I would rather have the knowledge that an UpperClassman is going to be here this year and next year to help run the point guard position than to rest my hopes on an unproven Star Washington born player. The players who are from Washington take a few years to turn into great players, and if Gaddy is considered one and done, I would rather not have him in our program. I saw him play live, he is good, but not crucial to our success. I love how UW is clinging all of their future hopes on signing this kid...pretty funny.

And please, don't waste my precious meatball time by comparing Gaddy to Brandon Jennings...that is as laughable as a previous poster (mattysimone) stating he would take Isiah T over Brandon Jennings. If you were a Division 1 coach and made that claim, you would be the only one in the nation that would be that absurd. I still can't stop laughing, thanks buddy, you are getting me through the first part of my Monday.

Meatball,
I agree with you re: upperclassmen vs. unproven freshmen. You guys know what you have with Wise, Gaddy is an unknown. However, I don't agree that UW fans are putting all their future hopes into the kid. We just like to keep local talent at UW, and hate to see it slip away to Pac-10 rivals. Before this news about Gaddy came out, it seemed we had already missed out on him and Siva, two of the top three prospects from the state. Now we have the potential to get Gaddy and Bradley in a package deal that could pay huge dividends down the road. Losing Siva sucked, but getting these two is huge for the continued influx of talent at the guard position as well as keeping local talent out of opponents' hands. If Romar lands these two and a decent big man, then he scores yet another stellar recruiting class. Laugh all you want, but I think Husky fans are just excited about the possibilities.

Grant- Your realistic view is a breath of fresh air. That is a fair way to approach it, and I applaud your point of view. It's just that there are too many posters on here that aren't realistic, and ignore the flaws that Romar has shown time and time again. In short, Washington won't be taken seriously until they play so competition outside of the Pac-10 season. If they can get to the 2nd or 3rd round of the speudo in-season tourney that they are in, that will help the cuz, but the home and away series that Washington has on contract are awful. Romar is the one holding back as he fears a tougher schedule will mean more losses. That may be so, but those types of games give a hell of alot more viable experience than what the current system gets. That is why I have to laugh when certain posters claim all this experience returning to Washington next year....

Meatball,
I think we played some decent teams last season (Pitt, Texas A&M, Syracuse). The problem is we didn't win any of those games. The LSU win amounted to nothing thanks to their pathetic season, and getting spanked by OK St. (on the road) looked pretty bad after where they ended up. I would like to see our schedule improve (Gonzaga instead of Idaho Tech for example) but if our team takes care of business (like making free throws) we are okay. Our incoming class includes some great shooters, but unlike Appleby, they can actually create their own shot, get to the hoop, and get to the line. Apps was a 90%+ free throw shooter, but he only attempted like 15-20 FTs all season. These new guards are so much more complete, and that is why I am optimistic for next year. We only lost Appleby and Morris, and we gain 5 new players with more talent...if we get Gaddy and Bradley in '09 it just adds to the stockpile of talent.

Bob,

Did you post the link to the wrong Spokesman-Review article? The link that you posted is to an article that simply states that Gonzaga is one of 7 schools that Gaddy is considering. It doesn't even specifically mention UW.

If Gaddy and Bradley have whittled their choices down to Gonzaga and UW, that would be big news....

TuBob

Meatball, there’s a difference between stating a player is better than another and saying you’d “take” (want) one player over another.

It does seem like a stretch to predict that Thomas would/will prove to be BETTER than Jennings…I’ve seen the youtube clips and Jennings is an unreal talent. But if you were to ask me, if I could choose IT for 3 years or Jennings only 1…I’d say a valid argument can be made for IT over Jennings. He’ll be fun to watch not only perform, but see his game develop. His excitement will do wonders for the program in the long-run and unless a Jennings propels you to an NCAA championship, what have you gained? (not to mention...it's always especially fun to have/root for the local boys)

Regarding Gaddy/Bradley…with the continuous growth in the talk of Few going to a bigger program I just can’t even begin to imagine why they won’t choose to stay home and risk not even having Few as their coach. Huskies are going to be competitive and fun for the next few years without Gaddy/Bradley…but WITH them the sky will be the limit and with the hometown/community backing their local boys it could be one of the most fun stories in UW b-ball history.

BTW - good to have you back Bob.

I'd love to see Gaddy and Bradley go to UW, but the guy I'm most excited about is Isaiah Thomas. It'll be great to have a true scorer with great ball handling skills. Not saying the other guys can't do that, but IT looks to be a special talent. There is a lot to be excited for with Washington basketball. When you look at it historically, UW has been a sleeping giant for many years. Landing half of the local talent and then getting guys from L.A. and St. Louis, etc., is very bad news for other Pac 10 schools right now.

Regardless of Few's decision, it's hard for me to imagine why Seattle players would pass up UW to go to Spokane. I can see leaving for Arizona or UCLA, etc., in the right circumstances. Those are good basketball schools and nice places to live, in a top notch conference, and some guys just want to get away from home. But if it's between UW and GU, and the guys take the decision seriously and take their visits, I have to think UW's chances are pretty good.

5 Reasons why IT will be better for UW program than Jennings would have been:

1. 5’7” dynamo named Isaiah Thomas will bring national attention to the program

2. Local boy makes good, always a great story…especially after following this young man the past
3 years and see the perseverance he showed to get here. How can you not love rooting for this kid?

3. He’s not viewing UW as just a one year launching pad to the NBA, he’s been committed to attending the UW for a long time.

4. He’s already played with and knows several of the current Huskies. (I’ll bet dollars to donuts he does more to improve MBA’s game than anyone else has or will – you think the two of them aren’t talking about what they’ll show next season?)

5. We as fans get to enjoy all of the above benefits for a # of years.

http://blogs.sltrib.com/recruiting/

CJ Wilcox from Utah has committed to UW

Nice journalistic work john.

A few weeks ago a discussion was occurring on Romar's lack of success in recruiting 'hidden talent'. Let's hope he found a diamond in the rough here as it's difficult to get extremely excited over a kid who Romar was able to 'steal' from schools like Utah, Utah St. and San Diego.

Not to say he won't be great, I just hope Romar sees something the bigger schools didn't.