Huskies Basketball: It's Not Just Skinny Guys Anymore!

Lo, it has come upon us that it is once again college basketball season. With the season really kicking off next Tuesday with a glorious 24-hr marathon of basketball on ESPN, it is time to start looking ahead to what could be in the Pacific Northwest.

Sorry Ducks, Beavers, and Cougars fans, but you guys kind of suck. The Northwest is once again the domain of the Huskies, who have built themselves up so well under Lorenzo Romar that people are getting annoyed about ONLY making it to the Sweet Sixteen. My opinions aside, this is going to be another strong year for the Huskies as they stand as really the only legitimate team with a chance at the Pac-10 title.

While the loss of a player like Quincy Pondexter is enough to kill many teams (see Kyle Weaver at WSU or Darren Collison at UCLA), the Huskies seem to have just reloaded. Isaiah Thomas looks primed to continue to be the exact same player he has been the last two years, while Matthew Bryan-Amaning's strong run to end last season (9 or more points in 12 of his last 14 games) seems to point to the Huskies having a legitimate post threat once again.

Losing out on Terrence Jones and Enes Kanter has made the offseason look a lot worse than it really is for the Huskies, who still brought in some good players. Terrence Ross was seen as Jones' equal as recently as a year and a half ago, and actually has a bit of a coincience, unlike his Portland teammate. Aziz N'Diaye brings a gigantic, bruising body (7'0", 260) to the paint that should take a little pressure of MBA, as long as he doesn't foul out quickly. C.J. Wilcox comes off a redshirt and has been forgotten a fair amount despite reports showing him to be the best shooter on the team.

With a bit of luck and some more excellent coaching by Romar, this is a Huskies team that should run away with the Pac-10 (watch out for Oregon, who has at least one player capable of making the U.W. roster) and make a bit more noise in the NCAA tournament. Let's hope for another Sweet Sixteen to cement Romar as the greatest coach in the history of the University of Washington.