Hey guys, Dawg Fan here. Thought we could trade thoughts on our team and seasons. I give you some you give me some, sound good?
UDub has had a rocky season. We went to MSG at a neutral location and barely lost to Marquette but lost handily to Duke (don't let the 6 point loss to Duke fool you, UW went on a ferocious 2nd half come back but was down a lot of points before that...Duke may have let off the gas) A few weeks later we got slapped in the face in St.Louis and later got blown out in Colorado. For Dawg fans this was frustrating, the prior season UDub went to the NCAA Round of 32 where we played UNC IN NorthCarolina and lost by 2 points - we pretty much gave the game away, heartbreaker - point being, UW has had a recent track record for excellent play and this years team is not that. The blowouts didn't stop there, we later got rocked by Oregon in Eugene. To finish out the regular season, when everything was on the line, UW responded by losing its final game to UCLA and the first game of the PAC tournament...nice.
UW's roster is filled with great talent but has failed to 'mesh' over the course of a season. And we all know, it doesn't matter how great the individuals are if they can't play as a fluid team.
Our PGs:
-Abdul Gaddy, 6'3, Junior: Former McDonalds All American #2 PG out of high school after John Wall has failed to live up to they hype thus far. Had a rocky Frosh year, tore his ACL soph year, and has had a mediocre Junior year. A great ball handler, makes the 'hockey assist,' decent dribble drive, ok on D - lacks athletic lateral movement.
-Tony Wroten Jr., 6'5, Fresh: McDonalds all American Snub, ended up on the ALL Jordan Brand Team. Projected first round NBA pick in next years draft. He can't hit a 3 to save his life, shoots freethrows poorly, no mid range. BUT he is the most Electric freshmen you will see (not the best freshman, Anthony Davis gets that honor, but Electric). Blazing fast with the ball, elite passer, incredible penetration dribble drive, gets to the hoop at will - defenses play 5 feet off him to limit his drives.
Our Wings:
-Terrence Ross, 6'6, Soph: Projected top 15 pick in the next NBA Draft. The smoothest jumper you will ever see. Deadly crossover moves for a pull up J. Good 3 point shooter. Elite Athleticism. Good Rebounder. Can drive, post up, shoot the 3. The bad? Can disappear for an entire half, a bit too passive for such an amazing player.
-CJ Wilcox, 6'5, Soph: Projected end of round 1 or beginning of round 2 in next NBA Draft. Best pure jump shooter on the West Coast. He looks like a Ray Allen clone. Deadly from 3. Deadly midrange. Has troulbe finishing at the rim (lack of bulk) but has ability to cut with the ball and cross over. Elite athlete. quick feet on D. Solid.
Forwards:
-Aziz NDiaye, 7'0, Junior: Athletic big man but not very coordinated with the ball. Can run like a deer but hands like sticks. We use him for his defense, who wants to drive into a legit 7'0 who is built like a tank? But he is a liability on offense. Can't operate in a pick and roll, only has one post move that works half the time. An incredible competitor.
-Darnell Gant, 6'8, Senior: A glue guy, won't win a game but does the little things. He will be guarding your 6'9 forward I think. He is more like a 6'8 wing type. He likes to shoot the 3. Doesn't have great post moves (gets blocked down low). Plays solid man D though and is comfortable defending on the perimeter.
UW's strength is in it's guards. Many announcers (and us, but we have Husky goggles on) feel UW's four set of guards are the best or among the best in the nation. Our forwards are pretty mediocre and can hold the team back (not well put, but basically they aren't our strength).
UW lost a LOT from last year which is why the Team hasn't meshed. IT (NBA - Kings) left for the draft, our top post player graduated, our top defensive wing graduated, our best on ball defender graduated, and to top it all off Scott Suggs (6'6 wing - 45% from 3) broke his foot so is redshirting his Senior year.
UW is GOOD. But UW is beatable on any night. I wouldn't be surprised if we won or lost. This season is beyond comprehension for UDub fans, it has been incredibly frustrating seeing which team shows up on which night.
In the NIT, UW came out flat against UTA. Destroyed Northwestern. Then had a close Rival Game with Oregon. The players have said they are 'excited' to be in MSG once again, a huge emotional turnaround from the 'snubbed' feeling on Selection Sunday.
Good luck and I want to hear from you guys!
--UW also plays a 6'7 redshirt frosh who has seen minutes decline as the season progressed. A 6'6 260lb PF who is actually our All American Tight End on the football team. And a 6'9 255lbs PF is used very sparingly