Husky Men's Basketball Blog

Sitting here flipping through the newest issue of Basketball Times during the dead time during the Final Four --- and there's beginning to be a lot of that as Florida runs away from UCLA.

Included in the issue is Hoop Scoop's ranking of college basketball head and assistant coaches, with the Huskies mentioned several times. (Hoop scoop is also hoopscoop.com on-line and is noted for its rankings of recruits).

Somewhat oddly, they include Lorenzo Romar in a list of "coaches in mid-career'' instead of having a long enough career to be included in the overall rankings, even though a guy like Georgie Tech's Paul Hewitt --- who is younger than Romar and hasn't been a head coach as long as Romar --- is on the overall list.

So Romar is listed No. 5 among the Top 40 Coaches in Mid-Career behind Karl Hobbs of George Washington, Steve Alford of Iowa (and now New Mexico), Bobby Gonzalez of Manhattan, and Stan Heath, just fired by Arkansas. Mid-career coaches are defined as those with 6-20 years of head coaching experience.

But Romar's ahead of guys like Larry Eustachy, Kevin Stallings, Skip Prosser, Trent Johnson and John Brady. (No other Pac-10 coaches are on the list).

The top 10 overall coaches, in order, are Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Bobby Knight, Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Lute Olson, Ben Howland, Tom Izzo, Tubby Smith and John Calipari.

Other Pac-10 coaches on the top 40 list are Tim Floyd (No. 32) and Herb Sendek (No. 33).

The most curious selection may be Pepperdine's Vance Walberg at No. 30. Walberg has a long and successful history as a junior college coach, but this was his first season as a Division-I head coach.

That puts Walberg five spots ahead of Mark Few (No. 35). Like Few or not, hard to figure how Walberg rates as a better coach.

And I'm assuming this was a list done early in the season as Tony Bennett isn't anywhere --- not even on a separate list of the top 40 up-and-coming coaches, defined as coaches with five or fewer years as a head coach. The only Pac-10 coach on that list is Jay John at No. 26, which also seems debatable given OSU's shaky status.

Two UW coaches are included on the list of top 100 assistants --- Jim Shaw at No. 60 and Cameron Dollar at No. 77. Other Pac-10 assistants on the list are Arizona's Josh Pastner (No. 5), Oregon's Scott Duncan (No. 12), USC's Bob Cantu (No. 21), UCLA's Kerry Keating (No. 23), Cal's Joe Pasternack (38), USC's Gib Arnold (44), UCLA's Donny Daniels (58), Arizona State's Mark Phelps (81) and Oregon State's Kevin Mouten (87).

For those who like to keep tabs of how Pac-10 officials are viewed, Dick Cartmell is doing the Ohio State-Georgetown game.

Cartmell did probably a half-dozen UW games this year, and is generally regarded as one of the top officials in the conference. He is a native of Richland and still lives there.

Just hours away from tipoff of what should be a fun Final Four, so I thought I'd give you my picks (though considering I picked Texas to win it all, I'll understand if you choose to stop reading here). And I encourage you do the same in the comments section.

UCLA has been at the forefront of the Pac-10's emergence as one of the top conferences in the country this season, and the Bruins could help make a case for the Pac-10 as unquestionably the best if they can emerge victorious here.

But much as I'd like to see the Pac-10 run continue, I'm afraid it's about to end. At the risk of going all Billy Packer here, I just think Florida is better.

I keep reading all these stories about Florida's supposed complacency. And sure, the Gators have looked a little bored at times, having done all this before.

But hard to see that being a factor now.

These guys all came back with just one thing in mind --- to make history by repeating. I don't think they'll have any trouble turning it two steps away from immortality.

And assuming they come to play, they are still --- in my mind --- the best team in the country. I just don't think UCLA's front line will be able to match up with Florida's, which will be the ultimate difference (though I'd forgotten that the Bruins actually outrebounded the Gators a year ago 40-35).

I'd love to be wrong, though, as I think that if UCLA can get past Florida it will win the whole thing.

The X factor here is Ben Howland. You have to think it has burned him since last April the way that the Gators dominated UCLA in the final. Howland's a master at devising gameplans to shut down opponents, and I'm betting he's had plans in mind for this game since the day after the tournament ended a year ago.

But as much as I think Lorenzo Mata is one of the more underrated players around, I just have problems seeing him stop Noah or Horford, no matter how good the strategy.

Sure, maybe UCLA can make up for its apparent shortcomings up front if Arron Afflalo and Darren Collison have superhuman games.

But this is a special Florida team, driven here by a quest to create a special legacy.

In the end, I think they'll get it done. Call it 72-61 against the Bruins.

In the other game, I like Ohio State over Georgetown. The Hoyas are undoubtedly riding a magical wave to have gotten this far, and that sort of karma can't be discounted.

But neither can having Greg Oden on your side.

So make it 81-75 Buckeyes and another Ohio State-Florida clash for a national title. We'll leave for later what that would say about all the supposed parity in college sports.

A few news and notes for a rainy Friday afternoon:

--- Lorenzo Romar was on with Dave Mahler of KJR-AM earlier today from the Final Four in Atlanta and said "we don't know'' what Spencer Hawes is going to do. As we reported here a few days ago, Hawes and Romar will likely talk early next week after Romar returns from Atlanta. There is increasing speculation that Hawes will declare for the NBA draft so he can attend tryout camps, but won't hire an agent so he will have the option of returning. He would have until June 18 to pull out of the draft. Hawes continues to be regarded as a probable lottery pick.

--- UW assistant Cameron Dollar was also on with Mahler and said there is nothing new to report on the Long Beach State job. This jibes with recent reports out of Long Beach stating that the 49ers are continuing to look at candidates and that a decision may not be reached now until after the Final Four.
Dollar is considered to be one of the four leading candidates for the position. One of the others is UCLA assistant Kerry Keating and his involvement in the Final Four could be delaying things.

--- As some of you have already pointed out, WSU's Tony Bennett was a landslide choice as AP Coach of the Year, as announced today (story here). As the AP voter for the state of Washington this year, I had a vote for this award and I didn't have to think long --- actually, not at all ---- to cast it for Bennett. According to the Pac-10 media guide, Bennett is the first conference coach to win AP Coach of the Year honors since Oregon State's Ralph Miller in 1982.

Here's a projection of the NBA lottery picks from San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami with some interesting comments on each player.

Kawakami writes that he talked to a number of scouts in the process of putting his draft order together, and he rates Hawes 14th with the comment that "he's a raw low-post specialist. NBA equivalent: A young and sane Rasheed Wallace.''

Not sure if calling him a "low-post specialist'' completely captures Hawes' value, however. So much of what awes scouts about Hawes is his ability to play facing the basket and handle the ball. I was reminded of that while watching some of the pickup game Wednesday when Hawes grabbed a rebound and led a fast break with a fancy dribble behind-his-back, the kind of move few 7-footers of any era could pull off.

Hawes struggled at times this season, there's no doubt, but a bad game or two obviously hasn't done much to scare off the NBA scouts as all of these mock drafts indicate.

There was some thought that Cameron Dollar might have found out by now whether he will be the new head coach at Long Beach State.

Instead, as Frank Burlison explains in this story, Long Beach's seach goes on with the school's athletic director headed to Atlanta and the Final Four. Dollar will be there, as well, so things could still happen rapidly.

From what I gather, there won't be any decision-making on Dollar's part should he be offered the job. This is regarded as a great place for a young coach such as Dollar to get his start.

ESPN's Andy Katz, in his Daily Word column today, says that UCLA assistant Kerry Keating and former Gonzaga and Minnesota coach Dan Monson are the favorites, but also writes that Louisville assistant Marvin Menzies, who has a lot of West Coast experience, should also be in the mix. He didn't mention Dollar.

With the spring quarter beginning, UW players are back on campus, and with the season already a distant memory, beginning already to prepare for the future.

All of the returnees gathered for a pickup game this afternoon at Hec Ed, including center Spencer Hawes, who is back from his week vacation in Hawaii and enrolled in school.

Hawes, however, said he is still contemplating his next move --- to stay in school or declare for the NBA Draft. Or, simply, to declare without hiring an agent so he can attend workout camps to gather even more information about which way he should go, which seems to be the conventional wisdom as to what he is most likely to do.

Hawes said he would discuss the issue with some family members this week, including uncle Steve, then meet with UW coach Lorenzo Romar early next week after Romar returns from the Final Four (most coaches attend the event as it also serves as the annual NABC coaches convention).

Hawes said it will still be "another week or two before I really start getting down to it.''

The deadline to declare is April 29. Hawes would then have until June 18 to pull out of the draft as long as he hadn't hired an agent.

Hawes joked that he was still "in Maui mode'' after his vacation, and he was greeted with lots of "Hawaii 5-0'' type jokes from teammates.

Every returning Husky played today except for Joe Wolfinger, who is still rehabbing his foot. He went through a private conditioning and shooting workout earlier in the day.

Also playing today was Isaiah Thomas, the former Curtis High grad who intends to sign with UW for the Class of 2008, as well as Oregon State forward Marcel Jones, who is in the area for spring break.

ON STUCKEY --- Several questions on an earlier post about Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey and his future. I posted this last week but it bears linking again ---- a blog post from Dave Trimmer at the Spokesman-Review stating that Stuckey is enrolled at EWU for the spring quarter and appears to be debating only whether to declare for the NBA or return to Eastern and not transferring to another school. Transferring would require sitting out a season and delaying his NBA entry by two years, which doesn't seem to make much sense for someone who is regarded as a first-round pick this year. Here's a recent mock draft from HoopsHype that has Stuckey at No. 22 this season.

Speaking of mock drafts, here's one dated March 28 from NBADraft.net that has Hawes at No. 10 and Stuckey at No. 33.

Just a quick heads up that Washington State has called a press conference for later this afternoon to discuss the status of Tony Bennett's contract, with all indications that the school will announce an extension.

This means there may be no coaching movement at all in the Pac-10 this year, or in the Northwest, with indications out of Eugene that Ernie Kent may be staying put, as well, and with Bill Grier's decision to take the San Diego job indicating that Mark Few isn't budging from Gonzaga.

Here's a story from SI.com on Brandon Roy, making the case that staying all four years at UW is a big reason he's the odds-on favorite to be the NBA Rookie of the Year.

Most interesting for UW fans may be the final paragraph with a quote from Portland coach Nate McMillan saying that Roy wants to talk to Spencer Hawes and tell him to stay in school, that "it would be the right thing for him to do.''

Roy, of course, thought about turning pro early twice --- after his senior year of high school and again after his junior season at UW, the latter time staying mostly because of a knee injury which had limited his time during the 2004-05 season.

Every situation is different, but for Roy, it obviously has worked out just fine.

As for Hawes, he's back in town after spring break (yes, he's enrolled in school for the spring quarter) though apparently still contemplating his next move.

--- As for the Mike Montgomery to Long Beach State rumors posted on the comments section earlier, I don't think there's anything to that right now, anyway. I can't find any stories that mention that.

--- And from the "where are they now?'' department, here's a story from the Spokesman-Review on Idaho's hopes for next season, including some information on former Husky Harvey Perry and the comment that "some close to the program felt he was the team's (Idaho's) best player'' during practices this season.

After his name was bandied about as a potential candidate at Long Beach State last week, Cameron Dollar was officially contacted over the weekend and interviewed with school officials there on Monday.

Here's our story with more details from today's paper.

One note that didn't make it in the paper is that Washington will host Long Beach State next season. So if Dollar gets the job, he'll have a quick reunion with the Huskies.

While there are five rumored names of candidates, including that of former Gonzaga and Minnesota coach Dan Monson, one person told me they think the two favorites are Dollar and UCLA assistant Kerry Keating.

Here's more on the Long Beach State job from Frank Burlison at the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Frank also includes his All-Southern California high-school all-star teams with Justin Holiday making the second team and Jrue Holiday as the Junior of the Year.

--- Players are due back from spring break this week and will begin spring workouts with coaches as allowed by NCAA rules (players can work out for short periods in small groups). Word is that Spencer Hawes is expected to participate, though this isn't necessarily a sign of his ultmate intentions but just Hawes leaving his options open until he makes a final decision. One person told me today, however, that it isn't expected Hawes would hire an agent until the very end of the process, saying that a potential scenario is that Hawes will decide to go through some of the pre-draft workout stuff, then make his final decision close to the June 18 deadline to pull out.

--- Joe Wolfinger isn't expected to participate in the spring workouts and there is beginning to be some concern about his long-term status. Wolfinger missed the season with a stress fracture in his foot but his is a different injury than that of Joel Smith, who also missed the season with a stress fracture but has returned. Wolfinger has a navicular bone injury (Smith had a metatarsal injury), and those can be dicey for big men. Wolfinger has attempted to rehab without surgery (there was a point where surgery was planned but then when it began to heal better, it was called off). For now, the hope is still that Wolfinger will be back in time for the trip to Greece in August. But the next few months loom critical for Wolfinger's future.

Had a chance to talk for a little while today with Isaiah Thomas, the former Curtis High School guard who committed to the Huskies last spring.

Thomas, you may recall, was urged last fall to instead go to South Kent (Conn.) Prep School to solve some academic issues, which will delay his entry into college until the fall of 2008.

But Thomas reiterated today that when he does enroll, he will definitely be a Washington Husky.

"I'm committed to them and they are committed to me,'' Thomas said, adding he plans to sign during the early period next November.

Thomas is home for spring break but returns to South Kent this weekend. He will return home this summer to play for the Friends of Hoop AAU team, then return to South Kent in the fall for another season there.

"I've got to stay for another year,'' Thomas said.

Thomas said he enjoyed this season at South Kent after struggling early with a little homesickness.

"It's going good now, once I got used to being away from home and school,'' he said, adding that he averaged 27 points and eight assists this season for South Kent.

The team lost in the semifinals of the New England Preparatory School Athletic
Conference playoffs, details of which are here.

While home, Thomas has played a little pickup ball with Franklin's Venoy Overton, who also recently committed to UW and will sign next month.

Thomas said he's excited about the thought of playing alongside Overton in UW's backcourt.

"We played on some AAU teams when we were younger, so we've got a good relationship,'' Thomas said. "It'll be good playing with another hometown basketball player.''

Thomas said there is no issue with how the two play together.

"He's the two and I'm the one, or he's the one and I'm the two --- it doesn't matter,'' Thomas said. "We just play basketball.''

That's a philosophy that jibes with that of coach Lorenzo Romar, who disdains classifying his players, particularly in the backcourt.

At South Kent, Thomas played alongside another future Husky, big man Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who has already signed and will enroll as a member of the Class of 2007.

"He's a good player,'' Thomas said. "He's a three and a four. He posts up more than he's on the wing. But he's real athletic. .... He'll add athleticism and energy and he gets a lot of rebounds. He's going to bring a lot to Washington.''

Though he was initially a little anxious about the move to South Kent, Thomas said he's now happy with the way things have worked out.

"It's made me grow up a lot faster and realize what I've got to do to get where I want to be,'' he said.

A few quick items for a Monday morning:

--- As we wrote here over the weekend, UW assistant Cameron Dollar's statement last week that he hadn't been contacted by Long Beach State shouldn't be taken as meaning he isn't in the running for the head coaching vacancy there. Here's a story today by Frank Burlison of the Long Beach Press-Telegram that Dollar is on the short list to replace the fired Larry Reynolds and that a decision could come sometime this week.

--- The Pac-10 is now 10-5 in NCAA Tournament play, the most wins of any conference and the second-best winning percentage (.667) of those with multiple teams, trailing only the SEC, which is 9-4 (.692). But the Pac-10 can take over that title if UCLA beats Florida Saturday. It's the most wins for the Pac-10 since a 13-5 record in 2001, a year Arizona reached the final game.

--- Since it's been a topic of discussion on the board here, I'll pass along this from the Portland Tribune stating that new Oregon AD Pat Kilkenny wants to talk with Ducks coach Ernie Kent about a contract extension. There is also this story reporting the same thing from the Eugene Register-Guard. If Kent stays, and with WSU coach Tony Bennett apparently also nearing agreement on a new contract, there could be no coaching turnover in the Pac-10 this season. It would be the first time since after the 2001 season that no schools changed coaches.

--- In case you missed it, UW recruit Justin Holiday led Campbell Hall of North Hollywood, Calif., to the state Division IV title Saturday. Here's a report from the Los Angeles Daily News.

For what it's worth, this is the second straight year there is a Pac-10 team in the Final Four and no ACC team.

But while the Pac-10 has much to be proud of --- and even Oregon's loss, being as competitive as it was, only served to further advance the conference's cause --- this is also a Final Four that has had few surprises.

Add up the seeds of the four teams involved --- two No. 1 seeds (Florida and Ohio State) and two No. 2 seeds (UCLA and Georgetown) --- and you get six. That's the smallest number since 2001, when it added up to seven (two No. 1 seeds, a two and a three).

The only time that number was lower than six was 1993 (three No. 1 seeds and a two).

Interesting news last night and this morning out of Spokane where Gonzaga associate head coach Bill Grier will reportedly become the new head coach at San Diego.

Here's our story about it. Here, also, is some coverage via the Spokesman-Review's SportsLink site.

As the stories on this point out, Grier had it in his contract that he would be the next head coach at GU should Mark Few ever leave, so this may be an indication that Few isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

ESPN, meanwhile, is reporting that Few will replace Grier with former Utah head coach Ray Giacoletti, an assistant at UW for four years under Bob Bender.

Watching UCLA dismantle Kansas today only reinforced the feeling that the Bruins have again become THE program in the Pac-10.

When has that ever not been the case, you may ask incredulously.

A fair query given UCLA's history.

But consider that heading into this season, the Bruins had won just two of the past 10 Pac-10 titles, and with a conference record of 112-68 in that decade were closer in standing to California and Washington (each 90-90 during that span) than the top two teams -- Stanford (138-42) and Arizona (137-43).

But by winning the last two regular season championships, and now becoming the first Pac-10 team to make back-to-back Final Four trips since a different era Bruins team did it in 1975-76, UCLA has reclaimed its title as the dominant program in the conference.

And that dominance doesn't figure to fade anytime soon with 6-foot-10 center Kevin Love --- generally regarded as maybe the best recruit in the nation this season --- coming to Westwood next year. There's a decent chance that UCLA will be the preseason No. 1 next year no matter what happens from here.

Not that the Bruins will ever be able to rip through the conference the way they once did given the increased competitiveness in the Pac-10. Oregon has a chance Sunday to put two Pac-10 teams in the Final Four for the first time.

But today made clear that until further notice, the road to the Pac-10 title goes through Westwood.

Campbell Hall High School, featuring UW recruit Justin Holiday, had no trouble with Cardinal Newman High today in the California Division IV State title game, winning 70-34.

Here's a report from the LA Times noting that Justin Holiday scored 15, hitting 7 of 10 shots, while Jrue Holiday --- one of UW's key targets for the 2008 class --- had 20.

At the bottom of the story is some updated recruiting info on Jrue Holiday in which he says he's not close to making a decision but has already visited North Carolina, UCLA and USC and is planning an unofficial visit to Texas.

He also accompanied his brother on a trip to UW in December.

Campbell Hall High School of North Hollywood, Calif., featuring future Husky Justin Holiday and prospective Husky Jrue Holiday, competes for the California State Div. IV championship today.

The game will be played this morning at Arco Arena in Sacramento, the site of last weekend's NCAA regional featuring WSU and Gonzaga.

Here's a preview of the game from the Los Angeles Daily News and you'll note the impressive stat line the brothers have combined for this season --- 42.4 points, 19.1 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 8.2 steals, 3.9 blocks.

Justin, a 6-foot-6 swingman, has already signed with UW and will play for the Huskies next season. Jrue, a 6-2 junior guard, is among UW's top targets for its Class of 2008.

Here's another preview of the game against Cardinal Newman High of Santa Rosa from the Los Angeles Times.

I've written a couple of items on here in recent days on the fact that Cameron Dollar has been rumored to be a candidate for the head coaching vacancy at Long Beach State.

To make the situation more clear, Dollar said again tonight he has "not been contacted'' by officials at Long Beach State.

But to say he is not in the running is not accurate since it's uncertain exactly who the school may be interested in at the moment.

Dollar has been mentioned by several media outlets as a potential candidate, which makes a lot of sense because of his experience helping Lorenzo Romar rebuild Washington's program the last five years as well as his ties to California. He was a four-year letterman at UCLA, an assistant for a season at UC Irvine and a head coach for a year at Southern California College in Costa, Mesa.

Long Beach State is looking for a coach to replace Larry Reynolds, whose contract was not renewed despite leading the 49ers to the NCAA tournament this season. Here are details on the departure of Reynolds from ESPN.

And here's a story mentioning Dollar as a possible candidate, with Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier also on the list.

Tonight's the night the Pac-10 can truly establish itself as the best conference in the country this season.

Its regular-season record was solid enough to make that case (a 93-26 nonconference record and a No. 3 standing in the RPI and the Sagarin) but the postseason has been even better.

After last night, the Pac-10 is 8-3, the most wins of any conference, and the second-best winning percentage (.727) after only Conference USA (which is 3-0, all by Memphis).

The SEC (7-3) and the Big 12 (6-3) are running close behind, and could overtake the Pac-10, though all the Big 12 has left now is Kansas.

But the Pac-10 can all but sew up that crown if it can get at least one win tonight when USC plays North Carolina and Oregon takes on UNLV in Sweet 16 games.

With one team already in the Elite Eight, the Pac-10 has a chance to get multiple teams in the round of eight for just the fourth time. The last time it happened was 2001 when Arizona, Stanford and UCLA all made it to the Elite Eight. Only Arizona won from there, eventually losing to Duke in the national title.

That season has long been regarded as the high-water mark for the Pac-10 before this year.

On a few other matters:

---- I wouldn't worry about Lorenzo Romar and Kentucky, as one reader suggested. I don't think Romar's interested in going anywhere, and I don't think that's where Kentucky would be looking. Here's a story this morning reporting that Kentucky wants Billy Donovan and judging by his comments, sounds like Donovan might be interested, as well. Donovan was an assistant at Kentucky from 1989-94 under Rick Pitino, so it's a situation he already knows well.

---- From everyone I have talked to, Isaiah Thomas is planning on staying at South Kent School for two years. He didn't get there until late November and from what I understand, it's not a program he can whip through that quickly.

"He needs to (stay two years),'' South Kent coach Raphael Chillious told me earlier this year. "We're not one of those pop-up-by-night prep schools that can get it done in one year.''

---- As for the Greece trip, final details are still being sorted out so the answers to many of the questions asked about that on here I don't have yet. In general, teams get 10 days of practice ahead of time, and then the trips last about 10 days with 5-6 games played, etc. Incoming freshmen can't play, and generally, only those on the roster with remaining eligibility play, so Hans Gasser and Brandon Burmeister aren't expected to make the trip.

Thanks to reader Mallory for pointing this out while I was engrossed in watching the tournament --- Brandon Roy led the Blazers in scoring tonight in Portland's 92-86 win over the Knicks with 24 points while Nate Robinson led New York with 31.

Here's the box score.

And the obvious question is whether it has ever happened before that Huskies led their respective teams in scoring in the same game.

I honestly have no idea, and there are only a few pairings where it really would have been realistic to have happened --- James Edwards against Detlef Schrempf, maybe? Steve Hawes vs. Louie Nelson?

If you think you know whether this has ever happened before, I'd love to hear it.

By the way, word is that Isaiah Thomas --- home for a few days on spring break ---- was at UW today playing some pickup basketball with Venoy Overton, among others.

Here are more rumors involving Cameron Dollar, this one reporting that he could be in the running for the job at Long Beach State.

Here's another story mentioning Dollar and Long Beach State from Frank Burlison at the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Dollar obviously is a well-known name down there because of his years at UCLA.

The Pac-10 All-Academic team is out and it includes one Husky --- Hans Gasser on the second team.

Here's the team from the Pac-10 website.

I'll try to address a couple of topics that have come up here of late:

TOPIC ONE: There have been a lot of rumors about Rodney Stuckey of Eastern Washington and what lies ahead in his future.

Here's a blog entry from Dave Trimmer at the Spokesman-Review reporting that Stuckey is enrolled at Eastern for the spring semester while trying to figure out what to do. Most think he's headed to the NBA if he's headed anywhere, and for now, that seems the safest bet.

TOPIC TWO: A few of you have asked about Joe Wolfinger and whether he can get a sixth year of eligibility after sitting out the past two seasons.

I've changed some of this from what I originally wrote after someone brought up the example of Nevada's Marcelus Kemp, who was awarded a sixth year before this season. You can read about that here.

They have apparently recently changed the rule not awarding sixth years until after fifth years are played, so Wolfinger could conceivably get a sixth year ahead of time.

As I originally wrote, however, sixth years are generally dicey to get if one of the years a player sat out was voluntary, as is the case with Wolfinger. However, since he didn't play a second of either one, his chances could be better.

TOPIC THREE: I reported earlier here that Cameron Dollar has been mentioned as a candidate for the vacant job at Liberty. Word is there are two finalists, and neither one is Dollar, with former Oregon State and New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay the apparent front-runner.

Washington assistant Cameron Dollar is reportedly in the mix to be the new head coach at Liberty, according to this story from the Lynchburg New & Advance.

Another interesting name on that list is former UW assistant Ritchie McKay, most recently the head coach at New Mexico.

Dollar, 31, has been an assistant at UW for all five of Lorenzo Romar's years as head coach. He was also with Romar for all three of Romar's seasons at Saint Louis. Dollar is considered a top-notch recruiter and works with UW's guards.

Here is some information on Liberty University, which is located in Lynchburg, Va. It's a Division I school that plays in the Big South Conference.

Here's the Wikipedia entry on Liberty, pointing out that it was founded by Jerry Falwell in 1971.

Liberty fired coach Randy Dunton last month --- you can find details on that here.

Dollar has often expressed his interest in being a D-I head coach, though only if the opportunity is right. Here's a column from Steve Kelley on Dollar and his aspirations last March.

I wrote a little about Spencer Hawes and his looming decision today for our paper and Web site.

As noted in the story, Hawes is leaving for a vacation this week, during which he figures to spend a fair amount of time debating what he's going to do.

And while I know there are rumors making the rounds in both directions --- he's staying, he's going --- I don't think any decision has yet been made.

I also think it's hard to read much into anything one way or the other. For instance, one could argue that the fact he still hasn't decided anything is a good thing --- if he were gone, he'd just be gone. On the other hand, the more removed he gets from the UW season may make it that much easier to walk away.

There are a number of factors at play, to be sure, including strictly emotional ones such as his legacy at UW. Hawes knows if he left now, he wouldn't be remembered in quite the way he hoped when he came to UW because of the team's struggles this season.

Then there are more practical considerations such as his draft status and readiness for the NBA. There seems little doubt he would be a top 10-15 pick, at worst, if he came out.

Here's a mock draft from Hoopshype.com published March 1 that has Hawes at No. 6

And here's one from NBAdraft.net published March 19 that has him at No. 11.

As for his readiness for the NBA, I think that comes into play in a way some often miss. It's not so much whether NBA scouts think he's ready in terms of drafting him --- teams draft on potential as much as they do immediate production and a couple bad Pac-10 outings aren't going to scare away anybody from taking a 7-footer with his obvious skills --- but how it may affect his future earnings.

The new NBA collective bargaining agreement calls for rookies to receive only two-year guaranteed contracts with an option for a third year instead of three years with an option for a fourth (You can find more detail on that here).

That means players who aren't as ready to contribute immediately risk getting a contract down the road that may not be as lucrative as if they make an instant impact. This is something Hawes has mentioned several times this year, and I had one knowledgable person tell me this would have as much as anything else to do with Hawes' decision this year.

If he thinks an extra year of college will help make him readier to maximize a contract two years after his rookie deal (remember, all rookie contracts are slotted and not negotiated so his immediate reward won't vary much) then he may be more inclined to stay an extra year. If he's not worried about it, then it's one step closer to the door.

As I detail in the story, the deadline for declaring is April 29. If he doesn't hire an agent, he can pull out of the draft by June 18. If he doesn't hire an agent, he could still attend pre-draft camps to get a gauge on his stock --- players can do that once and return to college.

Had a chance to talk with Lorenzo Romar today about several different topics, some of which I'll save for later, but some of which I'll pass along now.

--- Asked him about what's happening with Spencer Hawes and he said Hawes is going on vacation for the rest of spring break (to Maui) and sometime after that may have a decision. Romar said he's not in any hurry to get a decision from Hawes, though one must come by the deadline to declare of April 29.

Romar said there's a chance Hawes will decide to declare so he can attend tryout camps to get opinions from NBA scouts, but leave the option open of coming back.

"I'm not sure if he will, but if he did, it would make a lot of sense,'' Romar said. "That's what they are there for.''

As for Hawes being with Kevin Durant's family at the USC-Texas game, Romar pointed out that Hawes is good friends with a lot of players he met on the AAU circuit, such as Durant and North Carolina's Ty Lawson.

"I'm sure they are probably discussing their situations, that would only be natural,'' Romar said. "But I wouldn't read more into it than that.''

--- Romar attended Justin Holiday's playoff game this weekend, which you can read about here, as Holiday scored 24 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in a win in the California State Div. IV Regional final.

"If you watched him, you wouldn't say he's a lottery pick, but you would say that, number one, he keeps getting better and better, but number two, he really helps you,'' Romar said. "He just understands how to win games.''

Romar pointed to a play late in the game where the center for Horizon --- 7-foot Jeff Withey, who has signed with Louisville --- appeared headed for a basket in the final 20 seconds that might have put his team ahead. Instead, Holiday reached in and forced a jump ball which led to his younger brother Jrue Holiday then making the three throws that sealed the game.

"He's getting better offensively all the time,'' Romar said of Justin Holiday, a 6-6 swingman.

--- In case you haven't noticed, three Pac-10 teams made it to the Sweet 16 --- and the Huskies beat all three this season (conceding that Aaron Brooks didn't play for Oregon). It doesn't do the Huskies any good now, but for Romar, it's some validation that part of Washington's struggles this year was the strength of the conference.

"I think people were aware of how strong the Pac-10 was, but I don't know if they were really aware,'' Romar said. "There easily could have been four Pac-10 teams in the Sweet 16. The Pac-10 was strong, I think we are seeing that now. I think when it's all said and done, if they could look back and look at the Pac-10 (and what it has done in the tournament) they would say Washington probably should have been in the NIT.''

Here's a breakdown of NCAA Tournemant play for those conferences that had more than two teams invited (the best way to adequately compare the Pac-10):

SEC (five teams in) 7-2 --- Vanderbilt, Florida and Tennessee all 2-0, Kentucky 1-1, Arkansas 0-1.

Pac-10 (six teams in) 7-3 --- USC, UCLA and Oregon all 2-0, WSU 1-1, Arizona and Stanford 0-1.

ACC (seven teams in) 6-6 --- North Carolina 2-0, Maryland, Virginia, Boston College and Va. Tech all 1-1 and and Duke and Ga. Tech 0-1.

Big 12 (four teams in) 5-2 --- Kansas and Texas A&M 2-0, Texas 1-1, Texas Tech 0-1

Big East (six teams in) 5-4 --- Georgetown and Pitt each 2-0, Louisville 1-1, Notre Dame, Marquette and Villanova all 0-1.

Big Ten (six teams in) 6-5 --- Ohio State 2-0, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue and Michigan State all 1-1 and Illinois 0-1.

So that leaves three teams each from the Pac-10 and SEC, two from the Big East and Big 12, and one each from the Big Ten and ACC. There are also one each from Conference USA (Memphis), Mountain West (UNLV), Horizon (Butler) and Missouri Valley (Southern Illinois).

By any measure, obviously, the Pac-10 is doing well, and our columnist, Jerry Brewer, makes that case here, as well.

Stuck here in the Sacramento Airport for reasons that don't need explaining other than to say that I unexpectedly got to watch all the games today and browse the net more than I thought.

We don't usually talk UW women's basketball on here since I don't cover that team. But obviously the firing of June Daugherty is a matter of a lot of interest to Husky fans, so if you want to discuss it here, go ahead.

Here's our story on the firing as well as a blog posting from UW AD Todd Turner on gohuskies.com explaining the move.

In other matters, there was some good news for the men's team over the weekend as UW recruit Justin Holiday led Campbell Hall into the California State Division IV title game with a win in the regional final Saturday. As this story reports, Holiday had 24 points and 20 rebounds. He's a 6-6 swingman who has drawn some comparisons to former Husky Bobby Jones. His brother, Jrue, a junior guard, also plays on the team and is being recruited by UW.

In what was interesting news for the UW team, Spencer Hawes was shown on TV during the USC-Texas game sitting next to the father of Kevin Durant. I know Hawes knows Durant from the summer league circuit, and it's certainly intriguing was there. But I don't know what it means.

As for USC, more good news for the Pac-10 --- consider there are three Pac-10 teams in the Sweet 16 and just one from the ACC (North Carolina).

Sitting here at the Sacramento Airport watching Oregon finish its whupping of Winthrop, which is more good news for the national perception of the Pac-10 (and yet another predicition of a Pac-10 loss that Seth Davis whiffed on).

The Pac-10 now has two teams into the Sweet 16 for the third straight year --- something that has never happened before, and yet another sign that the conference is beginning to become a consistent power.

It is also the fifth time in the last seven years that the Pac-10 has had two or more teams into the Sweet 16.

Considering the recruits coming in next season and the overall youth of most of the teams, there is no reason to think the conference won't be as good or better next year.

Now USC has a chance to get three teams into the Sweet 16 --- only four times have three or more conference teams made it that far, most recently in 2002.

Also, here's an interesting overview of Arizona's season from the Arizona Daily Star, postulating that everything changed for the Wildcats when they lost at Washington State two days after winning at Washington --- a night when UA certainly looked like one of the best teams in the country.

UPDATE --- And make sure you look in the comments section for an interesting post from reader Dana about Ernie Kent's interest in the opening at Michigan. As Dana points out, with Tony Bennett's situation also in some flux --- check Steve Kelley's column today on that --- there could be a lot of activity in Northwest coaching circles in the coming weeks. As for UW, word I got again from Todd Turner recently is that the extension that Lorenzo Romar and Turner agreed on before the season should be officially signed soon. Turner said there were some final details to work out and that it was decided to wait until after the season to get it all done.

It's all done here in Sacramento, and I have to admit I'm not feeling real confident about my pick of UCLA to the final game right now. The Bruins just don't seem to be playing real well right now, though Indiana had something to do with it.

But the Bruins have survived, and I remember that they kind of looked like that last year when they beat Alabama in the second round, a game I also got to see some of as it was played at the same site as UW's win over Illinois.

As for the Cougars, that game bore out what has long been a thought of mine about basketball --- the team with the best player will eventually win. Derrick Byars is really, really good and reminded me a lot of Brandon Roy both in game and manner --- he's noted for his unselfishness and seems soft-spoken and good-natured in interviews.

I asked Kyle Weaver after the game about a comparison to Roy, however, ane he said no.

"He shoots the three a little more than anyone in the Pac-10,'' Weaver said of Byars, who attempted 196 before Saturday, almost half of his 419 shots overall.

So the Pac-10 is now 5-3 with USC and Oregon going tomorrow, each in Spokane. The Pac-10 has had at least two teams reach the Sweet 16 each of the last two years --- Washington each time, obviously, along with Arizona two years ago and UCLA last year ---- so at least one needs to win to keep that streak alive.

So last night in Sacramento, as we were having dinner and watching the USC-Arkansas game, a few of us discussed just how much conferences should be judged base on NCAA Tournament results.

The Pac-10 is 4-2 after the first round, for instance. Does that validate the Pac-10 yet? All four that won were higher seeds, so it could be argued that the conference hasn't really done anything yet.

On the other hand, higher seeds are rewards for regular season prowess.

This weekend figures to truly tell the tale of the Pac, led off with the two games here involving WSU and UCLA.

Back to the original question, however, there is little doubt that the years the Pac-10 has done well in the tournament are the years the conference was perceived to be good in the regular season.

Consider these Pac-10 records in the NCAA Tournament of late:

06 --- 8-4.(UCLA to national title game)
05 --- 5-4
04 --- 1-3
03 --- 6-5
02 --- 9-6 (only other time Pac-10 had six teams in tournament)
01 --- 13-5 (Arizona to national title game)
00 --- 4-4
99 --- 1-4
98 --- 11-4 (four teams to Sweet 16)
97 --- 13-4 (Arizona won national title)

The 04 season, the year the Huskies made their run from 0-5 to 12-6 while Stanford went 17-1, is generally regarded as one of the worst years for the conference, and the tournament record shows it. The 97-98 period has always been regarded as one of the best for the conference,. as well as the 01-02 period, and the tournament records indicate that as well.

By the end of this weekend, the tale of the Pac-10 this year should be told.

Had a chance to talk with UW athletic director Todd Turner on Friday on his role in the hiring of Kevin Stallings as the coach at Vanderbilt, the team that will face Washington State today.

As I detail in this story here,Stallings got the job in 1999 after Turner --- then the AD at Vanderbilt --- was unable to lure Bob Bender away from UW.

And not to belabor the point on the NIT, but this was the first chance I'd had to talk to Turner since early last week. He has since talked with C.M. Newton, the head of the NIT selection committee, to get his views on why UW was not invited. Newton told Turner the same thing he'd told reporters --- that UW was close but squeezed out by a number of different factors, including the paring of the field.

But Turner also said that "basically, we just didn't win enough games'' particularly on the road. Turner said that from talking to Newton, he thinks if UW had won just one more road game, it would have been invited.

"I think losing 10 games on the road was a problem for us,'' he said. "If we had won one more it wouldn't have been an issue.''

Turner also said he thinks the fact that there is no one on the NIT selection committee with ties to the Pac-10 hurt UW's cause. The two West Coast representatives are Rudy Davalos, longtime AD at New Mexico, and Carroll Williams, longtime coach at Santa Clara.

"I think our league would benefit from better representation on the selection committee,'' Turner said. "The fact that we don't have a person sitting around the table, I don't think it's an absolute necessity, but I just don't know how much guys from other leagues see the Pac-10 night in and night out and you can't win in that situation.''

"What disappoints me more than anything else, and in some ways this reflects on the perception of our league, is I don't think people regard the schedule in the Pac-10 as being as challenging as the ACC or the SEC or the Big Ten and I think that's totally unfair. We played 20 games against Pac-10 teams and of our (13) losses, only two were against teams that were not in the NCAA tournament (Oregon State and Cal). To think that we weren't a tournament caliber team
is hard to justify. I think that we were a tournament caliber team.''

Turner also said he thinks UW could have won a game or two in the NCAA tournament had it gotten in, basing that in part on how the Pac-10 has performed so far, going 4-2 in the first round.

As for the future, Turner confirmed that UW has been talking to the NIT about hosting pre-season games next season. The NIT recently decided to hold opening round games in that tournament on-campus rather than at neutral sites.

"We are definitely we will be the host of a West region,'' Turner said. "That would be great.''

There's always a lot of discusson on this board about officiating so it's interesting to be at an NCAA Tournament site and see games with officials from other conferences.

One of the main guys on the WSU game yesterday was an ACC official, and some of the Cougars felt the officials let them play more than happens in the Pac-10.

"They were letting a bit more go than what we are used to in the (Pac-10),'' said WSU center Aron Baynes. "We have to get used to that.''

Also, a few of you have asked about the future of Isaiah Thomas. I haven't checked on that officially in a little while, but my understanding is that nothing has changed --- he has to stay at South Kent for two years and then plans to come to UW for the 2008-09 season.

But obviously, things can change. But he has said he plans to eventually sign with UW. On that timeline, the earliest he would sign with UW is next November to be a member of the Class of 2008.

Some of the games didn't necessarily go to plan, but the end result of the first day of the tournament for the Pac-10 did --- two wins as higher seeds, one loss as a lower seed.

Day two should be a little more interesting, especially the Arizona-Purdue and USC-Arkansas games.

As long as it shoots anything like it did at the Pac-10 Tournament, Oregon should win.

I also think USC will get past Arkansas. The Razorbacks had a nice ending to the season to get into the tournament, and have a higher RPI --- 35 to USC's 40. But the Trojans should be motivated to play better defense than they did against Oregon, and if Nick Young gets rolling at all, Troy should move on.

As for Arizona, who has a clue what the Wildcats are going to do from one game to the next? I doubt Lute Olson does. Arizona is truly one of those teams in the tournament that could lose in the first round or go to the Final Four.

Watching the way Arizona lost to Oregon makes one think an early exit is in store. But then, maybe all those guys will remember that NBA scouts are watching and decide to bring it.

I'm still in Sacramento, so I'll try to pass on any nuggets I get here, as well as just some general observations. Feel free to pass along any of your observations, as well.

So where's all this parity in college basketball, anyway?

Sitting here watching another rout --- true, this one's expected with UCLA up 18 on Weber State at half --- has me thinking this is one of the least exciting openings to an NCAA Tournament I can remember.

Eight games are over, with the higher seed winning every one, all by at least nine points, and by an average of 17.7.

What I figure it means here is that we are in for a real thriller with Gonzaga and Indiana. Rarely seen four straight double-digit games in one day at one regional.

Here's a fun fact for you as you watch UCLA and Weber State --- this is a matchup of two teams that lost by a combined 39 points in Seattle this season.

The Huskies beat Weber State 80-51 on Dec. 22 in the wake of the win over LSU, and defeated UCLA 61-51 just 12 days ago in what was the highlight of UW's season.

To answer one question that has arisen here regarding the Huskies:

--- I think Tim Morris can have a great impact next year, especially on the defensive end. He played most of three seasons at Stanford so he has a lot of experience, and sitting out a year has allowed him to work on his offense --- the main weakness in his game is shooting --- and refine his defense.

"He'll be able to help us defensively and give us more depth there,'' UW coach Lorenzo Romar said the other day.

Here are Morris' career stats and you can see he struggled from the field his last year at Stanford, particularly the 4-23 from the 3-point line. He's better in transition, however, one reason he wanted to come to UW, which typically runs more than does the Cardinal under Trent Johnson.

Here's a chart I found flipping through the Vanderbilt post-season media guide I thought you might like.

It's a list of the teams with the most regular season wins this year against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.

1, UCLA, 9
2, North Carolina, 7
3, (tie) Vanderbilt, 6
USC, 6
Tennessee, 6
6 (tie) Oregon, 5
Marquette, 5
Washington, 5
Washington State, 5

Maybe the biggest thing to take from this is the strength and parity this season of the Pac-10 since there are five Pac-10 teams on the list.

One up, one down for the Pac-10 now after Washington State's 70-54 win over Oral Roberts in Sacramento.

More than a few national analysts had picked Oral Roberts, which could have been viewed not only as wondering just how good the Cougars really are, bnut also questioning the Pac-10.

One believer now, however, is ORU coach Scott Sutton who said that the Cougars "showed in the second half why they are one of the top 10, 15 teams in America.''

Sutton seemed a little surprised at the way the Cougars dominated late, and said that "the thing we don't see in our league is that kind of size. We haven't seen that since December.''

Louisville is putting it to Stanford, lleading 46-20 at halftime.

So count the Pac-10 as the first conference with a team out of the tournament.

I had promised to provide some commentary on Pac-10 games earlier --- and I had Stanford being drubbed by Louisville in the first round (okay, so maybe I thought Louisville had a chance).

We'll just scratch that one.

The next Pac-10 team in action is Washington State against Oral Roberts, and being down here in Sacramento, there are a lot of different schools of thought on this one.

Oral Roberts certainly passed the eye test during practice yesterday --- Caleb Green and Ken Tutt look like the real deal --- and ORU did win at Kansas this season.

On the other hand, the Golden Eagles also lost 10 games this season and had to scrape and claw to get past Oakland in the Mid-Continent final.

Can a 10-loss MCC team really beat the second-best team in the Pac-10?

Sure, the way the Cougars have played at times lately. WSU has looked a little vulnerable near the end of the season, losing three of their last six. And Oral Roberts is the team that comes into this one with some tournament experience, losing to No. 1 seed Memphis 94-78 last year. Oral Roberts players and coaches played that up yesterday, saying a year ago they were just happy to be here ---- this year, they want to stay a while.

So I expect a tough game for the Cougars today.

But in the end, I don't think ORU is going to show the Cougars anything they haven't seen before --- the Cougs did win 13 Pac-10 games this year.

Call it WSU 67, ORU 59.

For more info on the game, check our preview here.

With Washington's season over, I'm down in Sacramento helping with our coverage of Washington State and Gonzaga. Don't worry, I won't pass along a lot of Cougar and Bulldogs news here.

But I plan to keep the blog going as much as possble.

One story that caught my eye today that I thought might brighten the mood of Husky fans is this TV column from USA Today. It points out that due to the way the CBS schedule breaks Friday, Oregon's game vs. Miami-Ohio will be seen by just three percent of the nation.

Later, I'll try to break down how I view the Pac-10 matchups in the tournament.

And also watch in coming days for some more post-season UW wrapup.

This involves the 2007 pre-season NIT, in which the Huskies are scheduled to play.

And the ironies could just continue to abound.

After not being invited to the post-season version, UW could find itself hosting the opening rounds of the pre-season edition next fall.

The NIT announced today that it is going back to on-campus sites for the first two rounds. Washington has been in talks with the NIT to host, at either KeyArena or the Everett Events Center and I'm sure would love to host it at Hec Ed now that that appears to be a viable option, as well.

Here is the official release from the NIT.

NEW YORK --- The 2007 NIT Season Tip-Off will return to campus sites to assure the student body and local fans can be part of the action. The format guarantees each team at least two games. The announcement was made by Committee Chair C.M. Newton and Greg Shaheen, President of the NIT, L.L.C.

"The NIT Selection Committee made the decision to return to campus sites and play a two-night doubleheader format after reviewing feedback from the sites, participating institutions and conferences from this year's event. It is in the best interest of the NIT and college basketball to make the change to insure the high quality of teams that have participated in the tournament in the past," Newton and Shaheen explained.

The NIT Season Tip-Off, founded in 1985, was originally played in neutral arenas and a year later, moved to campus sites, where single games were played. The format remained the same until last year, when the contests were moved to neutral sites and teams were guaranteed two games.

The first round of the 2007 NIT Season Tip Off begins on November 12 and 13. Second-round action will take place on November 14 and 15. The four remaining teams will square off in the semi final doubleheader at New York's Madison Square Garden on November 21 with the championship doubleheader to follow on November 23. ESPN will once again provide television coverage of the event.

I know ESPN's Andy Katz isn't universally loved by Husky fans.

But he leapt to Washington's defense yesterday in his Daily Word column on ESPN.com. It's one you have to subscribe to get, but I'll link it anyway just in case you can get it.

Interestingly, the main topic of Katz's column is Washington State's efforts to keep Tony Bennett. He says WSU is ready to pay 2-3 times Bennett's current estimated $350,000 deal to keep him there.

But in the final item, Bennett writes that "the biggest snub of the post-season wasn't Syracuse. It was Akron, Washington and Iowa not making the NIT.''

Here's the complete story I wrote for today on what C.M. Newton said about the Huskies not being inivted to the NIT.

Admittedly, he was still a little vague about it all. I know one theory being bandied about at UW is that the guys on the committee simply never see UW play due to being on Fox and West Coast starting times. Newton denied that, saying the committee knew as much as it needed to know about the Huskies, and a few other West Coast teams were invited.

Newton also denied that TV played any role in the selections.

Here's Jerry Brewer's column saying that the Huskies should use the snub as motivation for next season. He points out some of what Lorenzo Romar has said before --- that previous Husky teams played with a chip on their shoulder that this team didn't seem to always have. Maybe the NIT snub becomes its rallying cry.

Here, also, are a few questions and answers for next season.

The biggest question revolves around Spencer Hawes and whether or not he will return. Romar said yesterday he had yet to talk with Hawes about that and that no timetable has yet been set for making a decision.

We'll have more from Romar talking about the future a little later.

I got a hold of C.M. Newton, the chair of the NIT Selection Committee, for a phone interview today.

Much of what he said is probably what you would expect in terms of defending what happened, but he also went into detail about the selection process, and some of that I'll save for a story in tomorrow's paper.

But here's a bit of what he said.

Asked about Washington, he said: "We got down to those last few teams and they (Washington) were one of them, but with the committee members voting, they missed (getting in). We had eight automatic qualifiers which really hurt (teams like Washington). If we hadn't had that many, Washington would have been in the field, but we just had the 24 (at-large) spots.''

There were eight committee members, including Dean Smith and Gene Keady, and Newton said they simply voted for the teams they felt should be in, and the 24 with the most votes got in (eight teams received automatic bids for winning regular season conference titles).

Newton said the Huskies "are much like the other teams that were in the mix (and were left out). Iowa was fourth in the Big Ten, or Akron which had (25) wins. UConn was one of those that had a very similar record to Washington's. That's just the way the votes came out.''

"There was no one reason (UW was left out),'' Newton said. "No conspiracy. None of that stuff.''

As I detailed here earlier, the NIT has taken at least one Pac-10 team every year since 1981 except for two seasons when there was no conference team left with a winning record after those that received NCAA invites.

But Newton said the committee didn't consider conference affiliation. Nor, he said, did TV play a role.

"We are serious about trying to make it as fair and as good a basketball tournament as possible,'' he said. "TV doesn't have a say, the size of the home court doesn't enter into it. Just look at the fact that North Carolina State is going to Drexel. That never would have happened before. We would have gone where the gate was.''

Newton said TV only gets involved once the matchups are set in terms of setting game times, dates, etc.

Newton said the committee considered "who they played, how they played and where they played them. ... ultimately, it was what your gut feeling was about them as a basketball team.''

Newton was asked if UW's 1-10 road record might have been a factor. "That's one of the things you look at,'' Newton said. "Road record and who they choose to play outside their league, all those factors come into it.''

Newton mentioned Drexel as a team that got impressed the committee "because one of the thigns they did was they are a bunch of road warriors. They went out and played people out of their league. Who you choose to play, we look at all of those things. Ultimately, you just sit down and rank the teams and the teams with (the most votes) get in.''

Newton said that he had talked with UW athletic director Todd Turner a few days before the selection process

"Todd is one of my favorite people and I talked to Todd before our meeting,'' Newton said. "I know he feels very good about their future and I do think they are going to be really good next year.''

I asked him about teams like Fresno State, which some have mentioned on here as not having a resume as good as UW's. "You can find warts on every team and you can find beauty marks on every team,'' Newton said.

The Huskies are scheduled to play in the pre-season NIT next year, but Newton said that had no impact on anything. "That's a whole different animal,'' he said. "We are just tickled to death they are going to be in the pre-season NIT next year.''

Talked to a few people at the UW today and there is still a state of shock over not being invited to the NIT.

Among their frustrations is comparing themselves to some of the other teams in the tournament:

Here's one passed along to me by someone at UW comparing Washington and Oklahoma State:

Oklahoma State vs. Washington

Record: OSU 22-12 / UW 19-13
(OSU incorrectly listed as 22-11 in NIT bracket)

Road Record: OSU 0-8 / UW 1-10

Conference Record: OSU 6-10 / UW 8-10

Last 10 Games: OSU 3-7 / UW 5-5

Wins vs. NCAA Tournament teams: OSU 5 / UW 5

Losses to non-NCAA Tournament teams: OSU 5 / UW 2

OSU is a No. 2 seed in the NIT, UW is not selected.

Here's our story today on Washington being left out of the NIT, which includes some material presented on the blog earlier and some that was not.

For those wondering why the Huskies were so sure they would get in, they were looking at history.

Did some checking this morning, and Washington now becomes the Pac-10 team with the most wins to not to go any post-season tournament since Stanford in 1983-84. That Stanford team went 19-12 and 8-10 and fifth in Pac-10 play. That was a time when the Pac-10 wasn't as highly thought of as it is today, however. Only two Pac-10 teams received NCAA bids that year, No. 3 Oregon went to the NIT and No. 4 UCLA declined to go to the NIT, so there was little expectation Stanford would get an invite.

To find a Pac-10 team with more than 19 wins that didn't get invited to any tournament, you have to go back to USC in 1974 (24-5) which was a completely different era.

Granted, there is some win inflation at work in college basketball these days, everybody's playing a few more games, and UW's soft early schedule led to its overall record looking better than its conference record.

Still, 8-10 in Pac-10 play with any kind of winning overall record --- coupled with a few big victories late, as UW had beating UCLA and USC last week --- has usually been good enough.

ASU went two years ago at 7-11 in Pac-10 play and 18-13 overall; Oregon State went the same year at 8-10 and 17-14; ASU also went in 2002 at 7-11 14-14; Cal went in 2000 at 7-11 and 16-14, winning two games in the NIT to finish 18-15.

But obviously, the NIT has changed, which might be the biggest reason UW was left out. Having to take eight regular-season champs that didn't make the NCAA compressed the field, as did reducing the field from 40 to 32.

One warning sign might have come last season when USC was not invited despite a 17-13 overall record and 8-10 and sixth in the Pac-10. One difference is that the Trojans stumbled late last year, losing seven of their last nine. Another difference is that the NIT had already taken one Pac-10 team (Stanford) before deciding not to select USC.

Simply assuming the NIT would take at least one Pac-10 team is the biggest reason the Huskies figured they were in, especially once Stanford got into the NCAA Tournament.

Only twice since 1981 has the NIT not taken at least one Pac-10 team. Those years were 2003 and 2001. Each year, there was no Pac-10 team remaining after those picked for the NCAA Tournament that had won more than six conference games or had a winning overall record.

But obviously, this is one time that history didn't repeat.

Somebody asked for some player reaction about the NIT snub. So here you go:

FROM SPENCER HAWES:

"We were shocked. I'm still shocked. We sat there and went through all four regions and we kind of thought it was a typo. We kept waiting for our name to come up.

"To think we are not one of the top 65 teams in the nation is hard for us to swallow. To say we didn't merit the NIT as well is unbelievable.''

"I think they say they go off a lot of the same criteria as the NCAA Committee. Maybe our record away from home might have been something that got us, but I think we feel as everyone else feels that the Pac-10 is one of the best conferences in the country and to go almost .500 in that and not make the NIT is tough to swallow.''

On whether anyone imagined the season could be over after leaving LA: "No, we all thought we were close down there to getting an NCAA berth if we could have gotten through the tournament. I don't think it went through anyone's mind that we wouldn't get in the NIT.''

On what he did: "The first thing I did was I went and got a ball and started shooting. It's the only thing you can really do to keep your mind off it.''

On whether it was his last game as a Husky and if the snub could influence his decision: "I don't know. It could figure into it, it could not. I'd say that's the last thing on my mind right now.''

On what the team did: "Everyone kind of just sat there, no one said anything. Everyone was equally shocked to hear the news.''

"To suggest we are not as good as any of the teams in there is almost a joke.''

On whether he will spend a lot of time wondering how close the Huskies were to winning a few more games this year: "Especially now, if you get caught up in that and start thinking about that, you'll just drive yourself crazy.''

FROM QUINCY PONDEXTER

"It's a great shock. I thought for sure (the team would be invited). I was thinking we were still possibly going to sneak in the NCAA tournament. To not make the NIT is tough.''

If you want to vent, here's a list of the members of the eight-person selection committee along with their e-mail addresses.

The head of the committee, you'll notice, is C.M. Newton, a former basketball coach at Vanderbilt and someone UW athletic director Todd Turner knows well (Turner was AD at Vanderbilt before coming to UW but not when Newton was coach).

Also on the committee are former coaches such as Dean Smith, Gene Keady and Don DeVoe. Hard to argue that those guys don't know basketball, obviously, which makes this all that much more difficult to figure out.

Here, also, is our story on the snub, with a few more details than I posted earlier.

The Huskies were so confident an NIT bid was coming that they were taped up and ready to practice tonight after hearing the news.

Instead, they watched in disbelief as they were not picked for the NIT.

"There's no way in the world I would say we would not be in the NIT,'' said UW coach Lorenzo Romar. "I am completely stunned.''

Asked if he had any idea why, he said "no. No idea why. There's not one I can imagine or conjure up in my mind.''

If I saw the brackets right, the Huskies weren't invited to the NIT.

We'll obviously have more on this later but it looks like the season is over.

The final NIT-ology is out and has Washington as a No. 5 seed playing Mississippi State in the first round.

Interesting to think about, anyway, as the brackets are about 90 minutes away from being released.

As I look at the projections, the main thing that comes to mind is how many good teams there could be in the NIT --- Alabama, Kansas State, Air Force, Drexel. A consolation prize, to be sure, but still a lot of good basketball possible.

The Pac-10 has nothing to complain about this year.

Three teams seeded among the top 16, six teams invited overall for the first time since 2002 --- the only other time six teams received bids.

And Stanford being an 11 seed theoretically means that the Cardinal wasn't even the last time invited when many of the bracketologists figured Stanford wasn't in at all.

More later.

It will be a different type of Selection Sunday for the Huskies as they wait for the NIT brackets to be announced rather than the NCAA Tournament.

I wrote about that in this story here today. The NIT brackets will be announced at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

NIT-ology still has UW as a No. 6 seed which would mean a road game in the first round and likely a pretty quick turnaround with first-round games Tuesday and Wednesday.

I know there's a lot of interest in the players arriving next year. Here's a good feature on Justin Holiday from the Los Angeles Daily News. One minor clarification to the story --- it says Holiday has committed to UW. But he has done more than that as he signed his letter-of-intent in November.

And here is the story on Campbell Hall's win in the regional semifinals Saturday night. Story says Justin Holiday had 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals, two blocks and played some good defensne on the star player for the other team --- headed to Penn --- in the second half.

When we all talk about players who will help improve the perimeter defense next season, Holiday --- who stands 6-6 --- shouldn't be forgotten.

I wrote a little bit about Aaron Brooks in an item for the newspaper today.

In the course of that conversation, Brooks referred indirectly to the incident here a year ago with Ryan Appleby. I couldn't help myself, so I asked Brooks if he had happened to see Appleby while he was here ---- all 10 teams stayed at the same hotel.

"No,'' he said. "If I did see him, I wouldn't say anything to him.''

Brooks said he hadn't realized how upset Appleby still is over the incident, but also indicated he's done trying to apologize. He tried to shake Brooks hand before the two teams played in Eugene last month but Appleby refused.

Brooks said he heard after the game in Eugene the talk that Appleby felt Brooks' apology wasn't sincere and should have been made in person.

"I tried to do it right after the game here (last year) but I couldn't get to the locker room,'' he said --- apparently, he wasn't allowed to get to the UW locker room that night. "I wasn't in Seattle that much this summer. He wants me to go to Washington just to do it? I mean, I don't know.''

While the Huskies are gone, we are still here, ready to cover the rest of the Pac-10 Tournament, so we'll continue to check in here from time to time.

The big news this afternoon was the announcement that the Pac-10 Tournament will stay at the Staples Center through 2012.

Officials for the Pac-10, Fox and the Staples Center said that other cities --- including Seattle --- put in bids to host the tournament.

But ultimately, Fox Sports Enterprises --- which runs the tournament --- wanted to keep it in LA where its base is and where it feels the tournament can be most successful.

"We feel building equity in a market is crucial,'' said Mitch Huberman, senior vice president of Fox Sports Enterprises. "As well as a chance to build a destination for schools.''

A Staples Center official said the tournament is among the most important events the arena hosts, right with the Emmys and the Grammys.

Pac-10 officials pointed to some improvements being made in the area that will make the tournament more of a happening for those who attend. A $2 billion complex of hotels, restaurants and clubs is being built across the street from Staples, with some of it due to be open next season.

The new five-year deal coincides with the five-year TV contract between Fox and the Pac-10.

I'm admittedly stealing this from reader Toby, but thought I would put it out here so it would maybe get more visibility.

Toby passed along the NIT-ology web site that publishes projections of the NIT draw. You can find the site here. Here, also, is the field broken down by bracket.

They have UW as a No. 6 seed, which means the Huskies would have to go on the road to face No. 3 seed Michigan.

Among the other three seeds listed are Bradley, Oklahoma State or Georgia, just to give you an indication of the possible level of competition.

All tough places to go, and all good experiences for a team that now has to use the NIT to build toward next year. Oklahoma State might be avoided as an opponent for UW since the Huskies are due to play there next Dec. 1 in the Pac-10-Big 12 Challenge.

Interestingly, the NIT-ology bracket has UW possibly facing Saint Louis in the second round, which would obviously be a matchup of Romar and his old school.

Here, as well, is the general NIT web site which should tell you all you need to know about the tournament.

The basics are that it is a 32-team field that unlike years past, is now seeded and bracketed like the NCAA Tournament. That means the higher seed teams host (unless there are extenuating circumstances why it can't) so if UW is a No. 6 seed, it likely wouldn't host any games unless there were upsets in its brackets.

I notice the NIT-ology site doesn't even list Santa Clara as