With coaches back in town from the Final Four (which also serves as the national coaches convention) the Huskies officially began work on next season this week, beginning off-season conditioning and some allowed individual workouts.

Here are a few thoughts from head coach Lorenzo Romar on some of his players as they head into next season:

JON BROCKMAN: "I think after he steps away from the season and has a spring and summer, he'll come back improved. Even if Jon Brockman were not to improve at all, he would come back as the nation's leading returning rebounder and a two-time All-Pac-10 guy. But from his freshman year to his sophomore year there was huge improvement. And from his sophomore year to his junior year there was huge improvement. So I like to think he's going to get better. And then we're talking about an All-American candidate for us coming back.''

JOE WOLFINGER: "He wasn't able to play at that level (of the Cal game where he had 17 points) the last couple of games. But you know what he brings to the table now and this year he will have a full spring and summer where he can work.''

MATTHEW BRYAN-AMANING: "Early on he was maybe not being where he needed to be defensively. But those are things you anticipate out of a freshman. Where he needs to improve the most now is catching the ball and relaxing and not rushing things. He was shuffling his feet, doing everything too fast without realizing where everything is around him on the floor. But when he is relaxed he is awfully good. And after playing a year I think that he will come back much more relaxed. And he can block shots. I think everyone can see the potential is there.''

VENOY OVERTON: "He has to become a better shooter. And you have to realize with Venoy, he came in getting into school at the last minute. Now he's got a year under his belt where he's played and he got to play a lot of minutes. So he's got a chance to make great improvement. Next year he will be even better defensively and I think we'll force more turnovers as a team and that will get us in transition more. We'll have a more veteran team and with the players coming in, I think we'll have better opportunities to get out and run and finish on the other end.''

QUINCY PONDEXTER: "I thought he finished very strong. Last year he started out strong and didn't finish as strong. This year, I thought he finished strong and that will help him (heading into next season).''

JOEL SMITH: "He'll be a fifth-year senior and he's one of the best 'team guys' I've ever coached. He's just always so enthusiastic and upbeat. His inspiration definitely helps your team.''

JUSTIN HOLIDAY: "Justin hopefully will have an injury and illness-free year (next year). He's kind of a wild-card guy. He's one of those guys who is a glue guy. He really is a lot like Bobby Jones, a glue guy who can come in and play with many different combinations of guys on the floor. He's got to work on his ballhandling and outside shooting, but he is a smart basketball player and obviously a good defender.''