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THE HURT LOCKER
Ya gotta love Jake Locker, a very good quarterback for the University of Washington. A great kid--homespun, unassuming, ultra-loyal, a genuine "aw-shucks" guy. Could've gone in the 2010 NFL draft but chose instead to complete his senior year because he loves college football and wanted to help get the UW program turned around. A fine athlete--6'3", 220, strong of arm and fleet of foot, tough mentally and physically. But is there any point in speaking, as sportswriters are wont to do, of his "legacy"? What "gift" has he left for the Husky program and the Husky fans? Two wins over USC and one Apple Cup victory over arch-rival WSU? A tie for third in this year's PAC 10 race? One invitation to a minor bowl? One game-winning touchdown throw where the defensive back got turned around and lost sight of the ball? A school record 80 touchdowns, rushing and passing combined? In his four years of competition, he started 39 games and posted a 14-25 record, going 6-6 in this his final season, which was the best of his four. In my view, Chris Polk who rushed for 1,238 yards, averaged 5.5 per carry, and had 284 in this year's Apple Cup (second only to the great Hugh McElhenny in Husky history) was the Huskies' MVP this year--and no one has been tempted to raise the question of his legacy.
I think it quite likely that backup quarterback Keith Price, if given the opportunity to start regularly this year, would have been about as successful as Locker.
Not that there weren't extenuating circumstances to help explain why Locker was not the great benefactor that Husky fans wanted him to be. During his career he missed half of one season with a broken thumb; this year he missed one game and was slowed in a couple of others with a broken rib; at one point he suffered a concussion. Moreover, his offensive line was often a sieve, and the defensive line was even more porous, giving up yards and points in numbers that made a winning record difficult to achieve. By most accounts, he got little instruction in quarterback fundamentals like footwork and reading defenses during his first two years in the program when Tyrone Willingham was head coach. But the facts that he needed lots of instruction and that even with tutelage from coach Steve Sarkisian, a former quarterback himself, his throws still often lacked accuracy and touch, lead me to conclude that quarterback is not his best, most natural, position. He's no Andrew Luck, a polished Stanford product who looks like a can't-miss pro; he's not quite Cam Newton, Auburn's marvelous talent. I expect that he'll be a "project" when he goes to the NFL, where he'll hang around for a few years, mostly as a backup QB. Alas, it's probably too late to convert him to a running back, linebacker, or tight end, positions where I think he could flourish. But helmets off to a top-notch person and athlete who did his best to meet our excessive expectations and demands.
HOT DAWGS
Despite losses to sixth-ranked Michigan State and twelfth-ranked Kentucky (those are good, respectable losses which will keep them from becoming over-confident and will enable them to swim outside the sonar for a while), the Husky basketball team is hot. Averaging 94.7 points per game, they lead the nation in scoring. Hitting an astounding 46.3% of their 3-point attempts, they lead in that department, too. Coach Lorenzo Romar this season has not only the good athletes that he usually has but many well-rounded basketball players who can both get to the basket and make outside shots. He's able to rotate 10 players without losing too much either offensively or defensively.
Romar's teams have always played tough man-to-man defense, pressuring the ball up high, denying passing lanes on the wings, fronting post players inside. They force turnovers, they take charges, they dive for loose balls. Venoy Overton and other perimeter defenders are a pleasure to watch until...they get beat off the dribble and have to foul or give up a layup; they get beat off the dribble and an inside teammate has to rotate over to help, leaving his man open for a dump-off pass and a dunk; they get beat off the dribble and a helper comes to contest the shot, leaving his man open for an easy rebound and a put-back; they get backdoored on the wings, creating the same scenarios just recited; they give up lobs for dunks by fronting the post too high up the lane; they commit excessive fouls in the post banging for position. This is not necessarily to criticize Romar's defensive approach. There are times when I wish that he would go to a hard-nosed, allow-no-penetration, sagging man-to-man as Ben Howland does at UCLA or Tony Bennett used to do at WSU, or go to a protean match-up zone as Herb Sendek does at Arizona State. But I understand where he's coming from: teach one defense, teach it well, don't confuse your players. Duke wins with this defensive approach year after year. The Huskies execute it very well and they are going to beat most teams with it. But the very top teams are going to find ways to score against them. They won't get flustered, they'll find driving lanes, they'll cut backdoor, they'll seal inside, they'll lob over the top. Not because they're smarter but because they're more talented, able to execute better. They're Terrence Jones, the Oregon kid who chose Kentucky over the UW, rather than Terrence Ross, the Oregon high school teammate of Jones who chose the UW because Kentucky didn't want him. Who among the Huskies will play in the NBA? MBA? No way. He doesn't have the skills to face the basket. His range is limited; his touch isn't much. He doesn't see the court, spins into double teams, can't find open teammates. Still, he'll be productive against most teams. IT? Not he.
How he overcomes his limitations is amazing. Even though he always goes to his left, he's able to get a step on his defender and create a driving lane; he's able to get separation and find room inside to get off a shot against much bigger players. His outside shot is improving, as is his defense. He hustles and scraps. But, at 5'8", unless you have blazing speed and a consistent outside shot from great range, like Aaron Brooks, the ex-Oregon player now with Houston, you're going to get stuck in the D league. Justin Holiday? True, brother J'rue plays for the 76ers and Justin is a fine all-around college player, but probably not enough of a stud to follow his bro and become a pro.
So what does this all add up to for the Huskies? An appearance in the Elite Eight, it says here. The team's offense, though racking up lots of points so far, sometimes lacks purposeful movement. In the past I have characterized Romar's man-to-man offense as "helter skelter," and I think that's still a valid description, although better players this year make it a better brand of helter skelter. The offense needs more mindful motion with lots of smart cutting based on reading the defense and lots of screening on and away from the ball. This team has enough heart and skill to get deep into the NCAA tournament (although they mihgt not win the PAC 10--watch out for Arizona). But to get to the Final Four, a team needs one, two, sometimes even three NBA-bound players. The Huskies are fun to watch but are one, two, or three players short of a Final Four appearance. MBA, spinning this way and that in the post and tossing the ball at the basket before he actually sees it, won't quite cut it at the highest level. Neither will Overton's and Thomas' kamikaze drives into the lane. But they'll be fun to watch until a Dawg-catcher reins them in.
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