UW Basketball Photos: The Dawg Pack In The Act Of Harassing Some Poor Eastern Washington Player Out

The Dawg Pack in the act of harassing some poor Eastern Washington University player.

See a full gallery of Washington's 98-72 win at Kailas Images.

UW Basketball: Overton, Thomas 'Scared' EWU Into 24 Turnovers

University of Washington Huskies guard Venoy Overton can't exactly articulate what it is that changes when he comes into the game off the bench.

"A lot of games we have a lot of slow starts and I was like, 'Here we go again'," said Overton after UW's 98-72 win over Eastern Washington tonight. "I knew once I got in there that I was going to pressure up. It's kinda like, you know, just rewinding the games and it seems like it always happens like that: I come in and it changes or something. It magically changes. I expected it and that's what happened."

But there's a good chance that opponents might have some idea of what it is: defense.

Both Overton and Thomas said after their blowout of McNeese State on Sunday that the Cowboys' point guards looked a little intimidated. Similar symptoms of guard intimidation showed up tonight in the play of EWU guards: there were the steals, but also bad decisions leading to passes thrown out of bounds or players panicking and picking up their dribble five to seven feet beyond the 3-point arc.

Thus far, the Huskies backcourt has imposed game-changing pressure on their counterparts.

"We want them to be scared of us," said Thomas, whose defense overshadowed his offensive performance tonight with a game-high five steals. "So we gonna do everything we can for them to be scared."

Of course it would be premature to make definitive statements about just how good this defense might be - the Huskies roster probably would have overwhelmed EWU defensively even if they were healthy, which they weren't in missing Roosevelt High School grad Glen Dean at the point.

"I think that we aren't going to play against anybody with the speed and quickness that Washington has," said Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine. "They play at unbelievable speed and we can't replicate that in practice."

Nevertheless, the way in which opposing guards seem spooked after bringing the ball up the court is noteworthy and at least shows a level of dedication to the defensive end that bodes well going forward even if things weren't even close to perfect just yet.

"I was more disappointed, again, with our lack of an edge - we just didn't play with that edge all around the floor," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar. "We did more in the second half and within minutes the lead opened up. That's how we're supposed to play. It's just a lesson: as a team in the non-conference that's growing, this is not the finished product. We have to get to where that's just the way we play all the time."

By no means are the University of Washington Huskies a finished product at this point but if anything is emerging as something of an identity at this early stage in the season, it would definitely appear to be Husky defense.

Key statistic: turnover percentage

It's extremely difficult for a team to win games when they're turning the ball over on nearly a third of their possessions and that's what happened to EWU tonight.

After EWU jumped out to a 9 to 3 lead with 16:54 left in the first half while keeping turnovers to a minimum, Overton came in to replace Abdul Gaddy in the backcourt and the whole tenor of the game changed: it was from that point on that EWU committed the majority of their 14 first half turnovers (more than a third of their possessions) leading UW to a 21 to 4 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half. 

Although UW's defensive intensity picked up significantly on the boards in the second half - the Huskies allowed EWU to grab only 29 percent of the offensive rebounds available to them compared to 50 percent in the first half - the backcourt pressure, turnovers or not, completely disrupted the EWU offense throughout the game. The second half certainly turned out to be more dramatic with EWU guards committing more turnovers that led to a 16 to 6 differential in fast break points in the second half compared to only six in the first half. But the defensive intensity was present throughout the game in one way or another.

"They were organized offensively," said Romar after the game. "They knew exactly what they wanted to do, who was going to take shots, and they were the kind of team that, if we didn't guard them, they would've scored a lot more points. I thought, overall, we did a pretty good job guarding them."

That first half defensive intensity after their slow start began with the play of Overton.

Key player: Venoy Overton

Perhaps viscerally Overton's defense seems to loom larger as the entire team tries to figure out life after Pondexter. Yet Overton's defensive intensity certainly shouldn't be a surprise for anyone that's watched play during his career.

"It's nothing, nothing different," said junior guard Isaiah Thomas, who finished with nine points including 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line. "When he comes out and does what he does - picking up full court - and getting after it. And he did that. And I got a couple of steals and he got steals and it went good."

However, perhaps the even more impressive aspect of Overton's game with the team struggling to find an answer against EWU's 2-3 zone was his performance as a distributor: Overton had eight assists to only two turnovers, which you don't need a calculator to figure out is pretty good.

"I guess when I come in and the energy goes up, you know, this year is like way better for the players around me," said Overton. "I've been telling them and they know, when I'm driving or something to just circle around me or get in an open spot because I'm gonna find them and that's what I think I'm doing a better job of this year - trying to be a better playmaker."

While Overton might have had his biggest impact on defense, his offensive impact came from his aggression driving to the basket and finding shooters open shooters in the half court- not to mention errant shooters when they shot 5-for-19 from the 3-point line in the first half - or leading the break and feeding players on the break.

And as good as Overton was as a distributor, Gaddy might have been more impressive offensively beyond his career-high 13 points.

UW Statistical MVP: Abdul Gaddy

For so long, the rap on Gaddy has been his struggle to play with confidence and asserting himself in the Huskies offense. Tonight he looked like the poised player that we saw flashes of last season, with the shooting perhaps coming as a surprise.

"It's a little easier: since he's knocking down shots he can be more of an off-guard sort of," said Overton when asked whether his game changed when playing next to Gaddy. "It's just like playing with Scott [Suggs] or Isaiah. Nothing changes at all. He can bring it up and he really preferred me to bring it up, he said, so nothing changed."

However, his six assist to zero turnover ratio was also impressive in that he didn't necessarily make the highlight reel assists that Overton went for, but just seeing him play with such confidence and assertiveness on both ends was an encouraging sign for his continued development. Not only that, Gaddy is showing the capacity to inspire the team.

"I think when they went to zone and there wasn't any pressure," said Romar, who also pointed out the 14 to 2 assist-to-turnover ratio between Gaddy and Overton. "So kinda even though we still had 22 points in transition, they still got back in that zone and tried not to let us run. And we still managed to manufacture 98 points with that. And those guards had a lot to do with that, handling the basketball."

EWU Statistical MVP: Kevin Winford

While the Huskies made halftime adjustments and clamped down on quite a few players in the second half in addition to limiting EWU offensive rebounding opportunities, EWU guard Kevin Winford did step up, shooting 4-for-5 from the field in the second half and finishing with a team-high 14 points overall. Yet although Winford had an efficient scoring game, the rest of the team didn't - they relied heavily on what Romar described as being "outscrapped".

"They still shot almost 46 percent," said Romar. "Those were scrap points. I think they outscrapped us; that'd be the one negative I'd have with our game, with our team tonight. I think they outscrapped us. Offensive boards and loose balls, I think, is what led to easy field goals for them."

But scrapping didn't prove to be a sustainable plan for success for EWU tonight. Ultimately, UW's athleticism, intensity, and versatility across their roster simply overwhelmed the Eagles. And Earlywine was left impressed.

"They should have legitimate hopes of playing in the Final Four," said Earlywine. "Their guard play is that good. Overton is such a good on ball defender. [Matthew Bryan-Amaning] is playing really well in the middle as well and if their big boy [center Aziz N'Diaye] can keep coming along then they will have a very good team. Washington is a team that will continue to get better and they should have legitimate hopes of making the Final Four."

UW Basketball: Bench Steps Up To Lift Huskies To 98-72 Win

Multiple people have already observed that this might be one of University of Washington coach Lorenzo Romar's best shooting teams he's had in some time. 

And while Huskies guard Isaiah Thomas has garnered the most national attention - and for good reason - tonight's game against Eastern Washington University showed us a little bit about the Huskies' depth, particularly in terms of finding ways to score against the zone.

Although they no longer have a player like Quincy Pondexter to rely on in the halfcourt, Romar is able to call upon a number of wings off the bench to find mid-range scoring opportunities - if one isn't working, he tries someone else. He changes the combination or players shift what they're doing a little. Eventually things start clicking.

Tonight the players who stepped up most notably in that shooting capacity were Justin Holiday (12 second half points, 2-for-3 from 3-point range) and Terrence Ross (nine first half points). Of course, the fact that the Huskies shot 8-for-14 from the 3-point line in the second half after struggling from deep in the first helped, but the fact that players were able to create scoring opportunities in the mid-range was crucial.

Holiday did most of his damage in the second half, finishing with a team-high 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Center Matthew Bryan-Amaning was not quite as dynamic as he was on Sunday, but finished with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Abdul Gaddy found the touch in the second half as well and finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting.

UW Basketball: Achieving 'Lots Of Milestones' Against EWU

The Huskies have already set a few milestones this game and the Washington athletics Twitter (@UWSportsNews) account is full of them.

UW Basketball: Overton Starts Second Half, Good Things Happen

Not that the two things are directly related, but Venoy Overton started the second half and good things happened.

Before Cliff Colimon’s 3-point shot with just under 18 minutes left, the Huskies started the half on a 9-0 run.

Behind the early run, the Huskies extended their lead to 51-37 to start the second half.

UW Basketball Halftime Report: Venoy Overton's Defense Off The Bench Sparks Huskies To 42-34 Lead

When Huskies guard Venoy Overton entered the game at about the six minute mark, Eastern Washington was up 9 to 6 and forcing long jumpers and threes with their 2-3 zone.

After Overton came in the game a few things happened: his defensive pressure caused turnovers in EWU’s halfcourt offense, he was able to get penetration and set up others offensively, and his steals helped trigger transition buckets.

Overton finished the half with seven points, three steals, and three assists to no turnovers while also forcing EWU into countless bad turnovers. But the bench as a whole might be the most encouraging sign tonight: Terrence Ross came off the bench to score a team-high nine points on 4-for-8 shooting as well, helping the Huskies outscore EWU’s bench 21 to 9.

However, the Huskies will have to cut down on 3-pointers to really pull away: they are 5-for-19 but shooting 58.65 percent inside the arc. EWU’s defense is clogging the lane thus far forcing some of those long shots – and limiting Bryan-Amaning’s touches – but another encouraging sign near the end of the half was the mid-range shooting from Ross and Justin Holiday.

UW Basketball: Bryan-Amaning Looks To Keep Up The Intensity Against Eastern Washington

There really aren't many strong conclusions that we can take from the University of Washington's blowout of McNeese State University.

However, it did produce at least one storyline that we'd all like to see continue: whether Matthew Bryan-Amaning is finally reaching the potential that we've all hoped he would.

McNeese State was simply overmatched and had no answers for either Bryan-Amaning or Aziz N'Diaye for that matter. And although Eastern Washington stands to put up more of a fight than McNeese State did, this is still more of a tune-up that the Huskies should win than a real test of who this team is. As if the Huskies needed more reason for optimism, EWU is also contending with injuries to two point guards in Glen Dean (stress fracture in his foot) and Cliff Colimon (ankle sprain).

Official Athletic Site of Eastern Washington University
Guards Kevin Winford and Jeffrey Forbes are the replacements, as well as athletic 6-foot-7 forward Tremayne Johnson. In all three games thus far, Eastern has had to piecemeal together a team from its 15-man roster that has had nine players miss games or practice time already -- eight because of injuries.

"We have the philosophy to coach the guys that are out there, but that’s become pretty hard," admitted Eastern head Earlywine. "To be perfectly honest, it’s been really hard the last two weeks. In practice we don’t have a point guard running either team."

The lack of an experienced point guard was particularly noticeable in a 66-60 exhibition loss to Montana State-Billings on Nov. 8 as Eastern had only four assists and made just 15-of-60 shots from the field. The Eagles had 12 assists and made 37 percent from the field against San Jose State, but had 12 of their 17 turnovers in the second half after leading 36-33 at intermission.

So the real question for fans who have been watching Bryan-Amaning over the course of his career in Seattle is whether he can maintain the intensity he showed on Sunday afternoon.

Heart to Heart Refocuses Bryan-Amaning - University of Washington Official Athletics Site
"Coach wants me to play with a lot of intensity. ... He said I stopped (doing) that last year."

For example, when the usually demonstrative Bryan-Amaning dunked he was showing little emotion.

That came back when his game did, in February. He's been roaring ever since. He scored a career-high 28 points and had 13 rebounds - two short of another career best - in just 23 minutes of Saturday's opening thrashing of McNeese State. He screamed to punctuate a wind-milling, right-handed slam early in that game. Everyone else's jaws dropped when he sprinted on a break and threw down a reverse dunk later.

Photo via Kailas Images.

For those UW fans that have watched Bryan-Amaning during his career in Seattle, the game was unlike what we've seen before and we obviously would like to see more from him. A couple other observations from last game leave some things to watch for.

Things To Watch For:

• Aziz N'Diaye: If we can set aside N'Diaye's 3-for-15 shooting on Sunday, the fact is that he dominated the boards. McNeese State simply had no answer for his height or athleticism. Against a team that might be a bit more competitive, you certainly want to see if he can continue rebounding the way he did on Sunday. Otherwise, everybody realizes he has plenty of room for growth and you just want to see steady improvement every game.
  
  

  
  Photo via Kailas Images.
  

• C.J. Wilcox: Wilcox quietly had a pretty good game on Sunday, not only shooting the ball well (3-for-4 from the 3-point line) but also grabbing 31.57 percent of the available defensive rebounds while he was on the floor to finish with six. The redshirt freshman played well and while the rebounding might not be expected to continue, the Huskies can certainly use the shooting especially if Bryan-Amaning continues to be a force in the post.
  
  

  
  Photo via Kailas Images.
  

Keys To The Game:

• Turnovers: Before McNeese State settled down a bit in the final four minutes of the first half, they were turning the ball over on nearly 41 percent of their possessions (18 in the first half). The UW defensive pressure was high and after a while it was just the threat of coming pressure that led to poor decisions.
  
  So tonight when the Huskies face a team without their starting point guard, we might expect something similar in the turnover column if not worse...for EWU.
  
• Maintaining focus: The Huskies went through extended lapses at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half on Sunday where their defense relaxed a bit (expected when you're up 40+ points) and McNeese State made a bit of a run. It's hard to expect the Huskies to match their output from Sunday, but seeing them keep the length of those runs to a minimum would be encouraging.