It'll be interesting to see the line on the Utep game. I would think Utep would be favored based on the win over Xavier, but who knows, at least UW has avoided the debilitating loss so far
I've watched maybe ten minutes of the team so far this year, but here's my impressions from the ten minutes I've seen:
NWG is really, really good. Yeah I know, we already knew that. No idea how his game translates to the next level, but I have to think someone would take him mid first round next year if he came out. If I'm him, I'm door. ass. out.
Upshaw is a legitimate difference maker. He's the first guy who the doogs raved about during a transfer/redshirt/injury year I can remember actually somewhat living up to the hype. Looks like Pac12 defensive player of the year. And he's not worthless on the offensive end.
Andrews has improved from terrible to mildly bad. It's going to be funny when he only gets 15 minutes a year as a senior.
Johnson is a big disappointment. I really thought he'd be a player. Wouldn't be surprised if he's on the Joel Smith career arc (exciting as a frosh, disappointing as a sophomore, irrelevant as a junior, transfer as a senior).
I've watched maybe ten minutes of the team so far this year, but here's my impressions from the ten minutes I've seen:
NWG is really, really good. Yeah I know, we already knew that. No idea how his game translates to the next level, but I have to think someone would take him mid first round next year if he came out. If I'm him, I'm door. ass. out.
Upshaw is a legitimate difference maker. He's the first guy who the doogs raved about during a transfer/redshirt/injury year I can remember actually somewhat living up to the hype. Looks like Pac12 defensive player of the year. And he's not worthless on the offensive end.
Andrews has improved from terrible to mildly bad. It's going to be funny when he only gets 15 minutes a year as a senior.
Johnson is a big disappointment. I really thought he'd be a player. Wouldn't be surprised if he's on the Joel Smith career arc (exciting as a frosh, disappointing as a sophomore, irrelevant as a junior, transfer as a senior).
Dorsey's a player.
Jarreau is who we thought he was. Fuck spado.
Upvote for the fuck spado. Saw last week he was saying we easily make the tournament this year, and doubled down by saying we're a top 20 team. Guy is a fuckwad.
I am slowly getting sucked into the season with the expectation of getting kicked square in the nuts when league play starts.
Good news:
--so far they have avoided the "bad" loss on the resume --NWG appears to be BRoy Lite. If he can develop a consistent 3pt shot watch out. --Upshaw & Kemp give a us a nice set of bigs upfront. --Dorsey & Anderson are playing well and hopefully Romar will continue to feed them minutes at the expense of Jarreau.
Bad news:
--our lack of depth upfront (again) is gifting minutes to Jarreau. Either that or Romar's age is catching up to him and he thinks Jarreau is Holliday. --Who told Andrews he is an offensive threat? The guy has a quick trigger (2nd FG attempts & 1st 3pt attempts) but is only shooting 37% & 28% respectively. Also he is an apple turnover with a 1:1 AST/TO. --unless Winters & Johnson can step up, they are going to have trouble in league play with a 6-7 man rotation.
Romar gets flipped a little too much shit imo. He is am ok coach and really UW doesn't give a shit about basketball so they aren't going to fire him.
I think he got himself into a pickle the past few years because he tried to hit home runs all the time recruiting with guys like Gordon, Bird, Jones etc. He then had to settle for shitty recruits and transfers. He appears to have figured it out and sticking to really talented local guys and talented players in other areas that he actually has a reasonable shot at (not competing against UK, UA, Duke etc)
Romar gets flipped a little too much shit imo. He is am ok coach and really UW doesn't give a shit about basketball so they aren't going to fire him.
I think he got himself into a pickle the past few years becausehe tried to hit home runs all the time recruiting with guys like Gordon, Bird, Jones etc. He then had to settle for shitty recruits and transfers. He appears to have figured it out and sticking to really talented local guys and talented players in other areas that he actually has a reasonable shot at (not competing against UK, UA, Duke etc) he switched to the high poast offense.
Lol at the shit about NWG not being an NBA player. If he played on Duke or Kansas, he would be recognized as the surefire NBA player he is.
I've always laughed at the Jarreau hype, but I think he can be a rich man's Darnell Gant without the shooting range once he gets healthy. Give him until Christmas to see if he can get anything going. He's a competent 6'10" player, plays decent defense, and in the past showed he can knock down open jumpers.
What is weird about Upshaw is that he looks kind of slow footed and lumbering, but his timing on blocks is unreal. Even if he's playing above his head offensively, he's a force UW has never had on defense. Aziz was decent, but Upshaw is actually coordinated and natural. Upshaw kind of reminds me of Roy Hibbert at Georgetown. He gets shit from NBA fans, but he's one of the best rim protectors in the league. Upshaw might be a little more athletic and Hibbert had better touch on offense, but they are/were both huge, shot blocker that are more athletic than they look.
Andrews is a reasonably good shooter and does well in transition. But when he tries to create his own shot he fails miserably
Andrews has form, he gets a lot of open 3's, but for the third year he still isn't shooting for any good %. He is not a good shooter until he puts up the numbers to go with the moniker. It has always baffled me why he shoots such a low % b/c he shot has always looked decent.
Comments
NWG is really, really good. Yeah I know, we already knew that. No idea how his game translates to the next level, but I have to think someone would take him mid first round next year if he came out. If I'm him, I'm door. ass. out.
Upshaw is a legitimate difference maker. He's the first guy who the doogs raved about during a transfer/redshirt/injury year I can remember actually somewhat living up to the hype. Looks like Pac12 defensive player of the year. And he's not worthless on the offensive end.
Andrews has improved from terrible to mildly bad. It's going to be funny when he only gets 15 minutes a year as a senior.
Johnson is a big disappointment. I really thought he'd be a player. Wouldn't be surprised if he's on the Joel Smith career arc (exciting as a frosh, disappointing as a sophomore, irrelevant as a junior, transfer as a senior).
Dorsey's a player.
Jarreau is who we thought he was. Fuck spado.
Good news:
--so far they have avoided the "bad" loss on the resume
--NWG appears to be BRoy Lite. If he can develop a consistent 3pt shot watch out.
--Upshaw & Kemp give a us a nice set of bigs upfront.
--Dorsey & Anderson are playing well and hopefully Romar will continue to feed them minutes at the expense of Jarreau.
Bad news:
--our lack of depth upfront (again) is gifting minutes to Jarreau. Either that or Romar's age is catching up to him and he thinks Jarreau is Holliday.
--Who told Andrews he is an offensive threat? The guy has a quick trigger (2nd FG attempts & 1st 3pt attempts) but is only shooting 37% & 28% respectively. Also he is an apple turnover with a 1:1 AST/TO.
--unless Winters & Johnson can step up, they are going to have trouble in league play with a 6-7 man rotation.
I think he got himself into a pickle the past few years because he tried to hit home runs all the time recruiting with guys like Gordon, Bird, Jones etc. He then had to settle for shitty recruits and transfers. He appears to have figured it out and sticking to really talented local guys and talented players in other areas that he actually has a reasonable shot at (not competing against UK, UA, Duke etc)
I've always laughed at the Jarreau hype, but I think he can be a rich man's Darnell Gant without the shooting range once he gets healthy. Give him until Christmas to see if he can get anything going. He's a competent 6'10" player, plays decent defense, and in the past showed he can knock down open jumpers.
What is weird about Upshaw is that he looks kind of slow footed and lumbering, but his timing on blocks is unreal. Even if he's playing above his head offensively, he's a force UW has never had on defense. Aziz was decent, but Upshaw is actually coordinated and natural. Upshaw kind of reminds me of Roy Hibbert at Georgetown. He gets shit from NBA fans, but he's one of the best rim protectors in the league. Upshaw might be a little more athletic and Hibbert had better touch on offense, but they are/were both huge, shot blocker that are more athletic than they look.