Washington’s patience is Lorenzo Romar’s — and the Huskies’ — gain

Posted: December 22, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Pac-12 | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scott Woodward could’ve taken the easy way out last season.

As Washington slogged toward a third straight season without an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Huskies’ athletic director could’ve listened to some of the fanbase and axed long-time head coach Lorenzo Romar. Washington has the type of college basketball history where a drought like that isn’t taken lightly.

No one would’ve blamed him. The Huskies had gone 35-31 in the last two seasons under Romar, who is now in his 13th season as head coach in Seattle. Also, in a stacked 2013-14 year for the Pac-12 in which the conference sent six teams to the tournament, UDub failed to be one of them. In fairness, that run includes a Pac-12 regular season championship in 2011-12 — but came in a weak season for the conference (Colorado and California were the Pac-12’s lone bids to the Dance) and ended in an NIT bid.

But in the microwave society of major college athletics, Woodward took a refreshing approach and waited. This season, to this point, Washington is reaping the benefits of letting things play out. This was never more apparent that on Saturday night when the Huskies, ranked no. 16 in the nation, took down no. 15 Oklahoma in Las Vegas, their second win over a ranked team so far this season. Washington is now 10-0.

In the past two seasons combined, Romar’s team combined for a grand total of …..zero victories over ranked opponents.

Late last season, Woodward reinforced his faith in Romar, telling the media he was the “right man for the job.”

Some could — and probably will — argue that the reasons for keeping Romar are partially tied to his 10-year contract that is currently paying him $1.7 million per season. That’s fair. But given the Huskies’ start to the 2014-15 season, it could easily be rebuked.

Looking at the roster the Huskies currently have, it’s a classic peek into what waiting can do for a program. There’s a steady mix of both immediate impact players (Fresno State transfer Robert Upshaw and sophomore dynamo Nigel Williams-Goss) and developmental projects, as well as long-time roster stalwarts, coming to fruition (Shawn Kemp Jr., Andrew Andrews and Mike Anderson). They’ve been able to minimize the impact of any transfers (none of note in the last three seasons) and attrition to the NBA, losing both Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten to the league following the 2011-12 season.

The Huskies are currently 12th-best in the country on the glass, averaging 41.9 rebounds per game, despite having just four players 6-foot-9 or taller on their roster. And even when they don’t get a ton of boards, they’ve been able to adjust to another style of play and win, beating then-no. 13 San Diego State 49-36 while getting outrebounded 42-36.

Add in a win over a UTEP team that pushed Arizona to the brink on Friday night, and it’s been a solid start for Washington, and one of the more surprising starts in college basketball.

Follow David Harten on Twitter at @David_Harten.

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The Mountain West: Gamblin’ on Vegas

Posted: October 31, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Mountain West | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All things considered from the preseason, it’s going to be a two-team race in the Mountain West Conference.

San Diego State and UNLV had players who were awarded preseason player of the year (Jamaal Franklin, SDSU), newcomer of the year (Dwyane Polee II, SDSU; Bryce DeJean-Jones, UNLV), freshman of the  year (Anthony Bennett, UNLV) and put three of the five on the all-conference team.

So there we have it, right? Nah, it’s a bit deeper than that.

Early on, it’s a totally reasonable thought to think it’s just two four-letter schools have a shot, but taking a look, this could turn into a three-team affair.

PRESEASON RANKINGS

UNLV– Dave Rice just has this team ready. A great leader in Mike Moser. Quality transfers in Bryce DeJean-Jones and Khem Birch. Role players who have been in the  system like Quintrell Thomas and Justin Hawkins. A serious freshman haul in Anthony Bennett and Savon Goodman. It’s all coming together on The Strip.

San Diego State – Jamaal Franklin  makes this team go. But don’t sleep on guys like shooter Chase Tapley, who poured in 15.8 points  per game in 2011-12 and hit 43.3-percent from three-point range. Xavier Thames returns and his 10.1 points per game returns as well. Dwyane Polee II makes his debut after coming over from St. John’s.

New Mexico – No one is talking about this team. It might come back to bite some people later on down the road. Kendall Williams paces the Lobos and coach Steve Alford. Hugh Greenwood provides depth at the guard spot. In the post, a thin line is anchored by 7-footer Alex Kirk and Tony Snell. Someone is going to have to provide more depth there.

Nevada – The Wolf Pack (yep, two words) will go as far as Deonte Burton will take them. Burton was a preseason all-conference member after averaging 14.8 points last season. Nevada also gets back 6-5 Malik Story and his 14.1 ppg from last season. Someone will have to replace Olek Czyz down low, along with Dario Hunt’s 10.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per. That might be a job for Kevin Panzer.

Colorado State – Larry Eustachy goes from a program that he could be mediocre with and keep his job, to the same kind of team in a bigger, better conference. Fortunately for the Rams, Eustachy doesn’t do mediocre. He resurrected his own career along with the program at Southern Miss. Now he takes a solid roster left by Time Miles and can go as far as he will take them. I do, however, have questions about the contrast in playing styles from last season to this one.

The Rest

Wyoming 

Fresno State

Boise State 

Air Force 

ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Mike Moser, UNLV – He’s by far the best player in the league with Drew Gordon gone. Moser can score (14.7 points) and rebound (10.5 boards) and can get his teammates involved (80 assists). He also led the Rebels with 68 steals last season. He’s a stat stuffer and should be a first round NBA pick after this season, barring something catastrophic.

Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State – Another recent product of coach Steve Fisher’s uptempo system. He could’ve come out after last season, maybe, and taken his chances in the NBA Draft. He averaged 17.4 points and 7.9 rebounds last season, taking complete control of the team after the graduation of Kwahi Leonard.

Kendall Williams, New  Mexico – Probably the best distributor in the MWC. He led the team with 142 assists (4.1 per game) and a lot of that last season was to one or two guys. This season, he’s got a more wide-open system with more free-flowing offensive structure. He should lead the conference in assists and add on to his 12.1 points per game.

Leonard Washington, Wyoming – If he wasn’t so good at getting in trouble, Washington would get more love. I don’t overlook guys like Washington. The former USC transfer averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 boards for the Cowboys in 2011-12, but was recently suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. He also led the MWC in blocks at 1.1 per game. He was brought back and the all-MWC second team pick can have the first-team all-conference season he’s capable of if he can keep his nose clean.

Colton Iverson, Colorado State – This guy is a total wild card, but I love his game. He’s a fifth-year senior with this being his only season with the Rams, but he averaged 5.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in the Big Ten (ok, I just want to call it B1G) last season at Minnesota, so I think the 6-10, 261-pounder can do some damage in the Mountain West. I can see an 11-and-10 season from him, enough to give him the nod. Though no one ever accused me of being smart.

MOST UNDERVALUED TEAM

New Mexico – In my writings on the Lobos, I got bombarded by fans of the program that I was foolish to think the team wouldn’t compete with the  league’s elite. They have a point. The Lobos have guard depth to spare with Williams and his 12.4 points per game at the point and Hugh Greenwood’s 83 assists last season. Jamal Fenton comes back after a three-game suspension in late November.  The only problem might be post depth. With Drew Gordon gone, Tony Snell (10.5 ppg) and company will need to step up.

MOST OVERRATED TEAM

Colorado State – Tim Miles did what not many before him could do: make a football school with limited resources in basketball, relevant. Larry Eustachy taking over gives the Rams great coach to work with, but his and Miles’ styles (rhymes!) are totally different. Miles loves to slow it down, Eustachy loves to shoot and run. Miles thrived on defense, and while Eustachy definitely doesn’t poo-poo the defensive side of the ball, he puts more emphasis on scoring (Southern Miss gave up and average of 65.1 points per game, 111th in Division I last season, while scoring 71.4, 89th in the nation).

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Yea, Mike, we’re thinking you’ll be Player of the Year, too.

Mike Moser, UNLV – The former UCLA transfer gets his year. He took a few people by surprise with 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds last season, but he’s possibly the best wing in the nation and could be spending his final season in college. A 17-and-12 season from him certainly isn’t out of the question.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Dave Rice, UNLV – Lon Kruger left a decent nucleus for the former UNLV role player to work with, but Rice has done a phenomenal job with this team. They’re the favorite to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and with good reason. Expect a lot from this squad now and in the future. Mike Moser, one of the most important transfers in Khem Birch who gets eligible at the semester break, not to mention Bryce DeJean-Jones, this team has been pieced together methodically, and Rice has done it in a way that would make Tark proud.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES/MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE