First Post has to be about Husky Basketball

The good news is that the Husky basketball season is not over. The team will get some extra practices and at least one more game. I’m not sure I buy into it, but, supposedly, that can only help with next season. One great thing about this team is the positive attitude, there doesn’t appear to be any egos or personality clashes. Perhaps that ‘s what came out of the Greece trip.

Needless to say, this season was a disappointment. However, considering the History of Husky Basketball, we really shouldn’t look at a 16-16 record as a bad season. But, we all have short memories. I actually thought they would do better. I figured with Hawes gone they would run more, i.e., play that recent successful style. Then there was the NIT snub/chip on shoulder and the extra practices, games, bonding of the Greece trip.

So what went wrong? I have no doubt, especially with the Pac-10’s overall coaching emphasis on a more deliberate style, Hawes would have lead the team to the NCAA Tournament, the top of the Pac-10, and Player of the Year. Losing Hawes hurt a lot more than I expected. The next negative possibly came from the improper chip on the shoulder; the “we deserved to go and got snubbed” chip. This chip comes from blaming someone else, the “we were wronged” chip that’s good for a short period of revenge motivation, but in the end, taking it up an extra notch just isn’t there. If it was someone else’s fault, then the previous effort was fine. The proper chip comes from realizing it is your fault, the “I let myself, teammates, coaches, school down” chip that motivates a sustained effort of improvement. I’m not saying this team didn’t put forth a tremendous effort in the off-season, during practices, or games but this is the prefect time to use the proper, rather than improper, chip and take it up a notch, rededicate your effort. This is all the more possible with that good attitude of the team. Unlike last season, nobody can blame the NIT, and, more importantly, nobody (presumably) is blaming their teammates.

I’m looking forward to next season, as cliché as that is to say after a let down year from the fan’s perspective. But, there is no Spencer Hawes to label as the one and done distraction or to accommodate with a change in the style of play and no outside force to blame. Obviously, this season was full of what-ifs, making free throws being at the top of the list, but that’s fixable and I still believe Coach Romar is doing the right thing. He is moving this team out of the constant losing seasons. Sustained winning, even if it means the team goes .500, is an improvement from every Husky era since Detlef, Welp, and Coach Harshman. Sure there were ups, but they were always followed by downs. This is the fifth year in a row the team was .500 or above (of course, that could change with a loss to Valparaiso).

The Pac-10 is going to be completely different next year: WSU and UO lose a group of seniors (and possibly their coaches), UA, ASU, UCLA, USC, Cal and Stanford could lose their top one or two players. UW loses two guys that, frankly, are replaceable; maybe not an exact skill, leadership replacement, but what they bring to the table overall can be replaced. Jon Brockman is All Pac-10, Pondexter can score, he just needs to realize that’s what has to be done (Brockman should not be their first option on the offensive end), Venoy Overton showed promise at the point, which means Dentmon can move to the two guard where he also showed promise, and Matthew Bryan-Amaning showed a high ceiling. Factoring in year to year improvements, that’s a nice starting five; definitely better than this season. Throw in Artem Wallace being a capable bruising back-up for Brockman and Bryan-Amaning, Justin Holiday playing hustle ball and defense, some contribution from the freshman and the rest of the bench, this team will have another winning season. How far they get, will depend on having the right chip and using it appropriately.