Up to NCAA B Articles
When you think of states that are hotbeds of high-quality basketball, certain ones automatically come to mind. North Carolina, with Duke, the University of North Carolina, and NC State would be an excellent choice. Kentucky, the home of Louisville and the University of Kentucky, also earns that distinction. There is a new addition to that short list, the state of Washington.
Any serious college hoops fan is familiar with the success Gonzaga, the pride of Spokane, Washington, has enjoyed in recent years. You may not realize, though, that the University of Washington is poised to match and exceed the Zags in basketball prominence.
Gonzaga, a darling of basketball fans who love rooting for an underdog, has encountered problems in recent years on the same stage that vaulted the program to national prominence in the first place, the NCAA tournament.
The Zags burst onto the national scene in 1999. In only their second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, Gonzaga made an improbable run to the Elite Eight. The Zags narrowly missed crashing the party at the Final Four, dropping a hard-fought 67-62 game to eventual national champion Connecticut. Four starters from that team, Matt Santangelo, Quentin Hall, Richie Frahm, and Jeremy Eaton, earned first team all-West Coast Conference honors.
When coach Don Monson left for Minnesota, assistant Mark Few was promoted and kept the momentum going by leading the school to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in 2000 and 2001. As the stars from the 1998-99 squad moved on, others replaced them like Casey Calvary, Blake Stepp, Dan Dickau, and Ronny Turiaf.
By the start of the 2001-02 season, Gonzaga was considered one of the top basketball programs in the nation. They finished the season ranked #6 in the AP poll and posted a school record 29 wins. The Zags were on the wrong end of a big upset in the NCAA Tournament that year, however, dropping a first round game to Wyoming. Despite being frequently ranked in the Top Ten the last two seasons, Gonzaga has not made it past the second round of the Big Dance since 2001.
The 2005-06 Zags feature All-American forward Adam Morrison and all-conference point guard Derek Raivio on a roster again loaded with size, talent, and depth. They are highly ranked, Street & Smith’s preview has Gonzaga #7, for example, and expectations remain high for the program.
The pressure of high expectations was one problem Lorenzo Romar did not face when he took over as head coach at the University of Washington in 2002. The Huskies program had crashed and burned, compiling an overall record of 31-58 over the prior three seasons, 14-40 in the Pac-10. Adding insult to injury, local Seattle high-school star Errol Knight, who had completed his freshman year at Washington, transferred to Gonzaga following the 2001-02 season.
Romar’s first season in Seattle was a rough one, with the Huskies finishing 10-17, 5-13 in the conference. Washington showed signs of life in 2003-04 on the strength of an outstanding perimeter game. Guards Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, and Tre Simmons made the Huskies a dangerous, explosive team. The Huskies finished with a 19-12 record and a return to the NCAA Tournament. Three wins over Arizona and a late season defeat of Stanford, who came into the game with a 26-0 record, served notice that Washington was now a team to be reckoned with in the Pac-10.
The Huskies picked up where they left off when the 2004-05 season began and stormed to a 29-6 record and the Pac-10 tournament championship. This achievement earned Washington a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time. Louisville, a team that some experts felt were more deserving of a top seed, had the last laugh when they knocked the Huskies out in the Sweet 16.
Despite that setback, Robinson and Simmons left the program on a high note. The 29 wins matched the school record established in 1938, and the Sweet 16 appearance was only the third since Washington last advanced to the Final Four in 1953.
This success has tilted the edge in recruiting from Few and Gonzaga to Romar and Washington. Last year, Romar beat out Coach K among other suitors for McDonald’s All-American recruit and Washington native Jon Brockman, a 6’7”, 245 pound forward ranked among the top high school players in the nation in 2005. They had also signed guard Martell Webster, who was the sixth pick in the 2005 NBA draft by Portland. The Huskies’ recruiting class was ranked #3 nationally by Rivals.com. Gonzaga’s did not even warrant honorable mention.
Coach Romar is aiming even higher with his current recruiting. He recently received a commitment from Spencer Hawes, a 6’11” 225 center from Seattle. Hawes is one of the top-ranked players in the high school class of 2006. He chose Washington over North Carolina and Connecticut, a decision that was a major disappointment to both schools. Romar has also received commitments from two other top-100 players, forward Phillip Nelson and forward Quincy Pondexter.
Gonzaga Coach Mark Few has not come away empty handed so far, landing one of the top guards in the west, Matt Bouldin. Over the last few seasons, the Zags had closed the talent gap and proven they could play toe-to-toe with the big boys. The Gonzaga program could be heading back toward having to out-hustle more talented opponents, one of them across the state in Seattle.
Jim Johnson is a contributing college writer to www.Basketball.com. His web site is http://www.thecourtmaster.net.
Pacific Northwest prominence in College Basketball
by Jim Johnson
Stockton was a Zag
Any serious college hoops fan is familiar with the success Gonzaga, the pride of Spokane, Washington, has enjoyed in recent years. You may not realize, though, that the University of Washington is poised to match and exceed the Zags in basketball prominence.
Gonzaga, a darling of basketball fans who love rooting for an underdog, has encountered problems in recent years on the same stage that vaulted the program to national prominence in the first place, the NCAA tournament.
The Zags burst onto the national scene in 1999. In only their second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, Gonzaga made an improbable run to the Elite Eight. The Zags narrowly missed crashing the party at the Final Four, dropping a hard-fought 67-62 game to eventual national champion Connecticut. Four starters from that team, Matt Santangelo, Quentin Hall, Richie Frahm, and Jeremy Eaton, earned first team all-West Coast Conference honors.
When coach Don Monson left for Minnesota, assistant Mark Few was promoted and kept the momentum going by leading the school to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in 2000 and 2001. As the stars from the 1998-99 squad moved on, others replaced them like Casey Calvary, Blake Stepp, Dan Dickau, and Ronny Turiaf.
By the start of the 2001-02 season, Gonzaga was considered one of the top basketball programs in the nation. They finished the season ranked #6 in the AP poll and posted a school record 29 wins. The Zags were on the wrong end of a big upset in the NCAA Tournament that year, however, dropping a first round game to Wyoming. Despite being frequently ranked in the Top Ten the last two seasons, Gonzaga has not made it past the second round of the Big Dance since 2001.
The 2005-06 Zags feature All-American forward Adam Morrison and all-conference point guard Derek Raivio on a roster again loaded with size, talent, and depth. They are highly ranked, Street & Smith’s preview has Gonzaga #7, for example, and expectations remain high for the program.
The pressure of high expectations was one problem Lorenzo Romar did not face when he took over as head coach at the University of Washington in 2002. The Huskies program had crashed and burned, compiling an overall record of 31-58 over the prior three seasons, 14-40 in the Pac-10. Adding insult to injury, local Seattle high-school star Errol Knight, who had completed his freshman year at Washington, transferred to Gonzaga following the 2001-02 season.
Romar’s first season in Seattle was a rough one, with the Huskies finishing 10-17, 5-13 in the conference. Washington showed signs of life in 2003-04 on the strength of an outstanding perimeter game. Guards Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, and Tre Simmons made the Huskies a dangerous, explosive team. The Huskies finished with a 19-12 record and a return to the NCAA Tournament. Three wins over Arizona and a late season defeat of Stanford, who came into the game with a 26-0 record, served notice that Washington was now a team to be reckoned with in the Pac-10.
The Huskies picked up where they left off when the 2004-05 season began and stormed to a 29-6 record and the Pac-10 tournament championship. This achievement earned Washington a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time. Louisville, a team that some experts felt were more deserving of a top seed, had the last laugh when they knocked the Huskies out in the Sweet 16.
Despite that setback, Robinson and Simmons left the program on a high note. The 29 wins matched the school record established in 1938, and the Sweet 16 appearance was only the third since Washington last advanced to the Final Four in 1953.
This success has tilted the edge in recruiting from Few and Gonzaga to Romar and Washington. Last year, Romar beat out Coach K among other suitors for McDonald’s All-American recruit and Washington native Jon Brockman, a 6’7”, 245 pound forward ranked among the top high school players in the nation in 2005. They had also signed guard Martell Webster, who was the sixth pick in the 2005 NBA draft by Portland. The Huskies’ recruiting class was ranked #3 nationally by Rivals.com. Gonzaga’s did not even warrant honorable mention.
Coach Romar is aiming even higher with his current recruiting. He recently received a commitment from Spencer Hawes, a 6’11” 225 center from Seattle. Hawes is one of the top-ranked players in the high school class of 2006. He chose Washington over North Carolina and Connecticut, a decision that was a major disappointment to both schools. Romar has also received commitments from two other top-100 players, forward Phillip Nelson and forward Quincy Pondexter.
Gonzaga Coach Mark Few has not come away empty handed so far, landing one of the top guards in the west, Matt Bouldin. Over the last few seasons, the Zags had closed the talent gap and proven they could play toe-to-toe with the big boys. The Gonzaga program could be heading back toward having to out-hustle more talented opponents, one of them across the state in Seattle.
Jim Johnson is a contributing college writer to www.Basketball.com. His web site is http://www.thecourtmaster.net.
