Cold-Blooded: For pure buzzer-beating thrill, has Isaiah Thomas’ shot to beat Arizona ever been matched? Quincy Pondexter had that shot against Marquette last year, but that wasn’t, strictly speaking, at the buzzer. Brandon Roy had those two buzzer-beaters against Arizona in ’05, but those forced overtimes in a game UW lost. In 2001, the 9-19 Dawgs shocked #13 UCLA on a Michael Johnson buzzer beater. Others? Anyone? (In case you haven’t seen: the replay.)
Thomas won the tournament MVP, he’s only the second guy ever to do that in back-to-back years. (Sean Elliott.)
Georgia’s Next: The Dawgs may have gotten a break in drawing Georgia. The Bulldogs are the worst at-large team in the tournament other than much-maligned VCU, according to Ken Pomeroy’s computer rankings.
Quick info on Georgia
Top player: Forward Trey Thompkins, Georgia’s only All-SEC selection. He’s a Joevan Catron type–beefy, savvy post player who can also step out and shoot.
Georgia’s offense: The Bulldogs play a triangle offense that relies on crisp passing and players being in the right spots. The key is to hassle the passer. Georgia is very patient on offense, UW will want to disrupt them.
Georgia’s defense: The Bulldogs mix up their defensive fronts, sometimes showing man, sometimes a 2-3 zone, sometimes a 3-2 zone. Their main strategy is to keep you out of the paint. Drive and dish won’t be that effective.
What they’re saying…special Isaiah Thomas reaction edition…
“I knew I had a smaller guy on me, so I could get a shot off. I just made a little step back and God made the ball go through the hoop.” — Isaiah Thomas
“One of these days when I’m not coaching anymore, I’ll sit back in the rocking chair and reminisce about this game.” — Lorenzo Romar
“Cold-blooded!” — Gus Johnson
“ISAIAH THOMAS THE SHOT OF THE WEEK!!!! Washington wins in OT. Gus just burst a blood vessel.” — CBS’s Seth Davis, via Twitter
“Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhjjjjjjjhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhjj jeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhj #206” — Nate Robinson, via Twitter
“Man I’m a proud Husky!!! That was awesome!” — Steve Sarkisian, via Twitter
In other news…
The Mariners continued their strong Cactus League play, with the best performance coming Sunday from Jason Vargas. The M’s starter threw four scoreless innings in a 2-0 win over the Angels.
The M’s made 8 roster cuts, including Alex Liddi, who hit back-to-back grand slams last week. Man, what does a guy have to do?
M’s ace Felix Hernandez tuned up in an impromptu intrasquad game, allowing two runs in four innings.
Mariners OF Franklin Gutierrez found out his stomach problems aren’t career-threatening. Gutierrez has a “slow digestive tract,” according to the team, which he should be able to control by eating better.
Wazzu is a three-seed in the NIT, and will host Long Beach St. Tuesday. They could end up playing Harvard in the second round, which would be some fecund territory for IQ-related humor.
Here is the full NCAA tournament schedule. Remember, second-round game times aren’t decided until first round is finished.
A “FIFA Room” is one of the features inside Tim Lincecum’s $1.6M downtown condo, in this long NYT profile. I liked this quote from Lincecum, about being included with Bob Gibson on GQ “25 Coolest Athletes” list. “Was Bob Gibson cool? he asked innocently. Or was he just a . . . and here Lincecum used a colloquialism thats synonymous with a part of the male anatomy that is unprintable on this site.
The next seven days in Seattle sports…
Today, March 14
Baseball: Mariners vs. Cubs, 1:05 p.m. (No local radio, check MLB.com for other feeds)
Tuesday, March 15
Soccer: Sounders vs. Galaxy @ Qwest Field, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
NIT: Long Beach St. @ Wazzu, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Wednesday, March 16
Baseball: Mariners vs. Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m. (FSN)
Thursday, March 17
First Full Day of NCAA Tournament: ALL DAMN DAY WOOOOO! (CBS, TNT, TBS, truTV)
Baseball: Mariners @ Kansas City, 6:05 p.m. (710-AM)
Friday, March 18
NCAA Tourney: Washington vs. Georgia in Charlotte, 6:45 p.m. (CBS-7)
Baseball: Mariners vs. Arizona, 1:05 p.m. (FSN)
Saturday, March 19
Baseball: Mariners @ Texas, 1:05 p.m. (710-AM)
Soccer: Sounders @ NY Red Bulls, 4:30 p.m. (KONG)
Sunday, March 20
Baseball: Mariners vs. San Diego, 1:05 p.m. (710-AM)
NCAA Tourney: Washington/Georgia winner vs. North Carolina/LIU-Brooklyn winner, TBD
12 Comments
Just a couple mistakes, the cougs are a 2 seed in the NIT and they play on Wednesday.
Man I totaly dig how Romar and Sark support each other’s programs. They both get jacked at the other’s success’s. It’s great to see, hear, touch, smell. Adictive.
Go Dawgs!
Get Nash, get Gasol…THAT would be great for the franchise
Interesting how Terrence Ross was considered a consolation prize of sorts for the UW after Terrence Jones bailed on the Huskies to go to Kentucky, yet Ross ends up being picked ten spots ahead of Jones in the draft.
I agree that the Huskies should have made the NCAA tourney, but the fact that they didn’t lies with the team and not the NCAA. In fact, IMO they should have won the NIT. I wonder if what Calipari accomplished this season with such a young roster puts more pressure on other coaches in Division I? Especially when you have success in recruiting quality players like what Romar usually has?
Calipari’s factory is unsurpassed, and I don’t think Romar or most Washington fans would care to emulate. The pressure on D-1 coaches goes up a little bit every year, as the money grows. I’d rather be a spokesman for the tobacco for tots campaign than a D-1 hoops or fb coach.
UW basketball is just a sad extension of the NBA. No team, no fundamentals no real fan outcry for more than we have been given. Just look at Wroten and how he used the UW to catapul himself to a high paying job. My main case in point is that mind bending over the head no look baseline shot(?) that screamed “look at me and draft me”. UW basketball is hard to watch and the fans lapping up mediocrity at best play is a huge part of the problem. Of course I lay all the blame on Romar but in Seattle just uttering this may get me purple hazed.
I have no problem with players using college ball to further themselves, because college ball typically will use them and not care about consequences.
Romar isn’t a perfect coach, but neither is Roy Williams. Romar has had as much sustained success as anyone in UW history as well as among his Pac-12 contemporaries. Something tells me that if Scott Suggs had been healthy, the year would have worked out much better, because he would have been a better contributor than Wroten — not a better player, a better contributor.
You’re being very unfair to Romar. Throughout his tenure at UW he’s managed to get some great players to buy into his system and his philosophy, and play team ball. I’ve been watching the Huskies for a long time now, and most years they play unselfishly and together, without necessarily sacrificing individual players’ talent. This is especially apparent on defense, which in Romar’s system is entirely dependent on team play: his aggressive front-and-help approach requires all players to be aware of their teammates and opponents, help quickly, and trust their teammates to do the same.
Admittedly, last season was an aberration, mostly because there were so many new players. Wroten did nothing to help, too: he’s a pretty selfish player on both sides of the ball, regardless of his flashy passes and steals. However, don’t let that make you forget his past achievements.
You pretty much nailed it, Art. Wroten is a genuine talent but he’s ALWAYS been about himself…from transferring to Garfield from Renton (guess those “friendships” he had with classmates in Renton weren’t worth much) to bogus Spanish classes to his one-and-done year at the UW that was basically a 3-4 month showcase for the NBA.
It’ll be interesting to see if Lionel Hollins is as much of a marshmallow as Lorenzo Romar because I don’t think Tony’s ever had a coach that didn’t kiss his coattails or expected him to play for his team instead of playing for a future paycheck. Darnell Gant will be missed a LOT more than Tony because Darnell was about the team.
I don’t think Romar was a marshmallow. It’s a fine line drawing out an immature but immensely talented kid. The Huskies desperately needed his playmaking because aside from Ross, they were ordinary even in a sub-ordinary Pac-12. If Romar were really soft, he would have started him with the season opener, and wouldn’t have benched him to start the second half in NY in the NIT semis.
You are that old: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/kasayjoh01.htm