Photo credit: msnbc.msn.com

When I heard a couple weeks ago that Tony Wroten Jr. declared himself eligible for the NBA draft, I knew I had to write something about it.  So I sat down at my computer, looked at the blank screen and said "where the heck do I start?"

If you haven't noticed, I haven't written anything for this site in about a month for a couple reasons. One, I'm on the high profile Bellevue Christian JV soccer team (cue laughing) so I don't have a lot of time on my hands, and two, I've been struggling with how to approach this Tony Wroten article.

What should I do? Should I spout out a hateful rant against the 19-year old about how much of a selfish jerk he is for leaving Washington? Or should I just accept the fact that he did what a lot of people would do and take the money while it's there? I've been struggling with this question for the past two weeks or so.

But eventually it hit me: A normal article doesn't fit Tony Wroten because, well, his story isn't normal.

                                                                         Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Andrew Andrews: N/A. Andrews red-shirted this season as a result of the Huskies' supposed depth in the backcourt. Honestly, there's not a lot to say about his season besides that he constantly receives high praise from teammates and coaches. There's no doubt in my mind Andrews could have helped out at times this season. He will be a huge X-factor next year for the Dawgs and can easily play a large part in determining the success of next year's team.

Martin Breunig: B-. Breunig is a 6'8, athletic freak who could not find a spot in the rotation. I expected to see him flash some brilliance this season, which he did, but he is not a strong defender and needs to improve the variety in his offensive skill-set. The German freshman has a chance to make a big leap next year with Darnell Gant leaving, as he will compete with Desmond Simmons, Shawn Kemp and redshirt freshman Jernard Jarreau. It was certainly a shock to see Kemp Jr. steal nearly all of Breunig's playing time as the season progressed.

Abdul Gaddy: B-. The junior point guard saved himself from falling into the "C" category by finishing the season with authority. Despite being infuriatingly inconsistent and unconfident, Gaddy gave Montlake over his final seven games, averaging over 9 points to go along with 6.8 assists to only 2.2 turnovers per game. Gaddy's jump-shot and driving ability were maddening throughout the season, as he can get past defenders at will but lacks the confidence to do so. When he was successful off the dribble, defenders would back off and Abdul would proceed to tentatively shoot a jumper. All of this said, he needs some credit, as this was his first season back from a horrific ACL tear. Gaddy has the potential to take over this team next year and (warning: bias prediction on the horizon) be a dark horse for Pac-12 Player of the Year.

Darnell Gant: B+: Birdman finished his storied career at Washington by adding yet another Pac-12 title to his resume. Gant lost his starting job to his protege Desmond Simmons just three games into the conference season before regaining it for the final four games of the season and kept it throughout Washington's post-season run. The senior forward was able to take his demotion and loss of minutes in-stride, while still posting career highs in minutes (24.5), points (7.2), rebounds (5.4), assists (.8) and field-goal percentage (46.6%). Darnell Gant has embodied the Husky mantra over his five seasons with the program and will be dearly missed.

Jernard Jarreau: N/A. Ok, I will start this off by saying I do not know very much about Jarreau. However, I do know that he is 6'10 and from New Orleans. I mean come on. That is awesome. I also know that he tends to play like a guard, which is insane considering this kid is one big elastic band. I am excited for Jarreau's prospects as a Husky. The Dawgs have not this many tall people at once in a long time and that is pretty interesting.

Shawn Kemp Jr:B+: I was very unsure of what to think when I heard the news that UW had signed Kemp Jr. I thought, "oh, cool, an average big man with an athletic freak of a dad" and that was about it. I did not expect him to crack the lineup. He proved me wrong, averaging 6.5 minutes per game and proving to be a valuable defensive asset when Aziz N'Diaye was in foul trouble. Ultimately, Kemp Jr.'s basketball ability was a pleasant surprise, as my expectations were fairly low. I look forward to seeing him improve his scoring ability from inside 10 feet going into next fall.

                                                                     Photo Credit: Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

I want to say, first and foremost, thank you to Darnell Gant for an absolutely amazing career at the University of Washington. I wish you all the best in whatever you decide to pursue in life and am sure you will succeed, being the extremely talented individual you are. Brendan Sherrer, congratulations on everything you have achieved on and off the court since going from a member of the Dawg Pack to a member of multiple Pacific 10/12 championships.

Thank you to Lorenzo Romar for continuing to be one of the most kind and inspiring men I have ever met in my life. Many people, including myself, have called out his coaching inefficiencies this season, yet the Dawgs still came away with a regular season championship. These same people will say that Romar was not the reason for the championship banner that will be raised next season. They are wrong. Think of this Huskies team as a whole. The best players are a pair of sophomores and a freshman. One of the two seniors on the roster who receive significant playing time went down with an injury that ended his season. The freshman has the biggest ego that has ever come through the program. One of the sophomores was fighting an identity crisis for two-thirds of the season. The other sat out multiple games and did not come close to reaching 100% health over the final two months of the season. There are just two juniors on the roster. Romar’s effort to get this team a conference title will go underappreciated. I hope it does not, but it will. Thank you Lorenzo.

I started this game with the usual array of things I do while watching the Huskies. I yelled at the TV, gawked at questionable calls against UW, screamed at Tony Wroten and jotted down some in-game notes and statistics. I ended the game thinking of Washington’s season as a whole as defeat seemed inevitable, paraded around my room after CJ Wilcox’s game-tying layup and proceeded to sulk my way through overtime as the Huskies resorted back to their unorganized offense. This is what I’ve been doing the entire season. Isn’t that fitting?

Washington lost the game today. The Dawgs played a flat 30+ minutes of basketball before closing regulation with passionate basketball. This was followed by 5 disjointed minutes in overtime that ended UW’s season. The Huskies played uninspired basketball until the final minutes and it cost them dearly. The fact that Washington needed only to play a couple minutes of good basketball to overcome a double digit deficit shows how much better they could be. Now the season is over. There are no more “how good can UW be?” questions.

Initial (Over)Reactions

C.J. Wilcox is great. Abdul Gaddy is great. Beating the Ducks is great. Dana Altman’s facial expressions and sideline rage are great. For those of you who didn’t watch the game and were not aware that all three of these things could be said in the same night, go to ESPN3 and watch the replay.

The Dawgs outlasted Oregon 90-86 in an intense, hostile atmosphere complimented by two rival teams battling for forty minutes (primarily on the offensive end). Oregon found themselves up 46-42 after the first twenty minutes due in large part to E.J. Singler’s 15 points, poor defense by the Dawgs and Washington missing open looks from the outside. The Duck’s ball movement exploited UW’s zone, which rotated slowly throughout the half. There was multiple times where it looked like UO was playing 5-4 on the offensive end.

Washington opened the second half playing man-to-man and used that, along with great point guard leadership from Abdul Gaddy, to build a 75-65 lead. The Ducks refused to let UW pull away and found themselves down 84-82 with 42 seconds left following threes by Garret Sim and Devoe Joseph. Sim proceeded to inexplicably foul C.J. Wilcox, who started his clutch end of game performance by knocking down both free throws. Tony Wroten grabbed a missed UO three and displayed some basketball IQ by quickly kicking it out to Wilcox, who was fouled and hit both free throws again. Wilcox finished his icing of the game by hitting two more free throws after a Duck put-back.

Woofs

Abdul Gaddy: Gaddy showed signs of where he was last season before his injury, driving hard and leading the Dawgs with 11 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and just two turnovers. Abdul led the offensive charge, controlling the tempo and passing to the open man or driving himself when the opportunity arose. Last night was Gaddy’s best game of his career and looks to be a great launch pad for production next season. #Gaddyback.

The Three-Headed Monster: Ross, Wilcox and Wroten combined for 63 points and took turns taking over offensively. Terrance Ross continued his recent run of performing in the first half, picking up 12 of his 24 points before intermission while not being afraid to be aggressive. Tony Wroten finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds on 6-15 shooting (more importantly he was 10-14 from the line) and was, as always, able to finish around the rim with put backs. Wilcox had ice in his veins in the last 42 seconds, hitting all six of his free throws and finished with 17 points.

Ball Control: The Dawgs finished with 17 assists and only 8 turnovers. This was largely due to Gaddy’s 10 assists and 2 turnovers as well as Wroten only giving it up twice. Any time the Huskies finish with above a 2:1 A/T ratio should result in a W.

The Fans: Husky fans responded to Lorenzo Romar’s request for a packed house by doing just that on Tuesday night. Hec Ed was jam-packed and rocking the entire night. UW doesn’t win this game in Eugene.

Initial (Over)Reactions

"We are sorry for our inconsistent play this year". Lorenzo Romar's post-game speech nearly brought me to tears. The city of Seattle has been upset the entire season with the Dawgs and many people put that on Romar (yes, I am guilty of this). Stop. Stop it now. Lorenzo is the best. We should never, EVER take him for granted. His three best players this season were an extremely arrogant freshman and two sophomores. Give the man a break. Meanwhile, there was a Husky basketball game tonight. It was arguably UW's best all-around performance of the season. Terrence Ross led the way with 32 points and 8 rebounds, leaving no doubt that he is NBA ready.

Northwestern proved my theory on the Big Ten to be correct (if I only judge the Big Ten off of this game and the eye test throughout the college basketball season): the Big Ten is a league full of teams who make the most of their talent, but lack athletes and toughness. I respect Ohio State and Michigan State, but no other Big Ten teams belonged in the top 20 this season (looking at you Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin). Northwestern's players were quick to flail their arms in the air trying to attract a foul. This worked until Lorenzo Romar explained to the refs that John Shuma will throw his arms in the air if a baby pinched him. I have never been more bothered by a players' facial expressions and emotional reactions than John Shuma. He looked like he was either crying or extremely distraught the entire game. Toughen up. 

The Wildcats had a game-plan and executed it well for around six minutes. That's right about the time when the Huskies realized that Northwestern refused to penetrate on offense, had gaping holes in their zone and were determined to trap Abdul Gaddy and Tony Wroten. UW's two point guards were simply too tall for the Wildcats' to successfully trap and force turnovers.

In fact, the Huskies as a team were too tall for NU to handle. The Dawgs controlled the boards, winning the rebounding battle 44-26, including 19 offensive rebounds. In all honesty, Washington did not play a good game of basketball. The players played how they want to play. Lob passes over the zone. No flashers in the high post of the zone. Sloppy, gambling defense instead of bodying up man-to-man. UW won by 21 and ultimately that is what matters. 

           
                                                                                          Photo Credit: KATU
With the NCAA Tournament set to tip-off in full swing tomorrow, SeaTown Sports is here to provide you with a comprehensive preview of all the action.

South Region Preview

The Favorites:

Kentucky: John Calipari is famous for bringing in talented freshman and trying to win with the most talent instead of the most experience. This season, his experiment has paid off. Freshmen Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist lead the the two-loss Wildcats in all facets. Davis, the probable national player of the year, can score from anywhere, out rebound anyone, and change any shot with a challenge or a vicious block. His unmatched shot blocking ability makes it nearly impossible to score inside against UK. Throw in three solid players with final four experience in Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, and Darius Miller, and Coach Cal could very well have his first national title in a few weeks.

Duke: Coach K has four national titles under his belt, and this team might be better than the one that won it all in 2010. With freshman sensation Austin Rivers at the point and great shooters like Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, and Ryan Kelly around him, Duke has the potential to play in New Orleans. But they do not play good defense, and uncharacteristically lost three games in Cameron Indoor Stadium this season, so they certainly have vulnerabilities. If the Plumlee brothers can play intelligently with consistency, then Duke can go far in the South. If not, Duke could bow out in the round of 32.

Baylor: Scott Drew coaches an uber-talented squad that have redefined inconsistency in college hoops this year. Perry Jones III, a future lottery pick, leads the Bears with his ability to do anything at anytime. He can shoot the outside jumper, post up, lock down a guard or a big man defensively, and drive to the hoop. His versatility is unquestionable, but he also can do none of those things sometimes. Jones has a tendency to disappear and that could cost the Bears, who get help from guards Pierre Jackson and AJ Walton, shooter Brady Heslip, and interior forces Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller. Baylor's length alone could propel them to the Elite Eight and maybe even beyond.

Games to watch:

Connecticut vs. Iowa State: This might be the most intriguing matchup in the entire field in the round of 64. Connecticut was picked preseason top five by most outlets and has seriously underperformed. They have loads of talent though and Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, and Andre Drummond are all difference makers. They also won the tournament last year, in case people forgot already. Iowa State pretty much comes from the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Transfer Royce White leads the Cyclones who haven't made the tournament since losing in the first round as a two seed to Hampton back in 2001. White not only scores 13 points per game, but also averages nine rebounds and five assists. His versatility, complemented by the sharpshooting of Scott Christopherson, has led the Cyclones to big wins over Baylor and Kansas this season. This game basically is a coin flip, with each team having a great chance to win and to challenge Kentucky in the second round.

Wichita State vs. VCU: Last year's final four darlings, the Rams matchup against the sheik pick to resume their role this season, the wheat shockers of Wichita State. Every analyst seems to have tabbed the Shockers as this year's mid-major to make a run until they saw that VCU would be their first round opponent. Bradford Burgess, the leader of VCU's final four team in 2011, continues to lead the Rams, and coach Shaka Smart won't go down easy in the first round. But Wichita State has Garrett Stutz, a dominating seven footer who can also step out and shoot a jumper. They also have a never say die point guard in Joe Ragland who will not let the Shockers go down easy. I could see this one ending on a last second shot, and the winner could easily get to the Sweet Sixteen.

Players to watch:

Anthony Davis: You can't not watch this guy. He's seven feet tall, seven and a half feet long, and plays everywhere. He'll score on the low block, in the lane, with the mid-range jumper, and even from beyond-the-arc occasionally. He is even better defensively, and will most likely win defensive player of the year nationally, as well as freshman of the year and player of the year. He could even win final four MOP too if UK gets that far. Hands down, Davis has the most potential to influence the NCAA tourney and lead his team to a title.

Austin Rivers: The Duke freshman hit perhaps the most iconic shot of the season when he sunk UNC on the road back in February. Rivers will need to continue heroics like that if Duke is to make a deep run in the tournament. Rivers needs to play smart and unselfish and attack the rim instead of settling for forced threes. He has plenty of help around him, and he needs to use that help in order for Duke to win on the second weekend.

Mike Moser: UNLV's star player has dazzled since transferring from UCLA. He starred in the Rebels' signature victory against North Carolina earlier this season, and he can be a double-double machine when he is on his game. UNLV has stumbled a bit down the stretch, and so for them to beat Colorado and even Baylor and Duke, Moser will need to score and rebound at a high level.

Three upset possibilities:

VCU over Wichita State

Colorado over UNLV

Baylor over Duke (sweet sixteen)

Region Winner:

Can anyone beat Kentucky in this region? Baylor's length could test them, and Duke's three point shooting could do it too. However, betting against Kentucky is a bad plan this year. They have been the best team in basketball since November, and could easily cut down the nets in April. At the least, they should be expected to reach New Orleans. The Wildcats will win the South region and head to New Orleans with a great chance to cut down the nets. 

Photo Credit: Sports Press NW

Let’s just get straight to the point: Washington didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, and it stinks.

Fans and analysts have been arguing like heck on Twitter and Facebook that the Huskies should have made it in over a team like BYU because they won the PAC-12 regular season championship outright. Come on. Give me a break. Did you watch the Huskies in that PAC-12 Tournament loss against Oregon State?

Our worst fears as fans have been realized: Washington is playing in the same tournament we made fun of Washington State for being in last year: The National Invitation Tournament, or the “NIT.”

If you don’t know what it is, the NIT is a 32 team tournament that consists of teams that barely missed the NCAA Tournament. So as you might imagine, winning it isn’t the most prestigious award.

So as much as it may hurt, the Huskies are a number 1 seed in the tournament and will play a couple home games. And because of that, I say this to the 2011-2012 Washington Huskies:

Win the whole entire thing.

It’s Sunday. Selection Sunday. Judgment Sunday. The Sunday of all Sundays. The most important Sunday of all time. Whatever you want to call it, today is the day where Washington learns its fate. Joe Lunardi currently has Washington as one of the first two teams “out” of the NCAA Tournament. St. Bonaventure decided to complete the downward spiral, which has been life since Washington’s loss to UCLA, by beating Xavier in the A-10 final and locking up an automatic bid. Pop. Someone’s bubble burst this morning. Do not be surprised if the Huskies saw their preciously thin bubble poked into oblivion by St. Bonaventure. On a positive note, Lunardi missed 3 of his 4 “last four in” vs “first four out” picks last year.

                                                                                     Photo Credit: Getty Images

My time of mourning is done. I refused to write about this game until I knew which teams would play for the Pac-12 tournament final. Husky fans were desperate for a California vs Oregon State final, with Cal taking home the trophy. This would put the Dawgs in a superb position to get a bid, as it is hard to believe that the powers that be in the NCAA would only allow the Pac-12 one team. The Golden Bears fell to Colorado and Oregon State was steamrolled by Arizona in the final twenty minutes. UW is now firmly sitting on the “last four in” and “first four out” bubble with many bracketologists.

Initial (Over)Reactions

The first half was what all Washington fans were afraid of. Everyone knew that Oregon State was a dangerous matchup, but if UW withstood the Beavers’ punches that the Dawgs would come out on top. OSU ran the Huskies out of the gym in the first half, going into intermission with a 46-33 lead. Oregon State ended the first half on a furious 29-14 run and made it look like they were the team desperately fighting for a tournament bid. The Beavers’ 2-3 matchup zone gave Washington fits in Corvallis and did the same on Thursday afternoon, as the Dawgs turned the ball over ten times in the first half and failed to get into the lane.

Lorenzo Romar may not be a good “in-game” coach, but he made some darn good half-time adjustments. Washington found themselves up eight within the first eleven minutes of the second half. The Huskies began to get into the zone with a high-post man (why Terrence Ross and Darnell Gant did not do this in the first half is infuriating) and take care of the ball, as UW did not have a turnover in these opening minutes. Washington sat on their lead until there was a little over three minutes left when Aziz N’Diaye fouled out with UW up 77-71 . OSU fought back until Jared Cunningham went to the line after an and-1 with 31 seconds left and the Beavers up one following a charge by Terrence Ross on the other end. During OSU’s comeback it should be noted that Tony Wroten went 6-6 from the line as UW’s only source of offense. Cunningham missed the FT. Wroten attempted to drive and was fouled with 17 seconds left. You should already know what happens next. I won’t go over it. Just don’t blame Wroten.

Woofs

Tony Wroten: Wroten abused Oregon State in the first matchup to the tune of 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. OSU slowed him down in the second matchup. On Thursday, Wroten attacked with a vengeance and finished with 29, 7 and 3. More importantly, Tone went 6-6 from the line during a two-minute span near the end of the second half and was the only Washington player who wasn’t tentative when driving to the basket. This is why he has been valuable all season, he has never been afraid of the lane. Say what you will about the four free throws that he missed at the end of the game, as he should take full blame for not converting. However, UW loses this game by double digits if Tone does not play as well as he did. The blame for the loss falls on the coaches and the free throw shooters not named Tony Wroten. Tone was visibly distraught in the locker room and did not talk to reporters.

Darnell Gant: In Gant’s last Pac-12 game of his career his finished with 6 points and 10 rebounds. These points game during Washington’s big run to open the 2^nd half, as Darnell sliced into the zone and hit free throw line jumpers. I still do not understand why this did not happen the entire game.

Whimpers

Coaching: This shouldn’t go down as Lorenzo Romar’s worst coaching job ever, but due to the circumstances I am putting the first twenty minutes up there on that list. Romar refused to make any adjustments against the Beavers’ zone. The worst part was, he was clearly able to make adjustments at halftime. Why is Romar, a top-tier coach, not able to make those changes during the game? Terrence Ross slashed through the zone once in the first half and it ended in an easy jump shot. That is how you beat a zone, put a man at the high post. UW has never successfully or consistently done that against any team running a zone. Romar is a fantastic coach, but his lack of in-game ability needs to be addressed.

Free Throw Shooting: Tony Wroten: 9-15. Rest of team: 3-11. Blame Wroten all you want, but let’s think about this. With the Huskies up 4 with five minutes remaining  Terrence Ross missed back-to-back free throws and C.J. Wilcox missed the front end of a one and one, leaving four points on the board. Ross and Wilcox are supposed to be Washington’s best free throw shooters and they combined to go 2-6 from the line.

Waiting: Waiting until Sunday sucks. I want to know if Washington is in. They probably will not make the tournament at this point in time, as either Colorado or Arizona will take UW’s “last four in” spot. The last time the Huskies failed to make the tournament was with Spencer Hawes. Bring on the inevitable Spencer Hawes/Tony Wroten theories.

Finishing Thoughts

I have so much that I want to say about this year’s Washington Husky men’s basketball team. I truly hope that they did not play their last meaningful game of the season on Thursday. I don’t want to take any credit away from the NIT, but nobody ever strives to be in the tournament full of teams who missed out on the Big Dance. Sunday is tomorrow. That is all I can say.

This has been the “it” game for Washington during the last two weeks. The Huskies win a game in the conference tournament and they can feel confident about getting an NCAA tournament berth. The Dawgs will be matched up with the only team in the conference that can match their length and athleticism, Oregon State. The Beavers threatened to blow open their game against Washington State in the first round before the Cougars fought back, leading to an eventual 69-64 OSU victory.

The Basics

Noon. PST. ROOT Sports. Staples Center.

Washington Huskies (21-9; 14-4) Oregon State Beavers (19-13; 7-11)