GAME: Western Washington (31-5 overall, 16-3 GNAC in 2011-12) at Washington (24-11 overall, 14-4, Pac-12 in 2011-12). WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Exhibition. MEETING: 3rd exhibition. RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Tony Dominguez, Western Washington; Lorenzo Romar, Washington. TV: No TV. RADIO: No radio.
Lorenzo Romar’s University of Washington men’s basketball team, infamously snubbed by the NCAA Tournament last year despite winning the Pac-12 regular-season title, launches its 2012-13 schedule Wednesday night with an exhibition against Western Washington. The Huskies, missing Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten from last year’s NIT club, will start the regular season Nov. 11 by hosting the Tip-Off Hall of Fame Classic.
With Ross (16.4 ppg) and Wroten (16.0), Washington’s top two scorers last season, now in the NBA, and Darnell Gant having graduated, the Huskies return three starters or part-time starters from a 24-11 team that also failed to win the NIT: guards Abdul Gaddy and C.J. Wilcox and center Aziz N’Diaye. UW will also get back senior guard Scott Suggs, who sat out all of last season with a broken foot.
Western Washington is the NCAA Division II defending national champion and will face old coach Brad Jackson, who became a Husky assistant in August after directing the Vikings for 27 years. His 2011-12 team went 31-5.
This will mark the third time the Bellingham school and Washington have met in a preseason exhibition game. The Vikings lost 105-85 Nov. 7, 2008 and 81-76 Nov. 9, 2011, after holding a seven-point lead with seven minutes to play.
Tony Dominguez, who took over on an interim basis for Jackson after spending 17 years as an assistant, has eight returning lettermen, including three starters, from WWU’s championship team. One of the starters, John Allen, was named the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s West Regional. He has also been a Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-league pick the past two seasons.
Romar said Tuesday that he plans to run a basic offense and defense against Western and use the game for “personnel experimentation.”
SERIES: Wednesday’s game is an exhibition and will not count in the series standings. In regular-season play, the Huskies are 17-0 against Western Washington. The teams have not met in a game that counted since Dec. 15, 1982, when the Huskies defeated the Vikings 76-59.
With Ross in Toronto (first round, eighth overall pick) and Wroten with Memphis (first round, 25th overall pick), Romar will have the following players available this season. C.J. Wilcox is Washington’s best returning scorer at 14.2 points per game:
2012-13 HUSKIES
ANDREW ANDREWS (6-2/195, guard, redshirt freshman): 2011 Oregon 5A State Co-Player of the Year from Benson Tech (24.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg) . . . Also named to the Oregon-Washington Northwest Shootout All-Star Game . . . Used the 2011-12 season as his redshirt year . . . Underwent off-season hip surgery March 30.
PERRIS BLACKWELL (6-9/280, forward, senior): Transfer from the University of San Francisco earned All-West Coast Conference honorable mention honors in 2011-12 after averaging 12.7 points, 6.1 rpg and 0.3 bpg . . . Ranked second in the WCC in field goal percentage and offensive rebounds . . . Scored in double figures in 20 games with a career high 26 vs. San Diego Jan 28, 2012.
MARTIN BREUNIG (6-8/210, forward, sophomore): Played in 21 games last season as a freshman, averaging 8.1 minutes . . . Had a career-high 14 minutes at St. Louis . . . Had a career-high two blocks as well as four points and three rebounds against Cal State Northridge.
GILLES DIERICKX (6-11/220, center, sophomore): Transferred from Florida International and will sit out 2012-13 season and have three years of eligibility remaining . . . Averaged 2.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 29 games for Florida International in 2011-12.
ABDUL GADDY (6-3/195, guard, senior): Enters final year at UW eighth on the career list with 312 assists; needs 204 to break record held by Will Conroy . . . Started all 35 games in 2011-12 and averaged 33.9 minutes per game . . . Ranked second in the Pac-12 in assists per game (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio . . . Nominee for Bob Cousy Award . . . Scored career-high 17 points vs. UC Santa Barbara and had a career-best eight assists vs. Cal State Northridge, matching it against Arizona State . . . Averaged 8.8 points and 7.0 assists in four NIT games.
JERNARD JARREAU (6-10/220, forward, freshman): Used 2011-12 as his redshirt season . . . Native of New Orleans . . . Named District 10 4A Player of the Year in 2010-11 playing for McDonogh High School.
SHAWN KEMP JR. (6-9/255, forward, sophomore): Played in 28 games as a freshman in 2011-12, averaging 6.5 minutes per contest . . . Scored a career-high six points twice, last time vs. Arizona State . . . Blocked three shots vs. Cal State Northridge . . . Played season-high 13 minutes vs. USC Feb. 4, 2012.
AZIZ N’DIAYE (7-0/260, center, senior): Played in 33 games last year, starting 31 . . . Led Huskies with 240 rebounds and tied for team lead with 33 blocks . . . Made the Pac-12’s All-Defensive team . . . Scored a career-high 15 points vs. Seattle U. . . . Scored in double figures 11 times and grabbed at least 10 rebounds seven times . . . Had six double-doubles.
DION OVERSTREET (5-9/175, guard, junior): Joined the Huskies as a walk-on . . . Last played for Edmonds CC, where he averaged 13.9 points, 2.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds . . . Scored 20 or more points five times . . . Graduated from Venice High in Venice, CA.
AUSTIN SEFERIAN-JENKINS (6-6/258, forward, sophomore): Starting tight end on football team joined the Huskies Jan. 9, 2012 and averaged 1.1 points and 2.1 rebounds . . .Had a career-best five points vs. USC and career-best seven rebounds vs. Stanford . . . Won’t become available until after the football season.
DESMOND SIMMONS (6-7/220, forward, sophomore): One of five players to appear in all 35 of Washington’s games in 2011-12 . . . Made 11 starts . . . Had a career-high 13 points vs. Cal State Northridge . . . Career-high 11 rebounds vs. South Dakota State.
QUINN STERLING (6-4/185, guard, sophomore): Joined UW as a walk-on in summer . . . Earned four letters at Mercer Island High School playing under Ed Pepple . . . Played only six games as a senior after breaking his right leg in the first game . . . First-team All-Kingco as a junior.
HIKEEM STEWART (6-2/185, guard, sophomore): Made 17 appearances as a freshman . . . Had a career high three points vs. Georgia State and a career-best two rebounds vs. California . . . Played 10 minutes in a game three times.
SCOTT SUGGS (6-6/195, guard, senior): Redshirted 2011-12 season after suffering a broken foot during the preseason . . . Ranked third in the Pac-10 as a junior in 3-point FG percentage at 45.0 . . . Scored in double figures in 11 games . . . Had a career-high 18 points at Oregon State.
C.J. WILCOX (6-5/195, guard, junior): Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 in 2011-12 . . . Fifth all-time in UW history with 136 3-pointers . . . Had a career-high 25 points vs. Seattle U.. . . Averaged a team-best 36.5 minutes per game.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar is in his 11th season as head coach and is coming off a season in which the Huskies won the Pac-12 regular-season title. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times, and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011). Romar, who signed a 10-year contract extension in April 2011, won his his 200th game at Washington Dec. 16, 2011. He had his 300th career victory and his 100th as a conference coach on Jan. 21, 2012. Romar was selected the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.
Romar played for the Huskies under head coach Marv Harshman during the 1979-80 seasons (served as team captain his senior year), and had a five-year NBA career with Golden State (1981-84), Milwaukee (1984) and Detroit (1984-85). He became a college head coach at Pepperdine in 1997, where he coached for three seasons, then spent three years (1999-02) at St. Louis University before taking the Washington job in 2002-03.
2011-12 Washington Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrence Ross | 35 | .457 | .371 | .766 | 6.4 | 1.4 | 16.4 |
| Tony Wroten | 37 | .443 | .161 | .583 | 5 | 3.7 | 16.0 |
| C.J. Wilcox | 32 | .437 | .403 | .839 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 14.2 |
| Abdul Gaddy | 35 | .400 | .330 | .691 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 8.1 |
| Aziz N’Diaye | 33 | .522 | .000 | .397 | 7.3 | 0.3 | 7.8 |
| Darnell Gant | 35 | .466 | .333 | .614 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 7.2 |
| Desmond Simmons | 35 | .422 | .222 | .623 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 4.2 |
| Martin Breunig | 21 | .536 | .250 | .714 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| Shawn Kemp | 28 | .552 | .000 | .571 | 0.8 | 0 | 1.6 |
| A.Sef-Jenkins | 17 | .381 | .000 | .375 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| Alex Wegner | 6 | .250 | .500 | .000 | 0.3 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Hikeem Stewart | 18 | .294 | .167 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Brendan Sherrer | 8 | .000 | .000 | .750 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
WESTERN WASHINGTON HEAD COACH: Tony Dominguez is Western’s interim head coach, having replaced Brad Jackson after Jackson joined the Huskies last summer. Dominguez has worked at Western for 17 years and was associate head coach the last two. Dominguez is a 1994 WWU graduate.
COMING UP: The Huskies do not play again until Nov. 11 when they host Loyola-Maryland in the first round of the Tip-Off Hall of Fame Classic at Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington will entertain Albany in the second round Nov. 13.
University of Washington 2012-13 Schedule
(Rankings From USA Today)
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/11/12 | @vs. W. Washington | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/11/12 | *vs. Loyola-MD. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/13/12 | *vs. Albany | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/17/12 | *vs. Seton Hall | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/18/12 | *vs. Ohio St./R. Island | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/24/12 | vs. Colorado St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11/28/12 | vs. Saint Louis | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/2/12 | Cal St.-Fuller. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/8/12 | vs. Nevada | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/13/12 | at Seattle U. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/15/12 | vs. Jackson St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/20/12 | vs. Cal Poly | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/22/12 | vs. N. Illinois | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12/29/12 | at Connecticut | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/5/13 | at WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/9/13 | at California | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/16/13 | vs. Colorado | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/19/13 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/23/13 | at Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/26/13 | at Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1/31/13 | vs. Arizona | — | 11 | — | — | — |
| 2/2/13 | vs. ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/7/13 | at UCLA | — | 13 | — | — | — |
| 2/10/13 | at USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/13/13 | vs. Oregon | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/16/13 | vs. Oregon St. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2/20/13 | at Arizona | — | 11 | — | — | — |
| 2/23/13 | at ASU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/3/13 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/6/13 | vs. USC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/9/13 | vs. UCLA | — | 13 | — | — | — |
| 3/13/13 | ^First Round | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/14/13 | ^Quarterfinal | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/15/13 | ^Semifinal | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/16/13 | ^Championship | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/19/13 | #1st Four | — | — | — | — | |
| 3/21/13 | #2nd-3rd Rnds. | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3/28/13 | #Regionals | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4/6/13 | #Final 4 Semi | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4/8/13 | #Final 4 Champ. | — | — | — | — | — |
@=Exhibition; *=Hall of Fame Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament; #=NCAA Tournament