defenses from cheating out to cover him. C.J. Wilcox also has the potential to jump into the starting 5 with his excellent outside shooting. At times, Wilcox was a streaking shooter hitting either all of his shots or none at all. There is no stopping Wilcox once he gets hot, just take a look at the 2009-2010 game against UCLA for proof.

I should also throw the new Husky's name in here, Mark McLaughlin. While I have seen very little of his game outside the occasional highlight video, McLaughlin is another tall wing with excellent scoring abilities. McLaughlin could provide excellent 6th man support, much like Wilcox this past year. Who knows, McLaughlin may turn out to be a better scoring threat than either Suggs or Wilcox, though my money is on the later players.

As for point guard production, the majority of the burden will fall upon Abdul Gaddy who is still struggling to live up to the hype set before his freshman year. Gaddy showed much more aggressiveness in the final stretch, but it proved to be too little too late. Gaddy is a well controlled guard with great court vision who, unlike Wroten, can see his teammates on the perimeter while attacking the lanes and is very comfortable kicking it out for an open J. Gaddy needs to be willing to move inside the paint and drop in the teardrop over the opposition frontcourt or simply bank his shot off the glass into the rim. When Gaddy executes inside, it looks all too easy and often leaves me wondering why in the world he doesn't attempt such things more often.

With next year's starting 5 likely featuring 2 outside threats versus 2 point guards, we may see more driving shots from whoever is at the 1 position as the defense spreads to covers the 3-point threat. I also believe that Andrew Andrews is in a position to provide stellar relief for Abdul Gaddy. Andrews has shown to be a fairly solid outside shot and is also known for having great speed and passing abilities. I've been told that Andrews has come out of practices looking like the best point guard on the court. We can only hope that these rumors are true. Hikeem Stewart can also improve his impact on the game by spending the summer with a shooting coach. As it stands Stewart is a 1-dimensional player without much of a shooting game, making it far too easy for opponents to simply sit back and let Stewart jack up shots that will never fall.

The second question the Huskies will have to address is "How will the frontcourt perform?" In many ways, this is a more important question than replacing Ross and Wroten. Players almost always step up their offensive production when called upon to do so and considering the holes our team needs to fill is in our deepest position, well we as fans shouldn't stress ourselves too much in that regard. The Huskies lose Darnell Gant to graduation, leaving Aziz N'Diaye as the only major minute grabbing big man. Desmond Simmons will pick up most of Gant's minutes as Simmons proved himself to be an amazing rebounder and hustler whenever he got into the game. Simmons did hit the proverbial freshman wall late in the season, but the fact that it took so long to occur is a testament to the work ethic Simmons possesses. I believe that Simmons and N'Diaye will be responsible for most of the dirty work off the glass, but expect some support for our outside guards.

The Husky frontcourt will also add in 6'10 redshirt freshman, Jernard Jerreau. While Jerreau is still built like a beanpole, he has put on weight since arriving to the UW campus. Another summer of working out will hopefully see an additional 10 or 15lbs of muscles added to his physique. The frontcourt should also see reasonable production from Shawn Kemp Jr. and Martin Breunig, both of whom showed potential on the offensive side of the ball. Their defensive lapses is what likely kept both players from receiving more minutes throughout the year. I am a big fan of Breunig. During his limited playtime, he really impressed me on the offensive end and I like the way he executes. I also enjoy Kemp Jr. dunking the ball next to the rim, rather than trying to lay it in as N'Diaye so often does.

So can the frontcourt establish itself as a respectable threat such that our backcourt benefits? I would say...yes. The Husky frontcourt will not be one of the top in the nation, heck it likely won't be one of the top in the conference (see UCLA for frontcourt depth). What the Husky frontcourt will be is a reminder for teams that the pick-and-roll still exists, that cheating out to the perimeter leads to easy dunks and lay-ins, and that dropping the ball inside to our big men is not any less effective than hitting a 15 foot jumper. Last season our frontcourt averaged only 28% of our points, I'd like to see that number jump to 35%. Our team relied far too much on backcourt production last season and that wears down players quicker than one might imagine. Sure, we managed to score nearly 80 points per game, but our defense suffered from the effort required on the offensive end. If the post can establish themselves as a scoring threat, the perimeter players will not be asked to run off of so many screens or cut across the baseline as often. I'm not saying those things should stop by any means, but if we can get a nice pass to the block for a 1-on-1 situation, our frontcourt should be talented enough to score a majority of the time. N'Diaye has really begun to put together some solid post moves that are near impossible to stop at 7 feet tall.

Overall, I would say this team may be slightly more consistent than 2011-2012, but I fear a similar post season outcome. UCLA and Arizona look very dangerous with some very talented freshmen joining their respective teams. Stanford also looks to be a threat, losing very little from last year's NIT championship team. What this means for the Huskies, is with a successful non-conference reason of their own, the Pac-12 could finally start making a return to dominance in the NCAA tournament. At this point, I would predict the Huskies to finish in 3rd, maybe 4th place, with a 12-6 or 11-7 record. As the season draws nearer and more information begins to come out from the various camps and practices, I'll speculate more on how each individual Pac-12 team should fair in the coming season.

Go Dawgs!

University of Utah 2011-2012 Preview

Utah comes into the Pac-12 looking much worse off than they did in football. A 13-18 season, 6-10 in the Mountain West Conference, does not bode well in what is definitely a stronger conference. Utah comes in missing a lot of past seasons players. Let's look quickly at a list of everyone they lost and then we will pursue a more in depth look at the key losses for the Utes.


Players Lost:

Jay Watkins 6-8 215lb
Chris Kupets 6-0 175lb
Antonio DiMaria 6-6 195lb
Will Clyburn 6-7 200lb
Shawn Glover 6-7 195lb
Seth Tippetts 6-8 235lb
J.J. O'Brien 6-7 215lb
Neal Monson 6-10 230lb
Dominique Lee 6-4 205lb
Michael Hodgman 6-1 175lb
Preston Guiot 6-0 185lb
Josh Fuller 6-7 210lb

Count it, 12 players down. 12. Wowza. Somehow they have managed to fill their roster back out with members from each class, including 5 freshmen. With only 4 returning players, not starters mind you just players in general, Utah is far and beyond the team with the most work to do. Anything better than a last place finish in the Pac-12 should be considered a success. Heck, I'd be amazed if they pull off 10 wins total with this kind of turn over. Sure they are bringing in players with some experience, but the Utes will be missing a lot of team cohesion and chemistry that is extremely important in winning close games and staying in what could otherwise be complete blowouts. If Utah and Colorado thought they were being stepped on in football, just wait until basketball season when UW, UA, and UCLA come marching in to greet them properly. Utah missing playing UW and WSU on the road as well as UCLA and USC at home. So Utah will play UA and Cal twice as well as UW and UCLA once, which most fans on either side of the ball should chalk up as 6 losses for Utah. The opposing team must be certain to never overlook a team, even one as beat up as Utah. Anyone can be beaten on a given day. Just look at SPU who beat Arizona by 1 in Arizona. Arizona was also down 12 at one point to Humboldt State in their most recent exhibition and only pulled out the win in the final 4 minutes or so when foul shots allowed Arizona to keep their lead. With that in mind, let's look at who the key losses are this off season.

Key Losses:

Will Clyburn 6-7 200lb

With a team leading 17 points and 8 rebounds a game, Clyburn was the heart, soul, and star of the Utah basketball team. He also led the team in steals per game and 3 point shooting percentage. Keep in mind Clyburn also made twice as many 3 pointers than anyone else on the roster, so it was not just a "fluke" or low attempt number that gave him such a good percentage. He will be greatly missed.

Jay Watkins 6-8 215lb

Older brother of returning leading scorer, Josh Watkins, Jay was third in scoring at nearly 15 points per game and had a team high 3.5 assists per game. Unfortunately, he also had a team high 3.4 turnovers which essentially negates whatever good he did for the team.

J.J. O'Brien 6-7 215lb

With 7 points and 6 rebounds a game (good for second on the team) O'Brien was another solid wing lost by the Utes this past year. I can't comment too much on what any of these players brought to their teams outside the statistics I've found as I really didn't watch them play last year. All I know is that Utah will be hurting in a very bad way.

Incoming Freshmen:

Kareem Storey 6-0 190lb

Storey is known to be a solid scorer with the ability to hit inside with a good driving attack as well as outside with a decent 3 pointer. He does force a lot of shots, hordes the ball, and often lacks the court vision to see open teammates. Storey could be more of a hindrance than an asset for Utah, but he is a college level player, which Utah would have been severely lacking otherwise.

Anthony Odunsi 6-3 195lb

Odunsi is a combination guard, much like Isaiah Thomas, but not nearly as skilled and lacking a consistent 3 pointer. He is a solid rebounder with the strength to bounce around in the lanes. He seems like a much more reliable point guard prospect for Utah.

George Matthews 6-6 190lb

Matthews has a great scoring skill set. At 6-6 he can shoot over players in the lane and at the post. He can also finish outside the arc, which forces defenders to stay honest at all times. He energy level can waver at times on offense and defense, occasionally forcing shots or letting the opposition blow by him.

Utah also brings in 3 JC transfers, plus 7 other transfers/redshirts.

Returning Players:

David Foster 7-3 255lb
Josh Watkins 6-0 200lb
Jason Washburn 7-0 230lb
Chris Hines 6-0 195lb

Well that was easier than usual.

Predicted Starting Line-Up

Josh Watkins 6-0 200lb
David Foster 7-3 255lb

And that's about as far as I can guess. They have so many incoming players I can't even begin to ponder who will be in their starting 5 outside those two. It's anyone's to take.

What to Expect:

Don't expect Utah to come close to competing. Even ASU and WSU should be able to make Utah look bad. Utah does return some size in a pair of 7 footers, but neither has shown too much offensive promise yet. Defensively they are a dangerous duo, especially if they could play on the court at the same time. Utah will be lucky to win 3 or 4 games in conference. If they manage to string together some sort of consistent starting 5 and find some decent enough bench players, Utah could struggle out of the basement to maybe 11th or 10th place. Higher than that would be asking far too much of the players and coaching staff. Utah won't be competitive in conference for at least another 2 or 3 year, in my opinion.

Norris Frederick Silent Auction 10/26/11

Norris Frederick, a UW Track and Field Alum, is hosting a Silent Auction this coming Wednesday in Seattle. The event includes a raffle, silent auction, and a variety of other UW Alumni such as Isaiah Thomas, Jon Brockman, Spencer Hawes, Roy Lewis, and members of Seattle's LFL (Lingerie Football League) team. Many of the celebrities will be part of a "date auction" where the highest bidder wins a date with the celebrity. Frederick is looking to raise money for his 2012 Olympic campaign to represent the USA and UW in London. There will be a live DJ, a bar for those over 21, and other fun events to keep the night going.

You can find out more here on the Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=237497606300407

Frederick's personal web page can be found here: http://www.norrisfrederick.com/

The event starts at 7pm and will go through much of the night. It is being hosted at Citrus Seattle.

Citrus Seattle

1001 Fairview Ave N

Seattle, WA

 

Check it out, give money to a good cause, and have some fun.

Go Dawgs!

University of Arizona Preview: 2011-2012

With the exhibition opener against Seattle Pacific just a hair over a month away, it's time to get down to it and begin looking at each of the Pac-12 teams in a little bit of detail to get an idea of what sort of challenges await the Huskies. I figure alphabetically is the best way to go, saving UW for last (though technically WSU is last). With UW I'll break it down into 4 separate article concentrating on each class of athletes (Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors) and I'll probably end it with a revised prediction for the Pac-12 standings.

On to Arizona:

Arizona faces a similar situation to Washington as they have lost some of their prime talent, but brought in some promising young talent that could keep them as one of the front runners for the regular season title.

Key Losses:

Derrick Williams:

Not much needs to be said that hasn't been already. Derrick Williams was the Pac-10 Player of the Year and deservedly so. Williams averaged nearly 20 points per game to go along with over 8 boards an outing. He shot 60% on the year from the field and 75% from the line along with an insane 57% from deep. He scored more than twice as many points and had twice as many rebounds than anyone else on the Wildcat roster. He was a huge post presence and drew an average of 8 fouls per game (good for 6th in the nation). He leaves a huge hole in the middle that will need to be filled.

Lamont 'MoMo' Jones:

Jones transferred during the summer to be closer to his family due to some health issues being experienced by his grandmother. Jones was the second leading scorer for the Wildcats with nearly 10 points a game and just under 2.5 assists per game. He transferred to Iona College in the MAAC. Many people also suspect that incoming freshman Josiah Turner also played a role in Jones' decision to transfer. Jones was a proven and successful point guard for the Wildcats and alongside Kyle Fogg, the two helped Williams find many open shots.

Kevin Parrom:

This is an interesting situation. For those who don't know, Kevin Parrom was shot quite recently in New York. He is stable and relatively healthy for someone who was attacked with a shotgun. He suffered gunshot wounds to his hand and leg/knee. I haven't seen any predictions as to his recovery time so I have no idea whether to mark him up as a loss for the Wildcats or just a delayed asset. I'm sure all of us wish him a quick recovery, no matter how much we may despise the Wildcats. If you don't remember Parrom, he is the one who tied up the game in overtime right before Isaiah Thomas made his infamous "Coldblooded" shot.

Jamelle Horne:

Arizona graduated only one senior at the end of the season, 6-7 forward Jamelle Horne. Horne was a solid player for the Wildcats, but was mostly in the shadow of Derrick Williams for the last season or two. In the 2009-2010 season Horne averaged nearly 30 minutes a game. In 2010-2011 Horne averaged only 18 minutes a game due to Williams' dominance in the post. He averaged only 3.3 boards per game and 6.1 points per game. While not a dominate player in his final season, he had all the tools and talents to be a frustrating defender and put up several double digit scoring games through the year.

Incoming Freshmen:

Arizona brought in a high octane recruiting class, snagging two 5-star and two 4-star players including UW recruit Angelo Chol.

Josiah Turner:

Highlighting the class is the #3 PG, Josiah Turner, a 6-3 185lb threat from just about anywhere on the court. He has a nice shot that needs a little refining. His real strengths are his speed and passing ability. He will be a definite threat inside the lane and should be an impact player from day one.

Nick Johnson:

Also at 6-3 and 185lb is the #5 shooting guard out of 2011. He can shoot with the best of them and even blocks shots like a big man. While listed as a 2-guard, he is a bit small for that position, but should be able to make up for that with pure athletic ability. He is also known to have a bit of a weak left hand, so defenders able to turn him the wrong way should experience more success in keeping him from becoming a threat.

Angelo Chol:

Many UW fans know of Chol as he was considered a big part of what would make the Class of 2011 successful for UW. Sadly, like many other big name big men, UW missed out and Chol signed with Arizona instead. At 6-8 and 210lbs he is a big man and will help make up for the loss of Horne and Williams. He has a decent mid-range game that helps to compliment his rebounding and shot blocking ability.

Sidiki Johnson:

Sidiki is a tad bigger than Chol at 6-8 220lb, but not quite as skilled. His scoring game is a work in progress as he is still developing a back to the basket game. Facing the hoop he is able to make a wide variety of shots and can finish strong at the hoop. He rebounds fairly well, but his overall effort tends to come in waves rather than performing at a high level consistently throughout the game.

Returning Players:

Robert Arvizu 6-0 182lb

Dondre Wise 6-1 214lb

Jordan Mayes 6-2 185lb

Kyle Fogg 6-3 180lb

Daniel Bejarano 6-4 208lb

Brendan Lavender 6-5 215lb

Solomon Hill 6-6 226lb

Max Wiepking 6-6 200lb

Jesse Perry 6-7 210lb

Kyryl Natyazhko6-11 264lb

Alex Jacobson 7-0 251lb

The big returning names are Fogg, Lavender, Hill, and Perry. They were the significant contributors this past season and will likely have to step their roles up with the loss of Williams and Jones, with the possibility of Parrom as well.

What to Expect:

Arizona should be a top 4 team in the Pac-12 without a doubt. The real question is whether the young talent coming in can replace the top tier talent they lost. In my mind they take a step back from the Elite 8 team of last season just with the loss of Derrick Williams. Young talent is nice, but experience is a better indicator of how a team will do. I think UW, UCLA, and probably even Cal will be better squads. Josiah Turner will likely make a run for Freshman Player of the Year. Arizona should make the NCAA without too much hassle. Their non-conference season should go well for them and hopefully they will enter the conference season still ranked. Several preseason polls have the Wildcats in the top 15 teams of the nation. To me this far exceeds their abilities. They are far too unproven to be so highly ranked. Are they a top 25 team? More than likely. Are they a top 20 team? Probably. Are they better than UW or UCLA? Likely not. Could they win the conference title? Definitely a possibility. UW should have won it this past season if not for the second half collapse after an outstanding start to the year.

UW Roster for 2011-2012

So as of June 6th, 2011 this is how the roster stands for next years team. It is unlikely that UW will add anymore players and currently will be sporting 12 players on scholarship. This means we might see Brendan Sherrer, who will be going into his senior season as a 3 year walk-on, get that final scholarship. At least that's what I hope will happen. No sense sitting on a scholarship if there is a hardworking kid who has put in his hours on the team.

One other important note is that Antoine Hosley, a freshman walk-on this past season, is likely transferring to Sacramento State next season.

All the class standings represent their 2011-2012 season standings. Their height and weight are as of today, June 6th.

Seniors

Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb
Darnell Gant 6-8 225lb
Brendan Sherrer 6-8 245lb

Juniors

Abdul Gaddy 6-3 195lb
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb

Sophomores

C.J. Wilcox (RS Soph) 6-5 190lb
Terrence Ross 6-6 190lb


Freshmen

Desmond Simmons (RS Fresh.) 6-7 215lb
Andrew Andrews (Not a typo. He has essentially the same first and last name) 6-1 180lb
Hikeem Stewart 6-2 180lb
Tony Wroten Jr. 6-4 206lb
Martin Breunig 6-9 235lb
Jarnard Jarreau 6-10 190lb

I plan on having a more in depth look at the incoming freshmen, plus Simmons, and what type of impact the player could have, their position, play time possibilities, etc. I may start some blogs about the upperclassmen soon as well.