Switcheroo-dub: Hoops now the king at UW
Friday morning musings about the world of sports, while awaiting word from Bill Bavasi on whether or not I`m on his short list of managerial candidates ...
* It`s official. The University of Washington has now transformed from a football to a basketball school. How else do you explain a week when Keith Gilbertson is gearing up for a must-win situation against San Jose State, a bottom-rung WAC team, while Lorenzo Romar is beating out Duke and North Carolina to land a couple nationally regarded hoop recruits?
Don`t underestimate the impact of this week`s verbal commitments by Snohomish`s Jon Brockman and Seattle Prep`s Martell Webster.
Just when it looked like Romar might whiff on all the top in-state prospects in this year`s loaded recruiting class, the Huskies landed the two biggest prizes.
For my money, Brockman was easily the ``must-get`` in this year`s class. After watching the big fella at a couple Friends of Hoop AAU practices last spring against the top talent in the Puget Sound, I walked away convinced this was the guy Romar most needed in his program.
Brockman, a 6-foot-8 power forward, reminds me of former Gonzaga star Casey Calvary, with the same powerful inside presence and leaping ability, combined with sufficient outside skills as well. If anything, Brockman looks better handling the ball and pounding the boards.
Not to mention, Calvary didn`t come out of Bellarmine Prep as nearly polished or physically developed as Brockman, who still has his senior season at Snohomish before joining the Dawgs.
Brockman is light years ahead of previous big men recruited by Bob Bender, developmental projects like Anthony Washington, Jeffrey Day and Marlon Shelton. This is a guy ready to help immediately.
Webster is more of an unknown to me, as he missed almost his entire junior year at Prep and was also a late arrival in the summer AAU circuit. But recruiting experts ranked the 6-foot-6 shooting guard as the top prospect in the state -- higher even than Brockman -- prior to his series of ankle injuries.
Given the Huskies` influx of athletic swingmen, Webster seems more of a bonus than a necessity like Brockman. But if he`s as good as advertised, he can only upgrade a team poised to finally turn the corner and become a consistent Pac-10 and NCAA tournament contender ...
* As for those Husky footballers, I`ll nominate sophomore linebacker Scott White for providing the quote of the year so far.
``If we lose this one,`` said White, ``there`ll be smoke in the city.`` Most of it coming from the ears of boosters ready to roast Gilbertson over an open fire ...
* Speaking of job security, it`s good to hear Bob Melvin is under consideration for the Arizona Diamondback`s managerial opening. I guess only a team that lost 111 games might be intrigued by a guy who just led his squad to a 99-loss season ...
* Figuring the Mariners are ready to open their doors to more questionable characters instead of just filling the roster with choir boys, it seems only a matter of time before Milton Bradley is roaming the outfield.
OK, the pendulum probably won`t swing quite that far. But it is safe to assume that clubhouse chemistry becomes less paramount now that the Mariners discovered when good guys do finish last, that ain`t so fun either ...
* While the Mariners wound up with a middle-of-the-pack final batting average of .270 as a team, it`s worth noting that if Ichiro`s .372 season is taken away, the M`s fall to a league-worst .255 mark.
More damning is the M`s lack of power and run production. Even with Ichiro`s record-smashing hit total, Seattle finished dead last among American League teams in runs scored and RBIs. It`s not hard figuring out why, given the Mariners` last place standing in home runs and slugging percentage.
No power and little speed apparently are a dangerous combination ...
* And while it`s easy to come up with free-agent boppers worth pursuing (I`ll vote for Carlos Delgado and Troy Glaus), the Mariners can`t afford to put all their energy -- and money -- into the offense. Not when the original five-man starting rotation finished the year with a cumulative 28-54 record.
Sure, blame some of that on the lack of offensive support and a decline in defense. But it`s worth noting, too, that despite pitching in spacious Safeco Field, Mariner pitchers gave up 212 home runs, the second-highest total in the history of a franchise that played forever with lousy pitching in the homer-happy Kingdome.
And giving up balls over the walls doesn`t have anything to do with run support or defense ...
* Just when I was getting excited about watching the Storm in the WNBA Finals, here they go scheduling Sunday`s KeyArena clash with Connecticut at 4 p.m., just when the Seahawks will be battling the St. Louis Rams down to the wire in a critical NFC West battle at Qwest.
Apparently the WNBA - or its NBA corporate structure - is more worried about national TV time than local fan support or media exposure, since anyone attending or covering the 1:15 p.m. Seahawks game is going to have a tough time getting to both events.
Storm fans are an independent lot and I`m sure there`ll be a loud and energized crowd at the Key on Sunday, but it`s unfortunate that a sport looking to expand its base is blowing a chance to simply push the start time back to 5 or 6 p.m. in order to allow folks to take in both events ...
* It`ll be interesting to see how the Seahawks defense fares against a quality Rams offense. I`m guessing the NFL-leading 4.3 points per game average is going to take a hit, but look for Seattle to put up enough points of its own to remain unbeaten.
Meanwhile the Huskies will get in the win column, but not impressively enough to assuage all the Montlake handwringers. And I smell a Duck victory in Pullman against a Coug team that isn`t much better than Washington, but has pulled off a 3-1 start thanks to better defense, scheduling and a little good fortune.
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