Washington Huskies Insider

Saturday, June 30th, 2007

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 09:17:50 am

Former UW center Spencer Hawes met the media in Sacramento on Friday. From what I can tell, not all Kings fans seem thrilled with the pick. But not surprisingly -- given that SacTown is the state capital -- the media seems interested in Hawes' politics (conservative).

Here is a link to the coverage of the Sacramento Bee, a TNT sister paper.

I'm not sure if it will demand that you register. For those who don't want to, here are a few highlight quotes:

WRITER'S TAKE ON HAWES
His offensive abilities, clearly, are not in doubt. Hawes is a post presence the likes of which the Kings do not have, alone in his ability to shoot, post up and pass from the high post and below. There is the allure of the basketball lineage, too. His father, Jeff, played at Washington and professionally in Europe, and his uncle, Steve, also was a Husky before enjoying a 10-year NBA career.

But as Hawes knows, it's his defense, size and rebounding ability that were questioned almost immediately after he was selected, mainly because his addition seemingly does little to aid the Kings' glaring weaknesses.

HAWES REACTION
"I think I have the potential defensively to really make some strides, and I don't think now that I'm as bad as everyone may be saying."

JEFF HAWES, ON HIS SON'S ATHLETICISM
"He can run the floor with anybody. He can get up and down. He can go side to side. You'll see."

NEW KINGS COACH REGGIE THEUS ON HAWES ROLE:
"Oh, he's going to play. We don't have any magic bullets here. He's going to play. We still have to get more athletic, and we still have to get better defensively. But we have the makings of what I think is a very good up-and-down team. We have big men who can pass the basketball, and that's big when you're trying to have an open game."

Categories: Huskies

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

Happy Hawes grateful for year with Dawgs

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:27:46 pm

As of now, Spencer Hawes has no regrets about his decision to leave UW for the NBA. But he was gracious Thursday about what he gained from his lone season as a Husky.

"(I learned) so much about dealing with the good and bad and the ups and downs you can have in the course of a season," he said. "It taught me a lot and how to deal with different kinds of things on and off the court."

Hawes also seemed especially hopeful that Sacramento is that right situation he had long talked about. That's probably what you'd expect almost any draft pick to say, but according to UW coach Lorenzo Romar, Hawes was hopeful about Sacramento even before the draft.

"Out of the chances that he had and talked about, that was a place that he was excited about," Romar said. "It’s on the West Coast. He’s familiar with them, and I know that he’s really pleased to be going to Sacramento. We’re just pumped. We’re fired up for him.

"He studied all the teams quite a bit in depth that he thought he might have a chance to go to. Sacramento was one of those that he throught – in regard to location and how they played in the past and what type of bigs have been succesful with them – it was a place he thought he could do well in."

A few other draft day quotes that didn't make my story for the Friday paper:

HAWES ON WAITING TO HEAR HIS NAME CALLED
"It’s extremely nerve-wracking. Five mintes seems like 50 when you’re just sitting there and watching the clock tick away. But I’m lucky that I didn’t have to wait too long."

ROMAR ON IF HAWES IS READY
"Early, people questioned why he would do it. You heard people say he’s not be ready. And you know what? Physically he may not be ready at this point. He’s got some things that he has to learn. But, as I continue to say, the NBA felt he was going to help them, and they backed that up by picking him 10th. Now when I say ready, that doesn’t mean he can’t playin the NBA. He can definitely play in the NBA. We just haven’t seen the finished product at all from Spencer Hawes.

"There’s not a big player in the draft that is more skilled than Spencer Hawes. He can pass the ball with his left hand, his right hand, he can shoot the ball with his left hand or right hand, he can step outside and knock the shot down. … I think Spencer will do just fine.”

"He wants to be the best. He’s very very coachable. You teach him something, and he’s all eyes and he’s really trying to learn what you’re telling him."

Categories: Huskies

Hawes goes No. 10 to Sacramento

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 05:55:26 pm

UW freshman center Spencer Hawes was taken No. 10 in today's NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings finished last in the NBA's Pacific Division last season with a 33-49 record. Their incumbent starting center is Brad Miller, an eight-year veteran who averaged nine points and 6.4 rebounds last season. Also on the roster is former Sonic Vitaly Potapenko.

With the selection, Washington became the only school to have a player taken in the first round of the last three NBA drafts, with Hawes joining Brandon Roy, who went No. 6 last season, and Nate Robinson, who went 21st in 2005.

Categories: Huskies

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

Hawes has second workout with Chicago

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 04:09:58 pm

News Tribune NBA/Sonics reporter Frank Hughes is in New York for the NBA draft and reports today that UW center Spencer Hawes just revealed taking part in a second workout for the Chicago Bulls yesterday.

A lot of pre-draft projections have had Hawes going to the Bulls, and the follow-up workout only add to that, as does Hawes' comment today: "I think the teams that I worked out for ... they all would be a good fit. But I think Chicago would be an especially good fit for me."

Categories: Huskies

Draft Day Eve: Hawes to Kings?

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:03:16 am

There are a lot of NBA draft day projections floating around, and a lot of them are brought together on the official NBA draft site.

As I write this, the concensus pick has UW center Spencer Hawes going No. 10 to the Sacramento Kings.

The draft starts at 4 p.m. Thursday and will be shown on ESPN.

Categories: Huskies

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

"Conference of Champions," indeed

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 04:12:53 pm

The Pacific-10 Conference lived up to its long-claimed nickname of "Conference of Champions" this school year, claiming national championships in eight sports, more than any other conference.

This total, by the way, doesn't Washington's national championship in men's rowing, because the sport is not sponsored by the NCAA.

Here's part of the release put out by the Pac-10:

The Pac-10 total of eight NCAA titles was followed by the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference, which shared runner-up honors with seven NCAA crowns. It marks the seventh time in the last eight years that the Pac-10 has topped all conferences in NCAA championships won.

The women led the way for the Pac-10 with five NCAA titles, most of any conference, with the men contributing three crowns. Six different Pac-10 schools claimed titles led by Arizona State and Stanford with two each. Arizona State won titles in both indoor and outdoor women's track and field, while Stanford claimed titles in men's golf and women's cross country. Single NCAA crowns were won by Oregon State (baseball), Arizona (softball), California (men's water polo) and UCLA (women's water polo). The women's water polo crown for UCLA made the Bruins the first institution to win 100 NCAA titles.

In addition, Stanford has clinched its 13th consecutive U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, with the most recent rankings also showing UCLA (2), California (5), USC (6), Arizona State (17), Arizona (27) and Washington (28) ranked in the top 30.

Following are the 2006-07 NCAA championships broken down by conference (minimum two won):

Conference Men/Combined Women Total
Pacific-10 3 5 8
Big Ten 5 2 7
Southeastern 3 4 7
Atlantic Coast 1 4 5
Big 12 1 1 2
Ivy League 1 1 2

Categories: Huskies

Saturday, June 23rd, 2007

SI calls UW football schedule nation's toughest

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 11:13:11 am

This story has been out a while, but I don't believe I've linked to it: SI.com calls the coming UW football schedule the toughest in the nation for 2007.

That said -- and somebody slap me here if you think I've gone nuts -- as I start looking a little more at the schedule and the projections for these teams -- for the coming season, not just memories of last season -- I'm beginning to think either/both of the first two games are winnable. They're also losable, of course, but a 2-0 start would chance the season's outlook considerably.

Categories: Huskies • 6 comments

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

TNT story on Isaiah Thomas

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 11:15:00 am

You may have already noticed this in your scanning of the TNT, but I wanted to draw your intention to Eric D. Williams' story on UW hoops recruit Isaiah Thomas.

Categories: Huskies

Thursday, June 21st, 2007

Punter Sean Douglas signs with Bucs

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 09:23:13 am

Former UW punter Sean Douglas has signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here is a list of the eight 2006 Huskies who have hooked on with NFL teams.

Categories: Huskies

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007

Pac-10 announces TV football schedule

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 12:42:02 pm

Here is a list of Pac-10 football games currently set for telecast. Additional TV games will be selected as the season unfolds, either six or 12 days before broadcast.

2007 PAC-10 FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Day/Date Time (Pacific Time) Game TV

Fri., Aug. 31
5:00 p.m. Washington at Syracuse ESPN

Sat., Sep. 1
12:30 p.m. UCLA at Stanford FSN
12:30 p.m. Washington State at Wisconsin ABC
2:30 p.m. Arizona at BYU Versus
5:00 p.m. Tennessee at California ABC
7:15 p.m. Idaho at USC FSN

Thu., Sep. 6
4:30 p.m. Oregon State at Cincinnati ESPN

Sat., Sep. 8
11:00 a.m. California at Colorado State CSTV
12:30 p.m. Oregon at Michigan ABC
3:30 p.m. BYU at UCLA Versus
7:15 p.m. Colorado at Arizona State FSN

Sat. Sep. 15
12:30 p.m. Ohio State at Washington ESPN
2:00 p.m. UCLA at Utah Versus
5:00 p.m. USC at Nebraska ABC

Sat., Sep. 22
3:00 p.m. TBA (12-day selection) Versus
5:00 p.m. Washington State at USC ABC
7:15 p.m. TBA (12-day selection) FSN

Sat., Sep. 29
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ABC
3:30 or 4:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) FSN
5:00 p.m. USC at Washington ABC or ESPN or ESPN2

Sat., Oct. 6
12:30 p.m. TBA (12-day selection) FSN
4:00 p.m. Stanford at USC Versus
5:00 p.m. Notre Dame at UCLA ABC

Sat., Oct. 13
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ABC
4:00 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) Versus
7:15 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) FSN

Sat., Oct. 20
12:30 p.m. USC at Notre Dame NBC
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ABC

Sat., Oct. 27
12:00 noon USC at Oregon FSN
3:30 p.m. UCLA at Washington State FSN
7:00 p.m. California at Arizona State FSN

Sat., Nov. 3
12:30 p.m. UCLA at Arizona ABC
5:00 p.m. Oregon State at USC ABC or ESPN or ESPN2
7:00 p.m. Washington State at California FSN

Sat., Nov. 10
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ABC
5:00 p.m. USC at California ABC or ESPN or ESPN2
7:15 p.m. Washington at Oregon State FSN

Thu., Nov. 15
6:00 p.m. Oregon at Arizona ESPN

Sat., Nov. 17
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ABC

Thu., Nov. 22
5:00 p.m. USC at Arizona State ESPN

Sat., Nov. 24
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ABC
12:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) ESPN or ESPN2
3:30 or 4:30 p.m. TBA (12- or six-day selection) FSN

Sat., Dec. 1
1:30 p.m. UCLA at USC ABC
1:30 p.m. Oregon State at Oregon ESPN2
4:00 p.m. California at Stanford Versus
5:00 p.m. Arizona at Arizona State ESPN or ESPN2
8:00 or 9:00 p.m. Washington at Hawaii ESPN or ESPN2

Categories: Huskies • 3 comments

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

Optimism in the post-Hawes world

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 10:07:05 am

Even after Spencer Hawes' announcement of yesterday, CBS SportsLine believes there is reason to expect the Huskies to return to the national rankings next season.

Here is my story from today's paper.

Categories: Huskies • 10 comments

Monday, June 18th, 2007

Romar talks about Hawes leaving UW for NBA

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 06:35:49 pm

Most everyone I talked to expected Spencer Hawes' decision to leave UW for the NBA, so I certainly don't think it caught coach Lorenzo Romar by surprise.

Romar said that he discussed the decision with Hawes over the past weeks and days, but he asked more questions than gave answers. In the end, he said Hawes had his blessing.

Romar also seems optimistic about the coming season on the court, especially if 7-foot Joe Wolfinger remains healthy -- which he seems to be so far. Wolfinger, plus the new recruits, plus all the key players (other than Hawes) returning with more experience could equal an interesting season.

I'll write more about that in the next couple of days.

For now, some Romar quotes from today's press conference:

OVERVIEW ON HAWES' DECISION:
"It’s obviously something that did not happen overnight for Spencer. He put a lot of thought into this. He has done the proper research on this and has decided this is what he is doing and we support him wholeheartedly. We want the best for him."

ON WHETHER HE KNEW HAWES WAS A ONE-AND-DONE RECRUIT:
"I knew he would have the opportunity. Whether go or not, I didn’t know."

ON PROJECTING HAWES' DRAFT POSITION:
"I’m just not sure where he’s going to end up going. … I think he’ll be in the lottery, though."

ON HAWES' POSSIBLE LEGACY AS A DISAPPOINTMENT:
"I think that would be sad if people just looked at it that way. I think all of our games were sold out. I think by the end of the year we were playing really good basketball. I think it was unfortunate this year that we didn’t have more of a veteran team to play around Spencer. A lot of guys were going out and just trying to do this thing and learning on the fly. … It was the tale of two teams: We played much better at home than we did on the road. I think a lot of that had to do with youth."

Categories: Huskies • 2 comments

Hawes discusses decision to leave UW

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 03:34:31 pm

Here are a few early quotes from Spencer Hawes, discussing his decision to leave UW for the NBA:

OPENING STATEMENT
I took my time making my decision. I went through all the pros and cons in my head, writing it down time after time. But I think at the end of the day, based on the feedback that I received and my trusting my gut instinct, I think it’s going to be the best decision for me, and I’m excited to continue with the process and get started on my pro career.

ON UNHAPPINESS BY UW FANS:
I understand their feelings and as a sports fan if I were in their position I’d probably be saying the same things. I think at the end of the day they just have to understand that it’s my decision, it’s my lifelong dream that I have the opportunity to accomplish. I’m not going to say that they shouldn’t be saying those things, but from my position you can’t be paying attention to them.

ON THE BENEFIT OF HIS ONE UW SEASON
I think the last year of college – even through the struggles – I think that helped our team grow for the future. Individually, going through the ups and downs, that helped me grow not only as a basketball player, but as a person. I think on both fronts, that year has helped me an extreme amount in preparing for what’s to come.

ON NOT CARING MUCH ABOUT WHERE HE'S DRAFTED
I just look at it as I know I can play and I believe it’s going to work out. At the end of the day, if you can play at that level you can play at that level. Whether you go six, eight, 10 … after draft night, that kind of goes out the door.

Categories: Huskies

Talking about Spencer Hawes departure at 3:20

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 02:17:46 pm

I'll have a brief radio conversation about with the Groz on KJR, 950-AM at 3:20 today. The topic, not surprisingly, will be Spencer Hawes' decision to leave UW for the NBA. (See post below.)

The conversation also will be streamed over the Internet.

Categories: Huskies

Official: Hawes leaving UW for NBA

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 12:50:14 pm

Spencer Hawes has decided to keep his name in the NBA draft, thereby ending his career at the University of Washington after one season.

The 7-foot center had announced on April 5 that he would test the NBA waters. On that day, Hawes said he would use the available time to try to determine his NBA readiness, his potential draft position, and his chances of being drafted into a situation where he can succeed.

He studied his options until just hours before today’s 2 p.m. deadline, when he finaly announced that he would pursue an NBA career, which he has called “my goal since I was a kid.”

Most projections for the June 28 draft show Hawes being taken around the eighth to 12th pick in the first round. One popular projection has him going to the Chicago Bulls as the No. 9 pick.

Hawes grew up in Seattle and attended Seattle Prep, where he became one of the nation’s top college prospects.

As a UW freshman, he played in 31 games and started 24. He led the Huskies with a 14.9 scoring average and was the No. 2 rebounder with an average of 6.4 rpg. His 53.2-percent shooting average was fourth best in the Pacific-10 Conference. He set a UW freshman record with 54 blocked shots.

He was an All-Pac-10 honorable mention and a first-team all-league freshman team selection.

If Hawes leaves, the loss could be eased by newcomers such as 7-foot center Joe Wolfinger, who sat out last season with a foot injury, and incoming 6-foot-8 freshman Matthew Bryan-Amaning.

A press conference with Hawes and coach Lorenzo Romar is scheduled for 1:30 this afternoon, and I'll post again after that.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of quotes provided by the UW athletics department:

Hawes: "After meeting with everyone, getting all the appropriate feedback and going through the entire evaluative process, I made a decision I believe is the best for my future and that is to remain eligible for the NBA Draft. The decision to further my career in the NBA at this point in time was difficult. Every day I had different feelings about it. But, at the end of the day, I have to be realistic and trust my instincts.

"The fact that our team struggled a bit last season made the decision not to return to Washington very difficult. Certainly, there are some things I would have liked to accomplish in college. But, I feel I made the best decision to my family and my future."

ROMAR: "Spencer is obviously very talented. We think so and the NBA thinks so. Spencer has a great opportunity in front of him and we wish him the best. One of the important character traits that really describes Spencer is the fact that during the spring quarter he completed every one of his classes and remained an outstanding student at the University of Washington."

Categories: Huskies • 8 comments

Hawes' decision day arrives

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:19:51 am

Today is the day that Spencer Hawes must decide whether to return to coach Lorenzo Romar's basketball team or whether to jump to the NBA.

Here is the preview story we ran in today's paper.

And I'll post the final decision today as soon as I can get to the computer.

Categories: Huskies

Boise State @ UW on TV

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:16:36 am

The University of Washington’s home-opening football game against Boise State will kick off at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 8 and will be televised on FSN.

The university also announced that its homecoming game against Arizona will kick off at noon Oct. 27 to accommodate a telecast by a network yet to be announced.

The announcements mean at least seven UW football games will be telecast this season, along with these previously announced games: Aug. 31 at Syracuse, Sept. 15 vs. Ohio State, Sept. 29 vs. Southern California, Nov. 10 at Oregon State and Dec. 1 at Hawaii.

Categories: Huskies

Blog back open for business

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 08:16:01 am

I've been on vacation for the past week or so, but some UW summer news has bubbled up recently, and I'll try to get most of the news back on the blog soon.

Categories: Huskies

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

UW vs. Oregon State football to be televised

Posted by Dale Phelps @ 02:33:31 pm

The Huskies' football game against Oregon State on Nov. 10 was added to the Pac-10 TV package. The release from UW:

Washington Increases Football Television Exposure

Fifth Husky football game picked-up as part of the Pac-10 television package.

SEATTLE (June 6, 2007) - The University of Washington's football game at Oregon State on November 10 will kick-off at 7:15 p.m. and will be televised by FSN, giving the Huskies five pre-selected television appearances for the 2007 season, the Pac-10 and its television partners announced.

Categories: Huskies

Friday, June 1st, 2007

Hawes still undecided

Posted by Don Ruiz @ 09:36:06 am

UW center Spencer Hawes is at an Orlando pre-draft camp this week, where he told News Tribune NBA writer Frank Hughes that he remains undecided about where to return to UW or bolt for the NBA.

His indecision must end by June 18, which is the last day for underclassmen to withdraw their names. The draft itself will be held June 28.

The assumption remains that Hawes will go, although there seems no reason to doubt his statements that he hasn't fully decided yet.

Categories: Huskies

Washington Huskies Insider

News Tribune sportswriter Don Ruiz is in his sixth season covering the Pacific-10 Conference and his fourth covering Huskies' football and men's basketball. This blog features breaking news, instant analysis and answers to your questions and a place to discuss the Huskies. Email Don

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