Husky Men's Basketball Blog

Will Conroy is now in the books forever as an NBA player.

The former Husky played two minutes tonight for the Memphis Grizzlies as they lost to Dallas 95-94. Here's the box score.Conroy didn't record any stats during his two-minute stint.

According to the official play-by-play here, Conroy entered the game with 2:53 to go in the first quarter and then left with 44 seconds. That was his only action.

Memphis plays next on Saturday at home against Indiana. Here's a schedule.

That's what Foxsports.com columnist Jeff Goodman writes here, anyway.

Goodman doesn't say much about UW we don't already know, but he does give an interesting list of other teams that could miss the NCAA Tournament --- including those other Huskies from UConn, as well as Louisville. Interestingly, those are the last two teams to beat UW in the NCAA Tournament, each in the round of 16.

And it could make for a lot of entertaining NIT games if that's where this all ends up.

It's worth pointing out again, however, that UW will have five of nine conference games at home in the second half with the four road games including visits to lowly Arizona State and Oregon State. A 6-3 Pac-10 record the rest of the way isn't out of the realm of possibility, which would then put an awful lot of importance on that Pitt game Feb. 17.

It's the midway point of the Pac-10 season, which means it's time for media around the conference to deliver their mid-year awards.

Here, for instance, are a few from our own Bud Withers.

I can't disagree with much of what Bud writes.

I think there's little question right now that Oregon's Aaron Brooks is the conference Player of the Year. He leads the Pac-10 in scoring overall and in conference games only (22.3 in the latter) and is also among the top five in assists, steals, three-point field goals made and percentage. In fact his three-point percentage in conference games only is an astounding 55.6 (25-45). So he's more than earned that seemingly lucky shot he banked in late against the Cougars.

Bud's All-League team --- consisting of Mustafa Shakur and Marcus Williams of Arizona; Arron Afflalo and Darren Collison, UCLA; Nick Young, USC; Aaron Brooks, Oregon; Lawrence Hill, Stanford; Jon Brockman, Washington; Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver, WSU --- is also probably the same I'd pick.

You could make a case for Oregon's Maarty Leunen, maybe, as well.

Bud's All-Freshman teams consists of Chase Budinger, Arizona; Ryan Anderson, Cal; Tajuan Porter, Oregon; Taj Gibson, USC and Robin Lopez, Stanford with the caveat that Spencer Hawes will be back on once he's healthy.

Harder to choose is the best freshman, which seemed like a choice between either Budinger or Hawes heading into the season and now is a mad scramble. Right now, Ryan Anderson (top 10 in scoring, rebounding) would probably get my pick. But this is one that will be decided by the final half of the season.

Bud picks Tony Bennett as coach of the year and that's another one that's almost impossible to argue, considering WSU was picked for 10th in the pre-season poll just three months ago and now is a game out of first.

To add a few of my own awards:

Most unappreciated player --- Lorenzo Mata, UCLA. He does little pretty and doesn't rank in any statistical categories save for blocked shots, but he always seems to make some key plays while turning in solid defensive performances.

Most underachieving player --- Sasa Cuic, Oregon State. Every time I see this guy, I think he should be a superstar based on his apparent physical ability. But then he plays as if he's sleep-walking and he's obviously doing little to help his team win.

Coach on the hot seat --- Jay John, Oregon State. Word is the extension he signed last year will probably be enough to get him on another year. On the other hand, the Beavers appear headed for a 3-15 or 2-16 type record in what is his fifth year.

Team on the rise --- Stanford. With the Lopez Twins progressing quickly, Stanford has a chance to win every game left on its schedule, starting tonight against Gonzaga. Only makes UW's late-game fade in Palo Alto that much tougher to take for the Huskies, knowing they blew a golden chance to get a win that a lot of other teams aren't likely to earn.

Team on the brink --- Washington. The Huskies have no margin for error now. But two wins this weekend would put them right back in the hunt for a tourney bid.

Most surprising player --- Did anybody really think Taj Gibson would be this good, make this sort of impact? He's the biggest reason USC has gone from pretender to contender.

Glad he hung around award --- While his brother, Rodrick, rots on the bench at Kansas, Lodrick Stewart is thriving with the Trojans. He's shooting 52 percent on three-pointers in Pac-10 games, third behind Aaron Brooks and Darren Collison.

Most unbelivable number --- In Pac-10 games only, WSU's Derrick Low has an astonishing assist-to-turnover rate of four as he has 32 assists against only eight turnovers. Next best is ASU's Derek Glasser at 2.67.

Most improved player --- There are a lot of candidates. One who might get overlooked is Stanford's Anthony Goods, who last year as a freshman averaged 2.7 points per game and right now is averaging 15.3 in Pac-10 games.

Feel free to add some of your own awards in the comments section.

Also, here's our story today on UW attempting to overcome its road woes as it heads to Arizona this weekend

Here, also, is an update on the financial situation of UW's athletic department.

Here are some other notes from Lorenzo Romar's press conference today.

Romar said the starting lineup is expected to remain the same, which means Artem Wallace at center and Spencer Hawes coming off the bench.

Hawes said it bothers him "a little bit'' not to be starting. "But I've just got to keep working to get back in the starting lineup. It's worked the last two games, so we'll see.''

Hawes said he really hasn't been told why he's not starting and admits he's been tempted to ask, though he hasn't. "But it's not really that big of a deal,'' he said. "It's not who starts but who finishes.''

Also, junior guard Joel Smith, out all season with a foot stress fracture, had originally been expected back this week but had his return delayed after a meeting with the doctors last week. He will be re-evaluated next week.

Romar had previously been adamant that Smith would play this season, and Smith has also said he'd like to play. But with games running out, Romar said Tuesday a redshirt season is possible. "There comes a point where there's just not enough games to waste a season,'' he said, though he wouldn't say what that point is. "We will have to sit down and talk about it.''

Some of you have already brought up how Smith redshirting could impact the future scholarship situation.

A Smith redshirt would have no real impact on the 2007-08 season since he would be a part of that team anyway.

Smith redshirting would impact the 2008-09 roster, however.

If Smith redshirted everybody else came back, and everybody who is signed or committed as of this very minute showed up, by my count UW would have 14 scholarship players that season. But that's unlikely to happen --- Hawes almost certainly won't be around that long, for instance.

Still, it is something the coaches will have to think about. Conversley, that's a long time into the future and it's hard to predict everything that could happen between now and then. For now, let's wait and see what happens with Smith this season.

Sounds as if health may soon stop being a factor for the Huskies.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar playfully raised his arms in triumph today when asked about his team's health, saying that the Huskies finally seem to be getting close to 100 percent.

Everyone was able to practice Monday for the first time in a while, with the Huskies even having an extra player as a sub.

Most notably, Spencer Hawes said he's getting close to where he was before he caught a stomach virus, then sprained his ankle. Reports where his Monday practice was the best he has looked in quite a while.

"I'm just feeling more energy,'' Hawes said. "There's a hop in my step, kind of.''

To reiterate on TV for the ASU game, there isn't any of any kind anywhere, so this won't be a game you will be able to see. However, every other UW game is skedded to be on TV somewhere in some fashion, with almost all likely available in the Seattle area.

We had a brief note here yesterday that Tre Simmons was in Israel.

Here's a list of Americans playing in Israel right now --- Tre's real name is Chester. Here also is the home page for Tre's team.

There are some interesting names on the list of Americans playing there, including Lee Nailon, Ed Cota and Noel Felix, who had a brief run with the Sonics.

As for how much money these guys make, every league and situation is different. But it can be pretty lucrative --- generally a lot more than playing in the D-League. As a for instance, Doug Wrenn told me he made $75,000 for three months in the Philippines.

Wrenn, by the way, is still playing for this team in China.

I talked to Will Conroy for a while tonight as he was changing planes in Dallas on his way from Tulsa to Memphis, where tomorrow he will officially become a member of the Grizzlies.

"I'm excited, but you know, I've got to relax a little bit,'' he said.

Conroy is trying to take it in stride. Though this is the culmination of a dream, he also feels as if he belongs in the NBA.

"This is just the beginning for him,'' said UW assistant coach Cameron Dollar tonight. "It was only a matter of time and we are just excited for him. He's going to be there for a long time because he works so hard and he's committed to being a team player and helping guys win.''

Conroy was showing NBA teams all of that in Tulsa of the NBA DL.

As of Monday, he was leading the league in assists at 10.3 while also averaging 15.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He also had three triple-doubles and the front page of the league's web site Monday touted him as the league's career leader in that category.

Conroy agreed with his former UW assistant coach when he said he felt "it wasn't a matter of if, but when'' he would get a call from an NBA team.

It came Monday morning as he lifted weights with the rest of his Tulsa team.

He had told his coach, Joey Meyer, of plans to drive to drive to Oklahoma City later in the day night to see Roy and the Blazers play Monday night.

"He said if he were me, he wouldn't go anywhere,'' Conroy said. The call came a short while later.

Conroy is the fourth Romar-era Husky currently in the NBA, joining Roy (Portland), Robinson (New York Knicks) and Jones (Philadelphia).

Like each of those three has already done, he hopes to someday soon make a homecoming as professional

The Grizzlies play at Seattle on Feb. 20, meaning Conroy will have to earn another 10-day contract --- or maybe even a longer deal --- to play in that game.

"That will be sweet if I make it to then,'' he said.

Here's Conroy's stats page from the NBADL web site.

Will Conroy has finally achieved his dream of being a part of an NBA team, having been called up today by the Memphis Grizzlies.

He isn't expected to be in Memphis in time for tonight's game but against Sacramento but is expected to be there for Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks pending passing a physical.

"He gets to wear that trademark number five,'' Renee Conroy said today.

Conroy had been tearing it up in the NBA DL for the Tulsa 66ers where he was averaging 15.8 points and 10.3 assists per game. He is the NBA DL's all-time leader in triple-doubles.

"He's extremely excited,'' Renee Conroy said. "Considering where he came from, this is amazing.''

Conroy overcame surgery this summer that was initially feared to be career-ending. He had a rod inserted in his lower left leg to repair a stress fracture suffered last season while playing for Tulsa.

He becomes the fourth member of the Lorenzo Romar-era Huskies in the NBA, joining Nate Robinson (Knicks), Brandon Roy (Blazers) and Bobby Jones (76ers).

In other UW alumni news, Tre Simmons is playing in Israel.

Monday means another day of new rankings, so here they are.

First, here's the AP Poll, once again including five Pac-10 teams, though if with some changes --- UCLA is at No. 5, after losing to Stanford, Oregon at No, 9, Washington State at 18, Arizona at 20 and Stanford at 23, replacing USC, which was in the poll last week before being beaten soundly by the Cardinal on Thursday night.

Here, also, is the Coaches Poll, which includes just four Pac-10 teams --- UCLA at 5, Oregon at 9, Washington State at 17 and Arizona at 22.

And here is my AP poll for this week.
1, Florida
2, Wisconsin
3, North Carolina
4, Ohio State
5, UCLA
6, Kansas
7, Pittsburgh
8, Oregon
9, Duke
10, Texas A&M
11, Memphis
12, Butler
13, Oklahoma State
14, Marquette
15, Nevada
16, Virginia Tech
17, Washington State
18, Air Force
19, Kentucky
20, Georgetown
21, Alabama
22, Stanford
23, Vanderbilt
24, Clemson
25, USC

To address a few things --- I have five Pac-10 teams in my poll but left USC in, added Stanford, and removed Arizona, which has lost five of seven, including a loss to USC last week. I moved Oregon down three spots feeling the Ducks shouldn't be punished too greatly for losing to UW on the road without Aaron Brooks (that's not to diminish UW's win, but I feel all factors have to be taken into consideration when voting). And I left the Cougars right where I had them last week.

I've seen some disbelief on here already over WSU not moving down much despite losing, but you have to remember there were a lot of losses by teams in the poll this week --- 12 ranked teams suffered defeats this week, Alabama, LSU and Clemson each losing twice.

So one loss, especially to another ranked team in a tightly contested game, wasn't that great of a sin considering some of the losses other teams had this week.

In similar fashion, I left Clemson in the poll, giving them some benefit of the doubt for losing in controversial style at Duke, then suffering another loss Sunday that had to be influenced in part by the letdown of the Duke game.

Here, also, are the latest RPI rankings. The Pac-10 dropped to No. 3, behind the ACC and the SEC, after Arizona's loss to North Carolina. Here is a breakout of the Pac-10 showing the Huskies at No. 72, up from the low 80s last week, but also still eighth among conference teams. That Pitt game, obviously, looms huge.

The Pac-10 Conference season hit the halfway point Sunday night when Stanford rallied to beat UCLA, a game that only further tightened the race for the title.

And made our weekly rankings that much tougher.

But here goes anyway:

1, UCLA --- Despite the Sunday stumble, still the favorite. But that game revealed some possible fissures --- UCLA was outrebounded 40-28 and also was exploited by Stanford's smaller lineup in the second half.

2, Oregon --- Oregon's showing some amazing resiliency and Aaron Brooks continues to look like the favorite for Player of the Year. Ducks get a chance to state a case for No. 1 with Thursday night showdown at Pauley against the Bruins.

3, Stanford --- The most improved team in the conference from the start of the season (Washington State has been good all along). The Cardinal now looks nothing like the team that lost at home by 34 to Air Force. Has a chance to help the Pac-10 with Wednesday home game against Gonzaga. After that, however, it's five of seven on the road.

4, Washington State --- Cougs lost their first home game and also lost a key player as reserve swingman Nikola Koprivica is out for the year with a knee injury suffered against Oregon. Like Stanford, Cougars have five of next seven conference games on the road.

5, USC --- Trojans got big road win Saturday at Cal to stay in the thick of the conference race. Interestingly, Trojans rank last in the Pac-10 in assists and are losing more turnovers than any other conference team. USC is also last in three-pointers made. But USC makes up for it by ranking first in field goal percentage defense.

6, Arizona --- Giving just five players the bulk of the time seems to have caught up with the Wildcats, who appear to have hit a wall. Goods news is Marcus Williams will apparently be back for this weekend's games against WSU and UW. Wildcats need a sweep to stay in the race, and even just one loss will begin to make their NCAA Tourney hopes a little precarious as Wildcats finish with five of seven on the road.

7, Washington --- Huskies finally showed some signs over the weekend of being the team everyone expected to see all year. If Spencer Hawes returns to full health, UW may still be able to make a tournament run. But first, Huskies have to show they can win a road game.

8, Cal --- Hard to explain the Bears who are 3-2 in conference road games and 1-3 at home, beating only the Huskies. Injuries appear to be taking their toll.

9, Oregon State --- What's the deal with OSU's free throw shooting? Beavers were an astounding 18-51 from the line on the Washington trip.

10, Arizona State --- Starting to be worth wondering whether ASU will be able to win a conference game. No Pac-10 team has ever gone 0-18.

The Huskies caught a break last week when they faced Oregon without Aaron Brooks. Doesn't sound as if they will be as fortunate this weekend, as reports out of Tucson indicate that Marcus Williams will be okay to play this week against WSU and UW.

Here's a story.

Sorry for the late post, but had some Sunday family considerations.

First, here's our coverage from today, starting with a game story centering on Jon Brockman's play and Lorenzo Romar's apparently quite spirited halftime talk to the team.

The Huskies led just 43-40 at halftime and let an Oregon State team that was shooting only 42.3 percent coming in make 55.2 percent in the first half, including 6-7 by center Kyle Jeffers.

Next is our notebook, focusing on Spencer Hawes and also with some info on C.J. Giles. Giles acknowledges he wanted to come back to UW once he was let go at Kansas but that the Huskies weren't interested.

As for Hawes, he again came off the bench, and then played just eight minutes in the first half as coaches weren't happy with his performance. He stirred to life in the second half to score 11 of his 13 points. Romar said he didn't know when Hawes will return to the starting lineup, but said it will happen once Hawes is 100 percent and able to practice and play on a consistent basis.

Romar said until Hawes is completely healthy, he wants to avoid a situation where the team plans to start Hawes, then finds out that he can't go. He compares the situation to that the team faced two years ago when Brandon Roy hurt his knee. He said it was easier to have a set starting lineup without Roy and then play Roy whoever much he could go off the bench instead of having a constantly rotating starting lineup.

There is also a quote in the notebook from Romar staunchly defending Hawes from those who have criticized him during his recent illness-related struggles.

There is also this story from the Corvallis Gazette-Times offering the Oregon State point of view.

The talk after UW's 91-74 win over Oregon State was of Jon Brockman's zeal and Lorenzo Romar's halftime chat.

Brockman was everywhere in leading the Huskies to the win, diving on the floor and through the tunnel for loose balls and also tying his career-high with 25 points. As Oregon State coach Jay John said: "We had no answer for Jon Brockman. We don't have a guy tough enough to deal with him.''

Romar said he felt Brockman was showing the rest of the team how to play with his own actions. "It was 'I'm just going to show you and you follow my lead,''' romar said. "I think that is what Jon was doing out there tonight.''

Only Brockman and Justin Dentmon really brought it early, however, and UW led just 43-40 at halftime, which apparently elicited a loud halftime talk from Romar.

"He had some words,'' Brockman said. "Some big words. But we realized that we played horrible in the first half and we were ahead and we just had to get after it in the second half and I think we took care of business.''

Indeed, that might have been the most impressive aspect of this win. The recent struggles have made it easy to wonder if maybe all the talent has been overhyped. But the ability to dominate a half in such a fashion demonstrates that a lot of what everyone has thought this team has is there.

The key now is getting the team to perform like that on a consistent basis, and especially on the road.

This was obviously just what the Huskies needed to at least get back on the fringes of the NCAA Tournament picture.

There's still a long ways to go, but there were a lot of good signs this weekend, and in today's blowout of Oregon State.

The Huskies dominated the boards against both teams (41-21 today), got solid play from point guard Justin Dentmon (41 points for the weekend), and despite what the field goal numbers might indicate, seemed to play better defense. The Huskies forced 18 turnovers against Oregon and had nine steals in today's game.

I'll have more later.

It seems as if the Huskies are doing a lot of the right things --- hustling all over the place, outrebounding Oregon State 17-9, playing hard on defense.

Yet the Beavers are hanging in, down just 41-38, having made 16-29 shots --- an abnormal occurence for an OSU team shooting just 42.3 percent for the season.

UW is playing somewhat sloppily with 10 turnovers --- Justin Dentmon and Jon Brockman each have three. But those are also the only players providing much offense for UW as Dentmon has 14 points and Brockman 12.

Spencer Hawes played just eight minutes and scored only two points on 1-3 shooting.

It's about 20 minutes to tipoff and the arena is a third-full, at best.

Whatever buzz there is surrounds the fact that Arizona just suffered the worst loss of the Lute Olson era at the hands of Carolina. Here's a good recap from the Arizona Daily Star with some details on the injury to Marcus Williams. Obviously if he can't play it figures to help UW's cause there a week from now.

And UW fans can only hope Arizona plays as poorly a week from today when the Huskies make their annual visit to McKale. I think UW needed Arizona to beat UNC and make a possible win down there look that much better. Now, the perception of whatever UW does there will be tainted by Arizona's blowout today.

Arizona suddenly has to be worried about its NCAA Tournament chances. But the one thing it has that UW doesn't is a high RPI. Arizona was still No. 3 heading into the game today.
You'll note UW moved up to No. 63 after beating Oregon after having been No. 83 earlier in the week.

Here, by the way, is Pomeroy's latest projection of Washington's season. He's the one who had UW starting out 1-7 a few weeks ago and he wasn't far off. Now he's got UW going 7-11 in Pac-10 play and 17-13 overall, which would have the Huskies securely in the NIT.

Just a few hours until gameday so we'll take a quick look around cyberspace.

First, here's my story today which focuses on the apparent reemergence of Justin Dentmon which is, obviously, absolutely vital for the Huskies to do anything this season.

We'll see if this is a permanenet revival, but Dentmon definitely seems to be a more humble player than he was a few months ago. In the story, he acknowledges that he'll probably be at UW for four years and that while he still has NBA aspirations he has to take "baby steps'' in that direction. He admits that thinking too much about the pros might have been one of the things causing his game to go off course earlier in the season.

One thing that didn't get in the story --- there has been lots of discussion of whether Dentmon is a "true point guard.'' I asked UW coach Lorenzo Romar about that yesterday, whether Dentmon can be successful at the "true point guard'' parts of the game.

"He can do it to where it's good enough,'' Romar said.

He then went on to restate his long-held position on why he is enamored of point guards like Dentmon who can also score. When a team has a "pure point guard'' who maybe can't score too well, "it's sometimes like playing five on four,'' he said.

There isn't much out there on Oregon State today. The Corvallis Gazette-Times has this story on Marcel Jones becoming the team's go-to guy.

No doubt, Jones will be an interesting matchup for the Huskies today. With UW's starting lineup, Jon Brockman would be the logical defender, but I've got to imagine Quincy Pondexter will see plenty of time on Jones today, as well.

I also found this blog entry from GT writer Cliff Kirkpatrick interesting as he talks about how Oregon State is attempting to rework its schedule to play as many games as possible next season after C.J. Giles becomes eligible on Dec. 8. That may be assuming, of course, that Jay John is still the coach. Hard to believe there won't be some talk along those lines should OSU continue on its current course as he is now 26-53 in Pac-10 games.

There are also a slew of big games today around the conference. None may be more critical to UW than the North Carolina-Arizona game as the Huskies need the Pac-10 to remain viewed as the best conference in the country to help justify their poor start. Here's a preview of that game which is tipping off as I write this. And yes, Marcus Williams is back in the lineup.

The Huskies practiced late today, thanks in part to a number of players taking tests.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar said the lineup will be the same tomorrow as it was against Oregon, with Spencer Hawes again coming off the bench.

"He just hasn't had a lot of time in practice (recently),'' Romar said. "So let's bring him off (the bench) and let him fit in as the game goes. ... Until there is some consistency there and getting some practices in, as opposed to disrupting and keep changing things we'll just go this way for now.''

As Romar pointed out, Hawes still played 29 minutes against Oregon (his season average is 27.7 minutes per game).

That means Artem Wallace will again start at center. Romar said he likes the pairing of Wallace and Jon Brockman, calling them "our two most physical players'' and said Wallace has learned more "how to compete'' at the Pac-10 level this year. Romar said the next step for Wallace is to learn to finish better around the basket when he has chances to score.

By making 6-14 three-pointers against Oregon, the Huskies took over the Pac-10 lead in three-point field goal percentage at 38.7. That could be key tomorrow as Oregon State ranks last in the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot 36.7 percent.

There was no other personnel news of note.

Finally for UW fans, a lot of good reading on the day after a game.

Here's a story from the Oregonian emphasizing how the Ducks' small lineup failed them against UW's bigger lineup. Would Aaron Brooks have made a difference in that? Guess we'll found out in Eugene next month.

The story points out that Ernie Kent did try to match UW's size, giving reserve big men Mitch Platt and Ray Schafer some uncommon playing time --- the two had combined for one minute in Pac-10 play before last night --- and while it worked a little bit, ultimately couldn't stem the tide.

Here's a story from the Eugene Register-Guard making the solid point that Justin Dentmon was able to have such a good night because he exploited his size advantage on Oregon's 5-6 guard, Tajuan Porter. That might be the biggest area where Brooks could have made a difference.

In looking ahead to Saturday's game against Oregon State, here's a story from the Oregonian concentrating on the fact that the Beavers shot an astonishingly bad 6-19 from the free throw line against Washington State. That's almost hard to believe. OSU coach Jay John has often this season said his team simply doesn't shoot well and this is more obvious evidence of that.

Here's a story from the Corvallis Gazette-Times making many of the same points about OSU's offensive problems. UW needs to make those continue for at least another day.

Here, also, is our coverage from today.

Also, to answer a question asked here earlier about the Pac-10's RPI --- it doesn't really impact the overall conference RPI when the teams beat up each other. It just makes the RPI's of those teams go up and down. But the Pac-10 still has a few non-conference games that will impact that RPI, including Saturday when Arizona hosts North Carolina. The Huskies should be rooting for Arizona to win that game and keep the Pac-10 RPI as the best in the country.

We won't know for a while, obviously, if this really is the game that will turn things around for the Huskies.

And Oregon, just as obviously, wasn't at full strength with Aaron Brooks, and Adam Zahn out of the lineup.

Still, as UW coach Lorenzo Romar said afterward, the Huskies "did a lot of the things that would suggest we are headed in a positive direction'' during their 89-77 win tonight.

Among the most notable --- UW had just 11 turnovers despite playing at a breakneck style all night, while forcing 18. Granted, Oregon's turnovers were likely higher due to the absence of Brooks. Still, it's the most turnovers UW has forced since getting 21 against Weber State on Dec. 22, and evidence that the Huskies showed some renewed eneregy on the defensive end.

The Huskies used a lot of zone, and the coaches may be realizing that that is a good strategy with this particular bunch even if it's something Romar doesn't really like all that much.

Oregon hit 9-25 three-pointers, but was 5-15 in the second half and didn't make any in the final 14:23 of the game. And despite playing a lot of zone, which often isn't conducive to good rebounding, the Huskies had a 33-22 edge on the boards.

The breakout individual was obviously Justin Dentmon, who had one of the best games of his career with 24 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. He also had six turnovers, and that obviously has to be scaled back. But the rest of it was a huge step in the right direction.

Dentmon said afterward that "I'm being more aggressive'' having been told by coaches that he has to "put pressure on the defense.'' Indeed, UW has been looking for someone to break down a defense, and maybe tonight is the beginning of Dentmon becoming that guy on a consistent basis.

This looked like the Huskies of old as they came out fired up and led 12-2 before the game was three minutes old, then after the inevitable Oregon run, responded to take another lead.

It's 51-40 UW at halftime as the Huskies have hit 19-36 shots and have just four turnovers. It's a stark contrast to the first half five days ago in Pullman when UW had just 23 points at halftime.

Justin Dentmon, getting his first start since the UCLA game, leads all scorers with 15 points and has hit all seven of his free throws, with his aggression earning him consistent trips to the line.

UW is also outrebounding Oregon 19-13 and has forced the Ducks into nine turnovers.

The big warning sign for UW is the fact that Oregon is shooting 15-27 from the field.

Oregon center Ray Schafer hadn't played in a conference game before tonight but is getting time as the Ducks seek ways to defend UW's big men. And he has responded with eight points.

The Huskies will shake up their lineup one more time tonight, with Justin Dentmon moving back in at point guard in place of Adrian Oliver.

Artem Wallace will also start again with Spencer Hawes coming off the bench. Hawes is good to go, but apparently the thought is to let him come off the bench for this game, then put him back in against OSU Saturday.

So the starting lineup will be Dentmon, Appleby, Wallace, Jon Brockman and Phil Nelson.

Oliver has struggled in recent games and was scoreless in 14 minutes at WSU Saturday.

Washington's defensive problems have been well documented this season, but the Huskies are going to have to solve some of them to have any chance tonight.

Specifically, Washington has to cover Oregon's three-point shooters.

The numbers bear out UW's challenge --- Oregon leads the Pac-10, making 9.32 three-pointers per game (Cal is second at 7.79) while the Huskies are seventh in three-point percentage defense, allowing teams to make almost 34 percent.

I asked Ryan Appleby earlier in the week why the Huskies are struggling to play perimeter defense and he mentioned just about everything --- staying in front of players, not rotating quickly enough, and not getting on three-pointer shooters fast enough. Maybe having the energy of the home crowd will help in some of those areas tonight.

Having said that, it will be interesting to see what kind of crowd there is tonight, not so much in numbers but in enthusiasm.

As for the team's health, the word here at the arena is that the Huskies are the healthiest they have been in a few weeks, with some of the nagging injuries to players starting to dissipate just a bit, so maybe that will help tonight, as well.

First this morning, I'll alert you to the coverage in our paper of today's game against Oregon.

Here is Steve Kelley's column, where he makes the point that tonight is pretty much make-or-break for the Huskies. Fall to 1-7 and it's hard to see a way out. Even at 1-6, the odds of getting to the tournament are long. But win this one and there is life, particularly with the next two games coming against Oregon State and Arizona State.

The Pac-10 is so strong this year that 9-9, as long as it comes wrapped in a strong finish and at least a top six standing in the conference, might do it.

Here, also, is my preview, where I point out some of the similarities between where Oregon was a year ago and UW is now.

As for the question on Justin Dentmon, I don't think there is just one answer for what has happened to him this season.

It's a little bit of everything --- he's struggling to adjust to playing without Brandon Roy as a security blanket beside him; he put too much pressure on himself to be the new go-to guy in the backcourt; he maybe didn't come to camp in as good a shape as he needed to be in; maybe he was thinking too much about his future and not enough on the present; maybe he got caught up in his success of last season and figured it would come easily this year. I think all of those have some validity.

The coaches definitely thought he had made a breakthrough on the Bay Area trip, especially on the defensive end, which they see as the most important area of need right now. When you've heard Lorenzo Romar talk about Dentmon needing to bring more energy to the game, that's what he's been referring to primarily --- defense.

Everybody took a step back against WSU, Dentmon included, but the fact that was such an overall disaster makes it hard to really judge any one facet.

Romar said this week that "he turned the corner in the Bay Area so he's on his way back to doing the things we'd like to see him do. Everybody had lapses against WSU --- the coaches had lapses in that game. But we're excited to see him on his way back.''

Here are some answers to a few questions that have come my way.

Question: Is the UW-Oregon game on TV?
Answer: Yes, it's on FSN-NW live at 8 p.m. Saturday's Oregon State game is also on FSN. Of the next six games, the only one not available on FSN-NW is next Thursday's game at Arizona State. That game won't be shown since the Arizona-Washington State game will be on, instead. Hard to argue with that call right now.

Question: Anything new on Joe Wolfinger?
Answer: Not really. Obviously there are some minor changes in his status as he rehabs, but he's almost certainly not going to play this season, which I'm assuming is what you are asking about. As for applying for extra years of eligibility, that can't be done until later --- he could theoretically still play this year, for instance.

Question: Why did you vote Notre Dame in your poll this week when they don't look like a top 25 team?
Answer: I don't have a good answer for that one anymore as Notre Dame lost to a middling St. John's team last night. So ND will almost certainly fall out of my poll.

Question: What about Georgetown, which you have at No. 23? That seems high considering they don't have any marquee wins?
Answer: Georgetown did win big at Michigan (which is 16-4 as I write this) and beat Notre Dame by a large margin, and among its losses are relatively tight defeats to Duke and Oregon and at Pitt. As I watch them, which I'm doing right now against DePaul, I see what looks like a deep team and still relatively young that should get better. And with their recent play, that's what I felt they were doing --- improving --- which is why I've had them back in the poll recently. I also think the top of the Big East is still a strong league, though I know they are No. 7 in the RPI this week, due in large part to all the weak teams at the bottom. And for what it's worth, Georgetown is No. 12 in the Pomeroy ratings this week.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar was definitive Tuesday in saying that guard Joel Smith, out all season with a stress fracture in his right foot, will not redshirt this season and will play as soon as he is healthy.

However, the timetable for Smith's return continues to be pushed back.

Romar had said he expected Smith back for next week's games in Arizona. However, a team spokesman said today that Smith "probably'' won't be able to play in those games and that his status will be re-evaluated heading into the home games the following week against Cal (Feb. 8) and Stanford (Feb. 11).

Considering that much about the team's fate could be settled by then, it's hard to know if this latest delay may change the plans for Smith to play this season.

An x-ray taken on Smith's foot today did not reveal anything definitive, the spokesman reported.

Also, the school reported that Spencer Hawes, Quincy Pondexter and Adrian Oliver all practiced today, but that a starting lineup won't be decided on until tomorrow.

Watching Washington State's offense tear through the Huskies time and again Saturday, I couldn't help wondering how things might have been different had Washington been able to sign Blake Young last spring.

That's a topic I addressed in this story today.

Young, for those who remember, is a 6-foot-2 guard who last spring was one of the top junior-college recruits in the country out of Tampa, Fla. He visited UW in April and was regarded as something of a lock to become a Husky at the time. Then Kansas State and new coach Bob Huggins lured Young to become a Wildcat, in part by hiring his JC coach to be K-State's new director of basketball opernations. To be fair, the coach, Brad Underwood, was a former K-State player.

Here are Young's numbers for this season and they may not look like much on paper. But as noted in the story today, he had knee surgery in mid-December which has limited his play ever since.

And what the Huskies wanted out of Young most was defense.

As UW assistant coach Jim Shaw told me this week, "He would have made a bigger difference for us than where he's at. He would have given us a speed guard and he would have made us older.''

Washington players and coaches maintain their bigger problems are on defense, despite the poor offensive showing against WSU. The numbers bear that out. The Huskies remain in the top five in the Pac-10 in scoring offense (second, 81.4), field-goal percentage (fourth, 47.3) and three-point percentage (third, 38.5). Washington is even second in assists (16.56) despite all the talk that the team is suffering at point guard.

But the Huskies are lagging greatly in most defensive categories, ranking ninth in field-goal percentage allowed (44.6), seventh in three-point percentage allowed (33.9) and seventh in steals (5.56).

I also wrote today about the fact that Aaron Brooks cannot play Thursday for Oregon.

And here's some more on Brooks from the Eugene Register-Guard, including this column by Ron Bellamy Bellamy and others in Eugene have better access to Brooks this week than we did, so he has some more in-depth material on Brooks' thoughts on the matter. Brooks was not allowed to speak to Seattle media this week.

Here's another story from the Register-Guard on how the Ducks plan to fill the void created by Brooks' absence Thursday. The story also includes the information that Oregon's Adam Zahn, the team's main big man off the bench, will miss the game with a concussion suffered in practice this week.

A few of you have asked whether there is any thought to redshirt Joel Smith, given the way the season is going and the fact that it is already halfway completed.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar said again today that Smith is definitely playing this season. He is getting healthier every from the stress fracture that has held him out so far, and should be ready to return for next week's trip to Arizona State and Arizona.

Romar said he has "never wavered'' in his decision to have Smith play this season instead of redshirt, and said in his conversations with Smith that Smith has "never wavered'' either.

Smith said earlier this year that there was no question he wanted to play this season.

"I can't see myself waiting,'' he said then. "I can see myself helping this team a lot.''

Spencer Hawes was asked again today what he's thinking in terms of the NBA and said basically what you would expect --- that he hasn't made any decision and won't until the end of the yeara.

"You think about it, it's definitely hard not to have it cross your mind,'' he said. "But it's not something where I wake up thinking about it or I sit and daydream about or anything like that.''

And Hawes is definitely going to have a decision to make at the end of the year. Despite his recent struggles, which are obviously due in part to some part health and injuries, he is very much on the NBA radar.

In fact, he has moved up to No. 5 for next year on this mock draft by HoopsHype.com.

As is the case every Tuesday, the Huskies met with the media before practice.

Spencer Hawes was taped up and ready to go and said he expects to be fine for Thursday's game against Oregon. In fact, almost as much of an issue continues to be his stomach virus, which is still lingering. But that, too, is said to be getting better.

Quincy Pondexter was limited in practice Monday with a bad back and also is suffering from ankle and knee injuries, but said he is persevering and expects to play.

Adrian Oliver said his thigh deep, which he described as "deep,'' is getting better, though he is still not 100 percent.

There was also a lot of talk today about the Aaron Brooks-Ryan Appleby incident last year which will keep Brooks out of Thursday's game.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar tried to downplay it, saying he had not heard any discussion among the Huskies about it. Appleby said he hadn't thought about it until being told by a UW publicist that he'd get asked questions about it this week.

Appleby said several times that "that's in the past.'' But in answering a few questions, he also made it clear that he hasn't completely forgotten about it. In answering a question about the fairness of the penalty for Brooks, he again pointed out that he thought the Ducks were saving Brooks from a lot of harsh treatment and thought it would make more sense if he was also suspended for the game at Oregon.

Oregon coach Ernie Kent said the Ducks will likely start Chamberlain Oguchi to replace Brooks. That's not necessarily great news for UW as it was Oguchi who scored 22 points to lead Oregon past UW in the Pac-10 tournament last year.

Spencer Hawes did not practice today, but he is expected to practice tomorrow and play Thursday when the Huskies host Oregon.

His injury was diagnosed as a left ankle sprain and it is not considered severe.

It's been a Monday tradition on this blog to link to the rankings as soon as they came out.

But there was no need to even think about it today as the Huskies are as far away from the top 25 right now as they've been in three years.

Still, here is the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll .

There are five Pac-10 teams in the AP Top 25 with UCLA at No. 3, Oregon at No. 7, Arizona 17, WSU 20 and USC 25. Stanford also got eight votes, making those the six Pac-10 teams you would think right now would get into the NCAA Tournament.

Here's my ballot, and I had the Pac-10 teams rated a little differently since both WSU and USC have beaten Arizona in the past three weeks, so I figured each of them deserved to be rated ahead of the Wildcats, who have lost three in a row and four of five.

1, Florida
2, Wisconsin
3, UCLA
4, North Carolina
5, Oregon
6, Texas A&M
7, Ohio State
8, Kansas
9, Duke
10, Pittsburgh
11, Memphis
12, Butler
13, Oklahoma State
14, Alabama
15, Marquette
16, Air Force
17, Washington State
18, Notre Dame
19, USC
20, Nevada
21, Clemson
22, Kentucky
23, Georgetown
24, Indiana
25, Arizona

Former Husky Jamaal Williams, who had been playing in France, is back in the area and playing for the King County Royals of the American Basketball Association.

Here's a link to a story and a box score from a game Williams played in for the Royals last week. You'll notice that among his teammates are another former Husky, Jamie Booker, and former WSU Cougar Randy Green, a Renton native.

Here, also, is some information on the ABA.

Williams had been playing for Poitiers in the France Pro-B League, but as this indicates, he left that team a little while ago.

I was beginning to start linking all the stories on Saturday's Cougar-Husky game when I realized by friend Glenn Kasses had already done so on his blog at the Spokesman-Review while also adding some interesting thoughts from the WSU perspective.

So I'll just link to his blog here and let you pick and choose what you might find interesting.

But I will also make a point to link our coverage here, as well.

Here's our game story, our notebook with details on the injury to Spencer Hawes, and Steve Kelley's column.

I'll also throw in here what I will try to make a weekly feature from now on --- Pac-10 rankings with some comments from the weekend's play.

So here we go:

1, UCLA --- Showed Arizona that there is a new perennial power in the Pac-10 and that Ben Howland is replacing Lute Olson as the preeminent coach in the conference.

2, Oregon --- Aaron Brooks is making a serious run at being the conference play of the year. But the Huskies won't have to face him Thursday due to his suspension for the Ryan Appleby incident last March.

3, Washington State --- The Cougars look like a team that could make a deep March run. The return of Aron Baynes makes them that much tougher.

4, USC --- The Trojans are likely to enter the top 25 for the first time since 2002 this week.

5, Arizona --- Lute Olson's first three-game conference losing streak since 1984 shows this team has some flaws, notably, a surprising lack of depth.

6, Stanford --- The Lopez Twins are making Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill that much better.

7, Cal --- Bears are showing a lot more life without DeVon Hardin than anyone really expected. Ben Braun is doing a fine job adjusting.

8, Washington --- Now becoming obvious it's more than just a slow start for the Huskies and that this team has some serious issues. Every game is make-or-break from here on out.

9, Oregon State --- Losing two at home this season makes Jay John's seat that much hotter.

10, Arizona State --- But still a tough game for everyone.

Travel concerns mean I don't have much time to do much with the blog for a while.

But here are a few quick notes:

--- Spencer Hawes said he should be able to play Thursday against Oregon. He said he hurt the ankle near the end of Friday's practice when he tried to block a shot in a scrimmage and landed on a teammate's foot (he doesn't know whose foot). He said the injury stiffened over night and he couldn't run well enough to make it worth playing. UW coach Lorenzo Romar said it wasn't worth "trying to pull a Willis Reed'' and send Hawes out for a few plays at the risk of making it worse.

Said Hawes: "I was trying to go out there and get it warm so I could play and it just wouldn't help me out at all. I wouldn't have been helping the team if I tried.''

--- To a man, UW players said afterward they don't consider the season a lost cause. Said Romar: "It's important that we are firm and understand what we have to go to get better. At the same time, we have to remain somewhat positive and try to reverse this direction and get headed in the right direction.''

--- The margin of victory was the largest ever for WSU against UW in the 261 games the two teams have played in a series dating to 1910. It was also the worst loss for UW since Romar's first season, an 89-57 loss at Arizona State.

--- UW's 28.3 percent shooting was the worst of the season for the Huskies. UW was actually 6-18 on three-pointers, meaning the Huskies were 9-35 from inside the arc.

--- No Husky shot better than 50 percent. Brockman was the closest at 6-13.

--- UW has now lost all six road games this season and will have just five chances left to win on the road against the Oregon and Arizona schools and at Pitt.

This game is obviously in the books as I write this with 7:30 left and the Cougars ahead 61-37.

And now at 1-6, the Huskies seem to have incredibly long odds at making the NCAA Tournament, barring winning the Pac-10 Tournament. No Pac-10 team has ever made the NCAA Tournament after being 1-6, and with the conference being as strong as it is this season and yielding few sure wins, hard to see how the Huskies could get to 10 conference wins, which has always been the requirement for getting int.

The question now is how is Hawes and whether he can return in time for the Oregon game Thursday. The Ducks will have to play without Aaron Brooks so there will be hope for that game. As for this season, however, hard to see it right now.

We'll have more after the game.

Save for the last 2:36, this was as dreadful a half as the Huskies have turned in in years as they trail here 34-23.

UW went scoreless from the 11:26 mark to the 2:36 mark, going 0-8 with six turnovers as the Cougars opened up a 20-point lead.

Sure, they missed Spencer Hawes, but they couldn't have missed him that much.

The only saving grace was an 11-2 run to end the half, thanks to two three-pointers by Ryan Appleby and a pass for a lay-in to Quincy Pondexter, that have given the Huskies at least a little hope.

But for 17 minutes, this was just surgical as the Cougars tore the Huskies apart.

UW is shooting 8-26 for the half with seven turnovers while WSU is 13-28 with four turnovers.

By the way, the 23 points is the fewest at the half for UW in at least a year-and-a-half. Their fewest this year was 28 against Northern Iowa, and their fewest last year was also 28.

UPDATE --- I'm told this is the fewest points at the half for UW since Dec. 6, 2003, against Wyoming, when the Huskies scored 19 points.

We've just been told of two personnel moves involving the Cougars heading into today's game.

Senior guard Antonio Chavers became academically eligible last night and is in uniform and may play today. Sophomore guard, Chris Matthews, however, is out with a sprained ankle suffered Thursday and will not play.

Chavers started seven games for WSU last year as a JC transfer.

Also, Spencer Hawes went through warmups but looked a little ginger, so we'll see how much he plays. Sounds as if the flu/virus is gone, however.

Adrian Oliver and Quincy Pondexter are said to be good to go, and Oliver will start.

The Huskies will have one change to their starting lineup today, but it's not one anyone anticipated. Artem Wallace for start for Spencer Hawes at center today as Hawes apparently suffered a sprained ankle in practice Friday.

It's uncertain if Hawes will play.

The rest of the starting lineup will stay the same.

We've arrived here safely, though it wasn't easy to do as another winter snowstorm blanketed the area last night, making driving anywhere around here trecherous. We'll see if that impacts attendance any, though I think a lot of the crowd here today will be students.

Here's a couple of stories from our paper today. First, our main preview where I try to make the case that the Apple Cup of basketball is finally on its way back to relevance.

Next is our expanded capusle preview, that includes a prediction. Yes, I'm picking the Cougs to win today, 71-67, though I'm obviously expecting a close game, and won't be surprised if the Huskies pull it out. Until UW shows it can win a road game, however, you have to go with the team that's more proven at the moment.

And yes, I realize what the implications of another loss for the Huskies would be. We'll address that later if need be.

A few people pointed out that I missed one of the big statistical differences between the teams in my post Friday, and it's one worth mentioning. It's one I pointed out as one of the five reasons the Huskies are struggling so far in my story earlier this week --- turnover margin. WSU has a plus 4.89 turnover margin for the season while the Huskies are at minus-1.06. That, obviously, equates to a difference of six possessions per game, which is huge in a close game.

Those stats are about the same for Pac-10 play only. In six Pac-10 games, UW has lost 91 turnovers while getting 80, while WSU has lost just 50 while forcing 77.

I've always found college basketball statistics to be incredibly misleading because of the number of early-season mismatches that result in all kinds of skewed numbers.

The best way to truly gauge how teams are doing, in my opinion, is to compare their numbers in conference games against what are, obviously, like opponents.

UW and WSU have each played six Pac-10 games heading into Saturday's showdown in Pullman. Obviously, that's not a huge sample size, but large enough to reveal a few things, especially considering the schools have played the same six opponents in the same six settings.

And the biggest statistical difference between the teams is field-goal percentage defense -- WSU has allowed teams to shoot just 41.3 percent in Pac-10 play while the Huskies are allowing 49.3. Interestingly, for the Cougars, that number is almost the same as the overall number for the season of 41.0. But for UW, it's a huge decrease from the overall number of 44.1 percent, leading credence to the theory that the Huskies weren't quite ready for facing a steady stream of solid competition once Pac-10 play hit.

Some other differences in the teams' stats are more a function of differences in style of play than anything else -- namely, the fact that UW is scoring 75 points per game and WSU 67.

One number that bodes well for the Huskies is the fact that UW is shooting 44.7 percent on three-pointers in the six Pac-10 games while the Cougars are at 33.3. A similar difference Saturday would obviously help Washington's chances greatly.

The other big difference is rebounding, though that also isn't a surprise given the way the two play -- WSU has been outrebounded 35.2-30.8 while UW is outrebounding teams 34.2 to 32.2.

Here's one other interesting differnece that might speak well to the fate of the teams -- UW has been whistled for 119 fouls in its six Pac-10 games to 101 for its opponents, while WSU has been called for just 94 fouls compared to 98 for its opponents.

That's the reason, obviously, that UW's opponents have attempted 133 free throws while the Huskies have tried 97, while WSU has attempted 101 compared to 91 for its opponents.

Quincy Pondexter, Adrian Oliver and Spencer Hawes all practiced today and indications are that all will play Saturday against Washington State.

Pondexter hadn't practiced since spraining his ankle Saturday at Cal.

"I'm feeling much better,'' he said. " I've been doing a lot of therapy and I'm just
ready to get back to playing."

Asked about practice, he said, "Practice went pretty well. There was a little pain, but I'm doing pretty well. It will be alright by game time Saturday."

And asked if it is up to you, what is your status for Saturday, he said "Saturday, I'm playing. Whatever I can do to help my team out, I'm doing it.
That's what I'm looking forward to. If it's only a little time, it's alright
with me just as long as I get to help my team."

Oliver has been suffering from a quad contusion but returned to practice today. Hawes sat out a few days to recover from a flu-virus and says he's getting close to normal.

UW's starting lineup for Saturday is still somewhat in flux, however, as Romar said he had to know the exact status of all of the injured/sick players before putting it together. The most likely change is Justin Dentmon moving back into the starting lineup. With Oliver ailing, Dentmon could start alongside Ryan Appleby.

Players and coaches said today that practices have been a little more spirited than normal in the wake of the 1-5 start and last week's lost weekend in the Bay Area.

"They've really competed in practice,'' Romar said today. "We've been undermanned, but the guys who have been out there have really gotten after it.''

It's not so much a matter of which Husky team will show up Saturday in Pullman, but which Huskies.

When Washington finished practice Wednesday, the Huskies had just seven players available, with guard Adrian Oliver the latest player to be bitten by the injury bug.

Coach Lorenzo Romar said today that Oliver is battling a bruised thigh. Oliver apparently first suffered the injury in a game last weekend and then reaggravated the injury in practice Wednesday.

Oliver seems likely to play Saturday though Romar held out the possibility that he wouldn't be able to go.

The Huskies were also without Quincy Pondexter (ankle), Spencer Hawes (flu) and redshirting Tim Morris (calf).

Hawes has sat out a few practices this week in his continuing effort to get past a nasty virus. He said the rest has appeared to do some good as he said he's able to eat regularly again and feels he's getting back to normal.

Pondexter sprained his ankle at Cal. He was expected to try to practice this afternoon. Romar said again that he's "hopeful'' that Pondexter will be able to play against the Cougars on Saturday.

To get through practice, assistants Cameron Dollar and Paul Fortier took the floor, giving the Huskies nine bodies.

I was considering again just how relevant the youth issue is when considering what's ailing the Huskies when I heard an interview with WSU guard Derrick Low on KJR-AM.

When he was asked why the Cougars are better this season his response, essentially, was that the Cougars were a young team the last two years that now has matured.

No, youth doesn't excuse everything, and as Lorenzo Romar himself has said, at some point, it stops being even a good explanation.

Yet, it's hard to overlook when examaning the Huskies.

I broke down the other Pac-10 lineups to see just where the Huskies stand.

Here are the classes for the expected starting lineups of Pac-10 teams this week:

Arizona --- Two seniors, one junior, one sophomore, one freshman.

Arizona State - One senior, one junior, one sophomore, two freshmen.

Cal --- One senior, one junior, one sophomore, two freshmen.

Oregon --- One senior, three juniors, one freshman.

Oregon State --- One senior, three juniors, one freshmen.

Stanford --- One senior, two sophomores, two freshmen.

UCLA --- Two juniors, three sophomores.

USC --- One senior, two juniors, two freshmen.

Washington State --- One senior, three juniors, one sophomore.

Washington --- One junior, one sophomore, three freshmen.

Consider further that UW's top two reserves are a freshmen and a sophomore. So by any estimation, the Huskies are the youngest team in the Pac-10 this year.

A few people have brought up North Carolina as a team as young as the Huskies having success. That's certainly true. On the other hand, it's also about as big a compliment as Romar could get as no one would have even legitimately compared UW to North Carolina A&T, let alone the Tar Heels, when he took over in 2002.

Here's a bit more reading for you today.

First, here's a column from SI.com's Seth Davis continuing to make the point that the Pac-10 is not only good this year, but set up to be good for the next few years thanks to some impressive recruiting.

In the story, Davis quotes Scout.com recruiting analyst as calling UW signee Justin Holiday as "the best sleeper'' in the Pac-10's Class of 2007.

Here, also, is an AP story on Harvey Perry's transfer to Idaho, which has been known about for a while but was finally made official.

Here's some reading material for the middle of the week.

First, here's my story today where I attempted to break down some of what's gone wrong with the Huskies so far. I've already gotten a couple e-mails telling me the youth excuse is exactly the cop out I say it might sound like in the story. But I still think it's valid. Not doing something often is what leads to problems in exection ---- if you practice something for three years, you're going to do it better than if you've only practiced it for a year. And while some other teams in the Pac-10 are playing young players, I don't think any of the Pac-10 teams really having better years than UW is as young as the Huskies.

Next, here's our Pac-10 notebook from Bud Withers leading off with an item on Oregon's plans for Mac Court.

And here's a Pac-10 notebook from the Arizona Daily Star that includes some interesting quotes on the Huskies from Tuesday's coaches conference call.

There seems little debate that the Pac-10 Conference is about as strong this year as it has ever been, and might be the best conference in the nation.

One indication of how much good talent there is in the conference, or is coming next year, is this mock draft for 2008 from NBADraft.net

Obviously, these things are to really be taken with a grain of salt. Still, this mock draft has 11 Pac-10 players going in the first round in 2008 including UW's Spencer Hawes at No. 8 and Quincy Pondexter at No. 8. Odds are still good that Hawes leaves after this year, and HoopsHype.com still has Hawes going No. 7 in 2007 in this mock draft.

But should Hawes stay, he will only add to a Pac-10 that might be even better next year than it is this year, as this mock draft indicates, as two of the players listed will be freshmen next year --- USC signee O.J. Mayo at No. 3 and Arizona signee Jerryd Bayless at No. 12.

Here also is the NBADraft.net mock draft for 2007 that has three Pac-10 players going in the first round --- including Arizona's Marcus Williams at No. 11 --- as well as Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey at No. 29.

We've written here before that the new replay screens at Hec Ed were expected to be in place by the Oregon game, Jan. 25.

It's on schedule to happen as the new boards are being installed as this is written.

Here's the official word from UW on what, exactly, is being installed.

"This is the second of two renovations to the scoreboard in the Bank of America Arena. The previous installation included the addition of the ProAd Ring Display [the ring below the main scoreboard]. This installation is scheduled to be completed in time for the University of Washington women's basketball game vs. Washington State on Jan. 20.

"The new videoboard will be used to deliver live statistical information as well as instant replays and live in-game action. The University of Washington is also developing features to be used during the team's entrance to the arena as well as player introductions and other in-game features."

UW coach Lorenzo Romar, during his weekly Tuesday meeting with the media, said today that guard Joel Smith won't play either of the next two weeks, but could return after that, meaning he might be available for the trip to the Arizona schools the first week of February.

Smith has missed all season with injuries to his right foot. Though he has a redshirt year available, there does not seem to be any thought of him sitting out this season. Smith has said repeatedly he wants to play this year and the team needs him.

Also, Quincy Pondexter will sit out practice today with the sprained ankle suffered at Cal and Romar said it is hoped that he will be available for the WSU game Saturday. He is officially listed as probable but Romar said the team will have to see how he performs in practice this week before figuring out how much --- or whether --- he can play.

As for possible lineup changes for Saturday's game, Romar said it was too early in the week to know.

For the first time this season, the Huskies aren't ranked in either poll.

Here's the AP Poll, and here's the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

And here's my poll for the week --- as I've pointed out before, I am the voter in the state of Washington this year.

WEEK 10
1, Florida
2, Wisconsin
3, UCLA
4, Kansas
5, North Carolina
6, Pittsburgh
7, Oregon
8, Texas A&M
9, Alabama
10, Ohio State
11, Arizona
12, Oklahoma State
13, Air Force
14, Duke
15, Butler
16, Notre Dame
17, Memphis
18, Nevada
19, LSU
20, Texas
21, Connecticut
22, Kentucky
23, Clemson
24, Tennessee
25, Washington State

I left the Cougars in my poll, feeling that an overtime loss on the road against a team like Stanford --- which I think is quickly becoming a borderline top 25 team in its own right --- wasn't a real black mark.

As for the rest of it, my top three is the same as the real poll's top three this week, which I think is the first time all year I've been in lock step with everyone else for those spots. Wisconsin cemented its hold on No. 2 with the win over Ohio State, in my estimation.

One of my biggest risers is Oregon, which I had at 14 last week, and one of my biggest drops is Duke, which I had at No.6 last week much to the consternation of a few of you who thought I had the Blue Devils too high. Looks like all of you who said that were right.

At least one of you asked a question about how I arrive at my poll for each week, how much time I spend on it, etc., so I'll try to address that here.

I consider myself a big college basketball fanatic and have been for most of my life, so asking how much time I spend on it is hard to figure. I watch every game I can, and read everything about the sport I can, which I do even in years I'm not voting (this is the second time I've voted in the poll). So in a way, all of that time can be considered research for the poll even if I'd be doing it anyway.

As for what resources I use, I try to watch the highlight shows every night to see snippets of the games that aren't on. I also check out as many web sites as I can --- I don't really depend on any specific ones but I regularly look at a dozen or so sports sites every day and often learn things that help me in my research for voting in the poll. Along with the mainstream web sites, I look at sites such as Ken Pomeory's regularly.

I also make sure to look at up-to-date standings of every conference on Sunday --- the poll is due by early Monday morning and I typically do mine Sunday night after the games of that day have been completed --- to make sure I haven't missed something during the week.

I also keep a file with all of my past polls so I can easily remember how I've voted in the past.

Here's the official update on UW forward Quincy Pondexter, who was injured in Saturday's loss at Cal, and it has to be considered good news considering how he looked after the game.

The school reports that he was diagnosed with a sprained left ankle. He did not
practice today (Monday) but is expected to return to practice by mid-week and is listed as probable for Saturday's game at Washington State.

To add insult to the lost weekend in the Bay Area, the Huskies apparently had a rough trip home.

After losing at Cal Saturday afternoon, they hustled off to Oakland airport hoping to catch a flight around 6:30 p.m. that would get them home to Seattle around 8:30 or so.

Instead, when they got to the Oakland airport, they found out the plane they were supposed to be on had problems and their flight was cancelled. Everyone booked on the flight was then bussed to the San Francisco airport to catch a flight that left around 9:30 p.m.

Just a bad weekend all the way around.

Always intersting to see what the other side has to say after games like Saturday's, so I thought I'd provide some of the coverage here.

There's this story from the San Francisco Chronicle centering on Ayinde Ubaka trying to get in Justiin Dentmon's head before those final two free throws. The writer gives all the credit for Dentmon's miss to Ubaka's taunting but I don't know. Given Dentmon's sporadic play this year, and that of the Huskies down the stretch, that he made just one of two seemed right in line.

That story also mentions that Jeff Tedford and his staff received standing ovations when they were introducted. In fact, Tedford was introduced as "the hardest working coach'' in college football, or something to that effect. And he apparently had some hard work to go do as he was long gone by the time the second half rolled around.

Here's a San Jose Mercury News story making the point that Ryan Anderson outplayed Spencer Hawes and should be considered a legit candidate for Pac-10 freshman of the year. Hard to argue with any of that.

Here's a column from Monte Poole of the Oakland Tribune on how the Bears simply outworked the Huskies Saturday, something the Huskies readily conceeded.

And just in case you missed it, here's our coverage from today. I linked the game story and you can find the notebook easily from there. The notebook has more details on Hawes' recent flu bug.

I see I've already been chided for calling the Cal game a "must-win'' and now saying that the Huskies can no longer afford any more losses.

I guess I felt the Cal game was a "must-win'' in the sense that the Huskies needed it to still have a little margin for error to get into the NCAA Tournament. Now, it's hard to see where the Huskies have any real margin for error at all.

What will help is that the Pac-10 is considered the best conference in the country, and at least six teams figure to get invites, if not seven.

On the other hand, the road to even a 9-9 conference record --- which would seem the minimum for making the tournament --- now seems pretty rugged. That game at Pitt Feb. 17 will take on even added importance now as that will be the one chance for UW to show that its struggles are due to the strength of the Pac-10 rather than ineptness.

But after this one, UW's focus was on merely figuring out a way to win one game, let alone make the NCAA Tournament.

As might be expected, the Huskies were pretty down after this one, especially since they felt they lost it largely because Cal simply wanted it more and played harder.

Asked about the free throw Justin Dentmon missed at the end that could have won it for the Huskies, UW coach Lorenzo Romar said "that wasn't the game.''

"We could talk about those free throws and if he makes them both we win the game,'' the coach said. "But I'm telling you that when you look at the fact they had 18 points in second-chance shots, then you don't have to (talk about that). We had an opportunity to not be in that situation. Cal deserved to win the game --- they outworked us.''

UW players seemed at a loss to explain why the Bears would have outworked the Huskies when it seemed like the Huskies were the ones that had more to gain --- or lose.

Dentmon said he thinks maybe the UW players have taken winning for granted and have forgotten what it takes to win.

"'I think so,'' he said when asked that very question. "I think a little bit of everybody did. I know I did at a point in time. Then you get a taste of losing and you begin to think that's just a fairy tale, like it's not true. You've got to out and play hard every time.

"It's just little stuff throughout the game that we don't key on doing. We just need to focus throughout the game. Sometimes we get off our game plan and we just have to stuck to the game plan.''

Players admitted they never thought they'd be in this situation.

"Obviously we are real surprised,'' said UW center Spencer Hawes. "Our goal was to compete for the Pac-10 title.''

Hawes has been struggling with a virus of some sort that has caused him to lose at least 10 pounds, though he's been trying not to use that as an excuse.

Whatever the case, he was definitely off his game today as he had just 13 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes and often seemed to force or rush bad shots, something he admitted afterward.

"I just got too caught up in it and started trying to do too much and that's what happens,'' he said.

As for the person asking about Romar's record in overtime, he is now 3-9 in overtime as UW coach. That includes an 0-3 record in his first season, and another loss early in the 2003-04 season before the team began its turnaround.
UW has now lost its last five overtime games --- two this season and all three last year, including the Sweet 16 game to UConn.

I'll have more later, but for now, a few quick notes on the loss that figures to be a turning point --- one way or the other --- for the Huskies.

They can't lose anymore, so either the losing stops here, or this marks the day that it became apparent this team just doesn't have it.

This was by far the most surprising loss of the year as the Huskies were just outhustled most of the day.

"We were outscrapped,'' was the way UW coach Lorenzo Romar put it.

For the first time this year, UW was outrebounded --- and by a shocking margin of 47-36 by a team missing two of its three best big players.

Adding more bad news, Quincy Pondexter suffered a sprained left ankle. Officially, he's okay. But Pondexter was wearing a boot and had to be helped around by teammates to get to the bus after the game.

As for Spencer Hawes, everybody is finally acknowledging just how sick he has apparenty been, which became evident in his play today as he was outplayed by Cal's Ryan Anderson all day. Anderon had 18 points and 14 rebounds while Hawes had 13 and five.

Cal leads 35-33 at the end of a first half that had about as much flow as a mud pie.

The Huskies missed six of t