No. 23 Washington Huskies

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Last Season: 26-10, 11-7 (3rd Pac-10), lost in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to West Virginia

Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar

Key Losses: Quincy Pondexter, Tyreese Breshers, Elston Turner

Newcomers: Terrence Ross, Aziz N'Daiye, Desmond Simmons, Antoine Hosley

Projected Lineup:

• G: Isaiah Thomas, Jr.
  
• G: Venoy Overton, Sr.
  
• F: Terrence Ross, Fr.
  
• F: Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Sr.
  
• C: Aziz N'Diaye, So.
  
• Bench: Justin Holiday, Sr.; Darnell Gant, Jr.; Abdul Gaddy, So.; Desmond Simmons, Fr.; CJ Wilcox, Fr.
  

Outlook: The Huskies had a very strange season in 2009-2010. They started off the year as a top 10-15 team and the favorite to win the Pac-10, but a combination of poor defense and lackadaisical and selfish play led to a slow start. UW had unimpressive victories over the likes of Wright State and Montana, lost to Texas Tech and Georgetown in non-conferenence play, and then began the Pac-10 season 1-3. After getting swept by the LA schools, including a 26 point loss to USC, the season looked lost for U-Dub. But something clicked, and they proceeded to win eight of ten to close out the Pac-10 regular season before winning the Pac-10 tournament and making a run to the Sweet 16.

Lorenzo Romar's club does lose Quincy Pondexter, the team's leading scorer and rebounder and an eventual first round pick, but they bring back the diminutive Isaiah Thomas. Thomas may lack the stature of a typical hoops star -- he is all of 5'9" on a good day -- but he certainly has plenty of game. Thomas is a scoring guard, at his best when he is able to make decisions with the ball in his hands. He can get into the lane fairly easily and is quite shifty creating space near the basket, using an array of floaters, pull-ups, and runners to make up for his lack of height. Thomas is capable of creating for his teammates, and while he turns the ball over too much and will either need to improve his shot selection or his perimeter jumper (he took 200 threes and made 32.7% of them last season), he's an insitinctual scorer; you don't want to limit his creativity when he has the ball.

Venoy Overton may be the perfect complement to Thomas in the back court as he is probably the best perimeter defender in the Pac-10. The senior is capable of running the point and can create for his teammates, but he, too, could stand to see his perimeter jumper improved upon. Abdul Gaddy, the No.2 point guard recruit in the country last season to John Wall, didn't quite live up to the billing, but he was also younger than just about everyone. Gaddy was the only rising college sophomore on the USA U-19 team that was dominated by rising high school seniors. Romar is certainly hoping for a breakout year from Gaddy.

Freshman Terrence Ross has the size, athleticism, and skill set to be an impact player in the Pac-10 and should see time immediately, while redshirt freshman CJ Wilcox should help replace the perimeter shooting lost when Elston Turner transferred. Justin Holiday, a lanky, 6'6" small forward and the brother of Jrue Holiday, will see a lot of time on the perimeter as well. Holiday is long and versatile enough that he could play at the four if Romar wanted to go to a smaller lineup with three guards.


Up front there is a lot of talent, but not a ton of depth with Tyreese Breshers' retirement from hoops for an undisclosed illness. A name you will likely hear a lot during the preseason when breakout stars are brought up is Matthew Bryan-Amaning. MBA has loads of talent and potential -- he's a 6'9", 240 lb athlete that can run the floor and block some shots. He really came on down the stretch last season, averaging 11.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg over the final 14 Husky games, and with Pondexter gone there will be plenty of minutes and shots available. Aziz N'Diaye is a 7'0" transfer from the College of Southern Idaho. His offensive game is a work in progress, but he can run the floor and defend the rim.

The rest of the rotation up front will be Darnell Gant and Desmond Simmons. The x-factor may be the 6'8" Gant, who started as a freshman but fell out of favor last season as Amaning and Pondexter got more minutes. If he can start to live up to his potential -- he's 6'8", athletic, and was considered the best power forward out west when he came out of high school -- it will give the Huskies some depth. The same can be said for Simmons. Simmons is more of a combo-forward, but if he wants to see minutes this season, he will have to do it up front.

There's a lot of talent on this Washington roster, but there are a lot of question marks as well. Will that talent ever reach its potential? Will this team learn to play together? Are the Huskies willing to defend? Expect another season full of up-and-down, high-scoring affairs from U-Dub. They should win the conference, and could be good enough to make a run through the NCAA Tournament's first weekend.