Nevada Sucks, Terrence Ross Rebounds

"I'ma love you tender."

Let's get it out of the way: this Husky team is far from my favorite.  They're sloppy as hell, especially Tony Wroten, and they make awful decisions far too often.  Even so, there is a lot of positive in this season already, and I'm more than happy to look into it.

First off, the Pac-12 is terrible, and that's good for the Husky.  Yes, it'll be hard to garner any national respect, but the Husky sure aren't going anywhere huge this year, and a Pac-12 championship, be it regular season or tournament, will easily get them a solid NCAA seed.  UCLA looked like they'd be tough to beat, but have imploded along with Reeves Nelson.  Sure, Cal is damn good and is going to remain that way, but the Huskies are as good if not better thanks to their athleticism.  Strangely, Stanford and Oregon State seem to be the biggest challenges beyond that, and is anybody really worried about them?

Beyond how bad our competition is, the Huskies have some lovely parts.  Terrence Ross looks better and better, and is averaging seven rebounds a game despite being, quite obviously, a shooting guard.  It's almost ridiculous, and as much as I think it won't be sustainable, Ross sure seems like he wants the ball every time its up for grabs.  On the down side, Tony Wroten wants the ball every time its on the court, which usually ends with him turning it over or getting to the line, which at this point is as good as a turnover (12-29 at the line before the Nevada game.)

CJ Wilcox remains nothing but a shooter, but his movement to get to his spots has been excellent and well beyond what I ever expected from him.  The man cuts like a collegiate Ray Allen and just drains everything he shoots despite everyone knowing what's going to happen (55% 3PT FG.)  The question that comes to mind, albeit one that barely matters at this point, is can Wilcox be an NBA player?  Sure, he really seems to only have about one skill, shooting, but damn is he good at it.  If he continues to just leap up in production like he has this year, does he start to look more like a Jason Kapono kind of player, or does he end up like Chris Lofton, the man that averaged over 20 PPG at Tennessee and never even sniffed the NBA?

Speaking of possible NBA guys, let's take a looky-loo at Abdul Gaddy shall we?  Despite nobody really noticing, he has become exactly what I hoped for when he came to UW as that 12 yr. old Freshman.  He still doesn't score, but why would he?  He shoots alright when he does, as long as it isn't from distance (46% overall, 33% from 3), and he's averaging four rebounds and five assists per game, gaudy numbers for a 6-3 college point guard, especially when you look at the sheer athleticism around him that you would think would steal rebounds away (a reminder, Terrence Ross is averaging seven rebounds a game.)

Of course, the opposite of Gaddy comes to us in the form of Tony Wroten.  Highly regarded even now, despite his four and a half turnovers a game, the man is just an idiot on the court.  To be fair, he can steal the ball with the best of them and has a natural driving ability that you don't see much.  Unfortunately, he also gambles for steals every possession, doesn't know how to control himself, and shoots free throws with all the finesse of Artem Wallace.  I really do hope he develops into what he is supposed to be, but right now he's looking like a huge, immature (in basketball, he seems fine off the court) disappointment, at least for this season.

Unfortunately, we aren't going to go anywhere amazing this year, I know.  We are too young and too reliant on guys making plays that just don't know when to try stuff.  Luckily, all of our youngin's look like they have potential to be solid players eventually, even Wroten, and it'll be an average season for the Huskies.  Hooray!