The Hangover: UW Style
by Craig Yamada – Staff Writer
More than a week has passed since the news of “What’s his name” committing to UK. I would be lying if I told you that I got over it quickly. However, after a week to absorb everything and listening to Romar in his interviews, I think I am starting to get over the TJ Hangover.
Many would turn to alcohol to get over something like this. Others would turn to prayer. Instead, I turned to my piano and played my sorrows away. And as I started playing, I began to sing. You may recognize the tune. It sounds a little like The DOUG SONG:
What does Coach Cal dream of… when he takes a little wildcat snooze?
Does he dream of stealing TJ… or John Wall in his Avatar suit?
Don’t you worry your greasy little head,
Mark Emmert will get you sanctioned all over again
And in Maui TJ will be begging for a SUB
Because MBA just tea-bagged him for snubbing the DUB
Dub, Duuuub, oh Duuuub, Duuub, Dub, Dubbie, Dubbie, Dub
But if you if you jump ship for the Cleveland Cavaliers…..
Well then UK’s s^&t outta luck
I feel better, don’t you?
As Griffin noted in the previous article, a UK/UW showdown seems imminent under the sunny skies of Maui in November. There has been no word of where each team will be seeded, however the fans of UW are all praying for a game against the UK (NBA AAA) squad. Does UW have a newfound rivalry in the SEC? If IT’s Twitter has anything to say about it, I would have to say most likely”
“I hope we play KENTUCKY nxt yr n the Maui classic. All I gotta say is ITS BOUT TO GO DOWN A BARK over a meow ne day.”
Romar, being the class act that he is, has dismissed the notion that there is any kind of grudge between him and Calipari. Romar’s loyal fans have seemingly taken the fight into their own hands after bearing witness to last Wednesday’s news. As a result, a non-stop blogging war has been sparked between UW and UK fans as they continue to argue as to why each school is better. Article quotes from Kentucky Sports Radio that particularly tickled my interest were:
“Washington fans seem mad about something.”
“Washington is completely oblivious to how the game works. Know your role, Huskies. You have officially become UK’s wingman. Accept it.”
“Perhaps UW will become this JV team that Cal has talked about?”
Yes, it’s ON.
Romar even went on to say in an ESPN Radio interview that it would be “a competitive game” between UK and UW if they did meet up. I for one think Romar was being modest in his prediction as I can see a UW victory by 15. And this is why:
Matchups:
(UW/UK)
PG: Abdul Gaddy / Brandon Knight
These McDonald’s five-star All-Americans have gone head to head before and it has been said that Gaddy came out on the winning end. With Gaddy’s USA Basketball experience this summer, I expect him to play to his potential this year. Edge: UW
SG : Isaiah Thomas/ Doron Lamb
IT is likely going to be a likely candidate for Pac-10 Player of the Year this year. IT has proven himself to be a lock-down defender and will be able to shut down Doron Lamb’s long-range game. IT will be able to blow by Lamb on offense and create opportunities for his teammates. Edge: UW
SF: Justin Holiday/Terrence Jones
As talented as TJ is, he has never played against a shutdown defender like Justin Holiday before. I expect our senior to render TJ useless as he will keep him off the boards and will force him to shoot his outside shot. Edge: UW
PF: MBA/Eloy Vargas
After playing a summer for the UK (United Kingdom) Men’s national team, I can foresee MBA being a beast for any opposing forward to face in the post. If you add in MBA’s shotblocking ability and UW’s defensive pressure, Eloy Vargas will have trouble getting his game into gear. Edge: UW
C: Aziz N’Diaye/Enes Kanter
It’s hard not to be excited about Aziz after seeing his stats against Demarcus Cousins in the 2009 Nike Basketball Summit. Aziz was able to keep Demarcus in check with countless blocked shots on his stat sheet. However, Enes Kanter is a beast of his own and is the most “Pro-ready” player on UK’s team. He may win this battle, but UK will lose the war. Edge: UK
Bench: UW vs. UK
Our bench speaks for itself as we literally can sub in a fresh set of players with minimal drop off from the first team. With Venoy, Wilcox, Ross, Suggs, Simmons, Gant and Breshers waiting in the wings for playing time, I don’t see how UK will contend with our depth. And yes, even Brenden Sherrer will play in the game when all is said and done. I can dream can’t I?
Even with bias aside, the experience and team chemistry UW has returning will be a tough matchup for any team to deal with, let alone a team that lost their entire starting five from last year. With the depth that UW has coming off the bench, any team would be foolish to say that they can dominate us.
Final game score: 96 – 81 UW over UK.
And with that, I leave you with one final future UW moment. I have been thinking about how excited our three new recruits will be when they touch down in Maui. I have a funny feeling Desmond Simmons will be stepping to the forefront as a key contributor this year. Not only on the floor, but off the floor as well. I have prepared his pre-game speech here in efforts to fire up our team the night before the game:
“Hey Guys. How about that flight in? I guess that’s why they call it Maui Fever.. ha ha. You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one man Dawg pack. Though when Romar got Aziz and Terrence to sign with UW, I knew they were two of my own. And my Dawg pack, grew by two. So there were three of us… there were three of us in the Dawg pack. I was alone first in the pack, and then Aziz and Terrence joined later. And six months ago when Romar introduced me to you guys, I thought “wait a second could it be?” and now I know for sure I just added ten more guys to my Dawg pack. Thirteen of us Dawgs, running around the beaches together in Maui, looking for a championship and Kahlua pork. So tonight, I make a toast.”
Thanks for coming!