GAME: Seattle (8-22 overall, 3-15 WAC) at Washington (18-16 overall, 9-9 Pac-12). WHEN: Sunday, 7 p.m., Alaska Airlines Arena. TYPE: Non-conference. MEETING: 29th (UW leads 24-4). RANKINGS: Neither school ranked. COACHES: Cameron Dollar, Seattle U.; Lorenzo Romar. TV: Pac-12 Networks. RADIO: KJR 950 AM
With three former starters — Abdul Gaddy, Aziz N’Diaye and Scott Suggs — gone from last season’s 18-16 NIT team, Pac-12 media predictably picked Washington to finish 2013-14 in the depths of the Pac-12 Conference race. But the eighth-place forecast might be a tad low considering that returning leading scorer C.J. Wilcox will be surrounded by a blend of promising newcomers.
Romar unveiled his squad in a 95-65 exhibition romp past Central Washington Wednesday and will trot it out for real Sunday night when the Huskies launch their non-conference schedule with a 7 p.m. clash with cross-city rival Seattle University.
The most-discussed new Husky is point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, one of the most decorated prep players –McDonalds, Parade, MaxPreps All-America — to enroll at Washington during Romar’s tenure. Williams-Goss will likely be a starter. Another newcomer drawing a lot of attention is 6-9 senior forward Perris Blackwell, who sat out last season after transferring to UW from San Francisco.
Williams-Goss and Blackwell are two of four new Huskies who give Romar perhaps his tallest UW team with four players listed at 6-foot-9 or taller. The newcomers, alphabetically:
MIKE ANDERSON (G, 6-5, junior): Transferred to UW from Moberly Area Community College in Missouri . . . Adds size and defense on the perimeter . . . Averaged 17.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 83.3 percent from the free throw line, 52.6 from the field and 41.7 from the 3-point line in 33 games last season . . . Five points and six rebounds in 18 minutes against Central Washington.
PERRIS BLACKWELL (F, 6-9, senior): Sat out last season after transferring from San Francisco, where he averaged 13 points and six rebounds as an All-West Coast Conference honorable-mention selection in 2011-12 . . . Ranked second in the WCC in FG percentage and offensive rebounds (2.9), and was 11th in scoring and ninth in rebounding . . . Recorded four double-doubles during the season Has one year of eligibility remaining . . . 21 points and nine rebounds against Central Washington.
GILLES DIERICKX (C, 7-0, sophomore): Played as a freshman at Florida International for NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, averaging 2.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 29 games . . . First player from Belgium to play at Washington . . . Born in Ghent, Belgium, but moved to the U.S. to play basketball as a high school junior . . . Spent two seasons at Chaminade in West Hills, CA., where he averaged 13.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks during his senior season for the Eagles . . . Transferred to UW June 29, 2012 . . . Has three years of eligibility remaining . . . Four points and four rebounds vs. Central Washington.
DARIN JOHNSON (G, 6-5, freshman): Played senior year for Sheldon High School in Sacramento after transferring from Franklin HS in Elk Grove, CA. … Helped Sheldon to a 27-6 record and the CIF Northern California Open Division final, where it lost to Archbishop Mitty . . . 25th-ranked shooting guard according to ESPN.com. . . . Two points with two rebounds vs. Central Washington.
JAHMEL TAYLOR (G, 6-0, freshman): Helped Pacific Hills High School of West Hollywood to a 29-4 record and 2013 California State Division IV championship . . . Averaged 22.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals as a senior . . . Named Division 4A All CIF-Southern Section Player of the Year . . . One rebound vs. Central Washington.
NIGEL WILLIAMS-GOSS (G, 6-3, freshman): McDonald’s High School and Parade magazine All-America while playing for Nevada’s Findlay Prep . . . Averaged 18 points and seven assists in leading Findlay to a 35-1 record, its lone loss coming in the semifinals of the ESPN National High School Invitational . . . Fifth Husky signee to play in the McDonald’s game, following Abdul Gaddy, Spencer Hawes, Martell Webster and Jon Brockman . . . Native of Happy Valley, OR. . . . 16 points and three assists vs. Central Washington.
With those six added to a mix that includes returning forwards Shawn Kemp Jr., Jernard Jarreau, Desmond Simmons (out until December with an injury) and guard Andrew Andrews, Romar is hoping the Huskies will be able to return to playing the kind of high-tempo offense and pressure defense that distinguished his clubs through six NCAA appearances, three Sweet 16 showings and three conference tournament titles.
Cameron Dollar’s Redhawks had a poor 2012-13 season, finishing 8-22, but three starters from that squad, notably Tacoma’s Clarence Trent, who led Seattle U. in scoring last season and finished second in rebounding, return. Western Athletic Conference coaches are impressed enough with what Cameron has assembled that they voted the Redhawks to finish second in the league race.
The Huskies and Redhawks play for the sixth consecutive year since Seattle U. returned to Division I status. The Redhawks have yet win, although they came relatively close last year, falling 87-74, one of their better performances in an 8-22 season.
After opening with Seattle U., the Huskies face a challenging non-conference slate. Washington will play in the 2K Sports Classic, hosting UC Irvine and Eastern Washington, and then plays at Madison Square Garden in New York for the third time in three seasons. On Nov. 21 the Huskies meet Indiana and on Nov. 22 they will play either Connecticut, No. 18 in the Associated Press’ preseason top 25, or Boston College at MSG.
The Huskies also play at San Diego State Dec. 8 and at Tulane Dec. 17 in a homecoming game for Jarreau, a New Orleans native. UW hosts UConn, the marquee non-conference game on the schedule, Dec. 22.
The Pac-12 season starts Jan. 2 at Arizona State and Jan. 4 at Arizona, the preseason favorite to win the league title. Washington’s Pac-12 home opener is Wednesday, Jan. 8 against Utah.
SERIES: Dates to March 13, 1953, when the Huskies defeated the then-Chieftains 92-70 in the NCAA West Regionals in Corvallis.
UW STATS / NOTES
- 2012-13 REGULAR-SEASON SUMMARY: Record: 17-14. Home: 11-7. Road: 5-6. Neutral: 1-1. Vs. Pac-12: 9-9. Vs. Pac-12 North: 5-4. Vs. Pac-12 South: 4-5. Vs. Non-Conference: 8-5. Points: 2089 (67.4). Field Goal Pct.: 43.4. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.2. Free Throw Pct.: 67.9. Rebounds: 1134 (36.6). Assists: 362 (11.7). Turnovers: 413 (13.3). Steals: 158 (5.1). Blocks: 127 (4.1). Points Against: 2053 (66.2). Opp. FG Pct.: 43.1. Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.: 33.7. Opp FT Pct.: 67.1. Opp. Rebounds: 1134 (32.2). Opp. Assists: 375 (12.1). Opp. Turnovers: 383 (12.4). Opp. Steals: 191 (6.2). Opp. Blocks: 91 (2.9). Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): Ranked 89th (84th last week).
- 2012-13 PAC-12 RANKINGS: Scoring Offense — 9th (67.4). Scoring Defense — 9th (66.2). Scoring Margin — 11th (+1.2). FG Pct. — 9th (43.4). FT Pct. — 10th (67.9). 3-Pt FG Pct. — 10th (33.2). Rebound Margin — 3rd (+4.4). Blocked Shots — 5th (4.1). Assists — 11th (11.7). Steals — 11th (5.1). Turnover Margin — 9th (-0.97).
- Wilcox led the Huskies with a 16.8 scoring average last year. He underwent successful foot surgery last spring after an injury hampered him down the stretch.
UW HEAD COACH: Lorenzo Romar (329-215 overall, 236-125 UW) is coming off a year in which the Huskies finished 18-16 overall and ended the year with a loss to Brigham Young in the National Invitation Tournament. Romar has taken the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament six times and won three Pac-10 Tournament titles (2005, 2010, 2011).
2012-13 Washington Regular-Season Statistics
| Player | G | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Wilcox | 31 | 41.9 | 35.3 | 80.4 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 16.8 |
| Scott Suggs | 28 | 42.3 | 37.6 | 87.3 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 12.0 |
| Abdul Gaddy | 31 | 44.2 | 32.8 | 65.6 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 10.9 |
| Aziz N’Diaye | 31 | 57.1 | 0.00 | 42.4 | 9.3 | 0.3 | 9.2 |
| Andrew Andrews | 28 | 35.5 | 23.1 | 76.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 7.7 |
| Shawn Kemp | 24 | 51.7 | 0.00 | 63.2 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 6.0 |
| Desmond Simmons | 31 | 36.7 | 35.3 | 67.6 | 6.8 | 0.9 | 4.8 |
| Jenard Jarreau | 28 | 40.7 | 0.00 | 74.3 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| D. Overstreet | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Hikeem Stewart | 16 | 23.1 | 0.00 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Martin Breunig | 9 | 2.50 | 0.00 | 50.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Q. Sterling | 3 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 31 | 43.4 | 33.2 | 67.9 | 36.6 | 11.7 | 67.4 |
| Opponents | 31 | 43.1 | 33.7 | 67.1 | 32.2 | 12.1 | 66.2 |
SEATTLE U. HEAD COACH: Cameron Dollar, a former assistant under Lorenzo Romar at Washington, is in his fifth season as head coach. Dollar, a former star player at UCLA, got his coaching start at UC-Irvine in 1997. He worked under Romar at St. Louis for three years before moving to Washington, where he was part of back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances.
2013-14 SCHEDULE: During the season, the Huskies will appear on the Pac-12 Network a minimum of 17 times, on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU 10 times, Fox Sports 1 twice and CBS Sports Network once. UW will play at 5 p.m. or earlier 11 times and at 8 p.m. or later eight times.
University of Washington 2013-14 Schedule
| Date | Opponent | UW Rnk | Opp Rnk | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/13 | @vs. Cent. Wash | — | — | W | 95-65 | 0-0 |
| 11/10/13 | vs. Seattle U. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 11/14/13 | vs. UC Irvine | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 11/17/13 | vs. E. Wash | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 11/21/13 | *vs. Indiana | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 11/22/13 | *vs. UConn | — | 18 | — | —– | — |
| 11/26/13 | vs. Montana | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/30/13 | vs. L. Beach St. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/8/13 | vs. SD State | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/14/13 | vs. Idaho St. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/17/13 | at Tulane | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/22/13 | vs. UConn | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/27/13 | vs. Miss. Valley | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 12/29/13 | vs. Hartford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/2/14 | at ASU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/4/14 | at Arizona | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/8/14 | vs. Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/12/14 | vs. Colorado | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/15/14 | at Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/18/13 | at Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 1/23/14 | vs. Oregon | — | 19 | — | —– | — |
| 1/25/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/1/14 | at WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/6/14 | at Utah | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/9/14 | at Colorado | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/12/14 | vs. Stanford | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/15/14 | vs. Cal | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/19/14 | at Oregon | — | 19 | — | —– | — |
| 2/22/14 | at OSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 2/28/14 | vs. WSU | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/6/14 | vs. UCLA | — | 22 | — | —– | — |
| 3/8/14 | vs. USC | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/12/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/13/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/14/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/15/14 | ^Pac-12 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/18-19/14 | NCAA 1st 4 | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/20-23/14 | NCAA 2nd, 3rd | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 3/27-30/14 | NCAA Reg. | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/5/14 | NCAA Semis | — | — | — | —– | — |
| 4/7/14 | NCAA Final | — | — | — | —– | — |
@=Exhibition; *=2K Sports Classic; ^=Pac-12 Tournament