Husky Hoops Week in Review (11/2 – 11/8)

This was the week for Husky basketball fans to make a mountain out of a molehill — a sweet, glorious, just-happy-to-have-them-back molehill. 8,570 fans (the official count from the school) witnessed the Huskies 77-48 exhibition game defeat of Central Washington, while a whole lot more witnessed this definitive evidence on YouTube that some humans can indeed fly.

The most awesome thing to happen this week wasn’t even in the state of Washington: Sadly, I haven’t found video highlights from UCLA’s almost-loss to Concordia this week. But, here’s a slideshow to help you relive the magic of the major embarrassment for the Bruins.

Great expectations: It’s only natural to magnify a single piece of information when it’s all you have, so there was a lot written about what these forty minutes of Jusky basketball meant about this year’s team, and our ultimate chances of success this season. Here’s my post-game story on UDubSports, and day-after observations. And, here’s a piece from the Times’ Jerry Brewer that’s sure to make any Dawg fan pretty psyched about the season ahead.

Speaking of “the season ahead”: This was also the official week before the season starts, which means we’ve got real basketball that counts, played by real college ballers, starting this week. The first Pac-10 team to play is Cal, which tips off on Monday evening at home against Murray State.

And, speaking of “our season ahead”: The Dawgs tip their season off with the Athletes in Action Classic next weekend, and have games on Friday (Wright State), Saturday (Belmont), and Sunday (Portland State). The Huskies will play the second game on each day, scheduled for 7 PM. A ticket to the Huskies game also entitles you to the 4:30 game, which will include the two teams the Huskies aren’t playing. Tickets are still available, and, if you can only make it out for one, you might want to catch Belmont on Saturday, since it’s the only one of the three not on TV (FSN).

Bring socks to the game (extra ones): As part of the Athletes in Action tournament, the organization will be collecting packages of new, thick-soled socks at the arena during any of the games. These will be distributed to people in needed during the winter months ahead. You can also meet Coach Romar and former Husky QB Tom Flick at the AIA breakfast on Thursday morning. Email diana.patterson@athletesinaction.org for more info.

Early signing period begins Wednesday: A 3-0 start might not be the best thing the Huskies can do during the first week of their season. There are two other “wins” out there for the taking, in the form of top recruiting targets Josh Smith and Terrence Jones, who are both likely to announce their choices this week. We did a post chronicling the dramatic recruitments of these two stars recently, and here’s the latest from Percy Allen and the rest of the Seattle Times crew.

Walk-on didn’t run: Walk-on Brendan Sherrer was officially added to the Huskies roster, but he didn’t suit up for Wednesday’s exhibition game against Central. Percy Allen caught up with him this week for an interview.

Season previews: In case you missed part I and part II of our season preview, check them out. Here’s a piece from AZ Central’s Doug Haller covering what was said about the Pac-10 on ESPNU’s college hoops preview show. And, the links to the Pac-10 Media Day coach speeches are working now.

Thanks for coming!