Sleeper #2

Sleeper #2
Washington
“U-Dub” hasn’t been quite the same since the departure of Brandon Roy in 2006. In the last two seasons the Huskies are 15-21 in the Pac 10 and 0-5 against in state rival Washington St. But Lorenzo (no, not that Lorenzo) Romar is one of the best coaches in the conference and behind the leadership and dominant inside play of Jon Brockman this team has all the makings of a sleeper.

Washington’s problems last year manly centered around inconsistent perimeter play. Ryan Appleby is gone, which may not be the worst thing for the team. Much of the success of this team falls on guards Justin Dentmon (good slasher, not great shooter 28% 3s) and fresman pg Isiah Thomas. There’s a joke there about Isiah and the Knicks but I won’t go there. My guess is Thomas starts 6-8 games in once Lorenzo realizes how talented he is. He lead South Kent Prep last year and is definitely a Pac 10 caliber Pg. This will enable Dentmon to move to the 2 where he’s more comfortable and Quincy Pondexter (6-6 buck 0 5) to play the 3. Brockman will play the 4/5, but the team is in a better spot with him at the 5. He is more than a good enough rebounder (11.6 rpg) and will cause mismatches for the bigger centers in the conference. For 3 point shooting, senior Joel Smith (42%) and freshman Scott Suggs will be called on. Joe Wolfinger is a 7 footer who will eat up some minutes.

Overall this is a very talented team with more experience. They only won 16 games last year and will surprise people this year. I have them at a 6 seed. Lorenzo is due this year and in a much weaker Pac 10, this team should capitalize. Isiah Thomas could make a serious run at Pac 10 Freshman of the year if it weren’t for Jrue.