Gearing up for a big return
Kaelyn Sayles
Husky alumni are already woofing, checking to see if they still have their bark. The Dawgs are about to be back in the house.
Tuesday, Washington head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar met with media to preview the Husky alumni basketball game this Sunday.
When deciding to put on this event, Romar said he had no idea what the response to it was going to be ? whether guys would be willing to come back, whether he'd have to twist his ex-players' arms to come back or whether no one would even show up to watch.
The response from players, however, was "overwhelmingly positive," Romar said.
In fact, he said that when Justin Dentmon started hearing news of what players had been asked or were going, and hadn't heard his own name mentioned, he reached out to Romar and said, "there's no way I'm missing that game."
The rosters, something Romar said he figured out privately, were made to make the game the most competitive, and look like this:
Pre-2009 team: Brandon Burmeister, Will Conroy, Hans Gasser, Spencer Hawes, Mike Jensen, Bobby Jones, Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, Tre Simmons and Jamaal Williams.
After-2009 team: Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Jon Brockman, Dentmon, Darnell Gant, Justin Holiday, Quincy Pondexter, Terrence Ross, Isaiah Thomas and Tony Wroten.
Hall-of-famers Lenny Wilkens and Warren Moon will coach the two teams.
So, how did the guys react when they found out who they'd be playing with?
Just fine.
Especially if they found out Brockman was on their team.
Romar said that all the guys wanted to play with Brockman, and no one wanted to go up against the guy who Romar described as "one of the most respected Huskies."
When Thomas asked who Brockman was playing with and found out they were on the same team, Romar said Thomas responded with a sort of "then we're cool, coach," relaxed attitude.
Looks like the big man will be back on campus.
When asked who will win the alumni game, Romar said, "no way can I predict a winner."
As far as Romar knows, everybody on the rosters is still able to make the game. He did say, however, that a couple of the players will be rushing to get back from out of the country to play.
Jones is in Europe for his team's championship series there, and if they continue holding on (as of Tuesday, they were down 3-1), their last game will be this weekend. But that won't stop Jones. Romar said Jones told him that he figured out he could land in Seattle at noon on Sunday if he left straight from the game and rush to Alaska Airlines Arena, getting there just in time for a 1:03 p.m. tip-off.
The problem Jones had with this whole plan, though?
Romar said Jones' concern was that he might not be very good straight off the plane.
The other player that is figuring out how to get back in time is Pondexter, who is currently in Singapore. Romar said Pondexter is trying to restructure his ticket to get back so he can play.
This game obviously means something important to the Husky alumni.
A big question that came out of the conference was whether Romar believes this will be Roy's farewell game.
Roy, a Husky from 2003-2006, has been struggling with injury and has told Romar in the past that he wants to be healthy enough in the future to be able to play basketball with his kids.
Romar wasn't sure if a goodbye was going to actually be the case on Sunday, but, citing Magic Johnson's performance at his farewell game, Romar said that someone's in trouble if Roy decides this is his farewell to the sport.
All in all, it should be a competitive day on the court, as ex-Huskies come back and compete against old teammates and alum.
Quick hits:
The Washington coach seemed excited to watch his players return and see the competition that rises out of the day. More than anything, he wants to see the 3-point contest. He also said that in the game, watching the guards perform will be fun because there are "pitbulls" on both sides of the guard group.
None of the recent graduates will be playing, mostly because they're too close to the program still. Romar said also that as they're deciding what they're going to do with their basketball careers, he doesn't want to risk them playing.
Romar said this could be a big weekend in terms of recruiting as guys see what the UW is capable of in terms of the basketball program staying in contact with its past players.
Romar said he will be playing, but he's not quite in game shape, so we'll see how many minutes he gets in. Other guys either playing or in attendance include Todd MacCulloch, Christian Welp, Bryan Boston, Dion Brown, Eldridge Recasner, Donald Watts, Chester Dorsey, Bob Houbregs, Steve Hawes, Dick Crews, George Irvine, Jason Hamilton, Jamal Crawford, Shawn Kemp. Ex-assistant Paul Fortier, who is leaving Washington for another program, may even make an appearance.
The event schedule:
12 p.m. Doors open
1 p.m. Team intros
1:03 p.m. Tip-off
Halftime Fan 3-point contest
4 p.m. Alumni dunk contest (round 1)
4:15 p.m. Alumni dunk contest (round 2)
4:20 p.m. Alumni dunk contest (final)
4:30 p.m. Dunk contest trophy presentation
Check the link for ticket information.
