Wednesday is letter of intent day. Here's my UW preview from the morning paper.

However, there were a few good preview quotes that didn't make the story that I thought I'd include here:

Rick Kimbrel, Rival Pac-10 analyst:

On the UW class: "Washington has a lot of players that have the possiblity of being coached up. They’ve got a lot of players on this list that I’m looking at who seem to have their best days as a football player ahead of them. And they’re getting in coaches like Sarkisian and Holt coaches who know how to get the best out of players. To be honest with you the difference between the 84th class and maybe the 50th class is one of two players who actually develop against players that don’t develop. It’s not an exact science, it is a compass that helps guide you thought the recruiting process, it’s not an exact anything. This group that I’m looking at, they might end up coming in as three stars and leaving as five stars."

On Hawaii commit DT Semisi Tokolahi:
"He was a late bloomer. People didn’t really know about him. They did a really nice job in Hawaii, which was a known state of theirs when they were doing pretty good."

On Sarkisian's late arrival: "They did what they had to do in the short time that they had to do it. I think this is a good first class for Sarkisian. I think Sarkisian is the right personality – he’s going to make it competitive down here, he will get kids in the future."

CHRIS FETTERS, Northwest football recruiting for Scout.com

On Sarkisian's introduction to the state recruiting scene: "I get the impression that he’s made a good first impression. It’s so soon. It’s only been like two months. That’s why its hard to say, oh, yeah, he’s a better recruiter than Tyrone. … In some ways I think I think the main point about Tyrone’s recruitment is his pitch works with kids all over the country, but they have to be the right kind of kid. … Whether it was in southern California or southern Idaho, for some reason his pitch would appeal to a certain kind of kid. Now, I think what Sarkisian is showing is an energy and an enthusiasm and a creativity to the process that gets guys excited. ... I think there is some understanding what recruits like and what they want and the things that they like to hear. I think in that sense his pitch might work on a lot of kids.

(Willingham’s) sales pitch is one that’s kind of time-tested. It’s not flashy, it’s very substantive. So when a kid makes a commitment to him, chances are there’s not a lot of waffling, there’s not a lot of ambiguity. Whereas with Sarkisian, I think there’s a situation where he’s really selling guys on the promise of what could happen and trying to really get them going and get them energized.

On Sarkisian's challenge compared to Willingham's: "Even with Gilby at 1-11 with Tyrone coming in, there seemed to be this idea that OK it’s an anomaly. It’s a one-time deal, it’s not going to happen again. But now, not only does Sarkisian have to deal with 0-12, but he also has to deal with this specter of 11-37. He always has to deal with the specter of that record under Willingham. And those kinds of things, you just can’t erase from a kid’s memory. Because they don’t know about (Washington's glory days). They just look at the last few years and say Washington isn’t very good. … That’s the problem I think Sarkisian is facing.

"Willingham had to deal with a lot of uncertainty. But the uncertainty never had to really outweigh what the previous administrations had done, because four years earlier, Rick Neuheisel had taken them to a Rose Bowl. It wasn’t that long ago. Now all of a sudden, Sarkisian is having to deal with nearly a decade of futility. That’s a difficult legacy to overcome."

Meanwhile, while I'll certainly be blogging through recruiting day. And there is great information at the TNT prep blog, which will be updated throughout the day. And the GoHuskies.com site has plans that include three signing day shows, available at no cost. The shows, hosted by Bob Rondeau and former Husky quarterback Johnny DuRocher, will feature visits with members of the Husky coaching staff, video highlights of signees and all the latest news. The half-hour shows will air at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Additionally, here are links to UW's Signing Day Central page:

Signing Day Central

Signing Day Blog

9 a.m. Signing Day Show

10 a.m. Signing Day Show

11 a.m. Signing Day Show

1 p.m. Steve Sarkisian Press Conference

In our Wednesday paper, I give some thoughts on the Pac-10 season at its midpoint, including a few midseason awards in the following categories:

Pac-10 player of the half-season

Husky of the half-season

All-Pac-10 first team

All-Pac-10 team based on performance vs. Huskies

Coach of the half-season

Freshman of the half-season

Projected NCAA tournament teams from the Pac-10

Projected Pac-10 champion

Before then -- or after -- feel free to weigh in on any of the categories you like with your own picks, and we'll see where we match or disagree.

Former Husky guard Will Conroy, of Seattle and Garfield High School, has been named to the 2009 NBA D-League All-Star Team.

The game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, in Phoenix at the NBA's All-Star Jam Session and will be shown live on NBA TV.

Conroy, now a member of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, has played for the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers.

I remember him as a team-first Husky who was capable of scoring, but was more than willing to fit his game into the needs of distributing to folks like Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy and Tre Simmons and Bobby Jones. And a really good guy, too.

I received an email from in which the writer outlines a few things still concerning him as the Huskies head into the second half of the Pac-10 race.

I thought it was interesting and might also lend to a decent conversation from some of you about any worries you have about the Huskies hanging on over the next nine games.

Here's Sam's email, which I'm putting on the blog with his permission:

I'm so stoked with the way this season is playing out and how this team is playing. The excitement and intensity that this team generates is awesome and really reminds me of the Nate and BRoy days.

Any team has areas of improvement no matter how elite they are, including teams like Duke, UNC, Pitt, etc. UW has weaknesses and areas to improve upon as well. I'm not going to nit-pick every little thing that UW could improve on. Any critic could sit here and say that UW needs to improve FT shooting, improve 3-point shooting, reduce turnovers, blah, blah, and so on.

UW plays tough, they play intense, they play quick, they play together (Zona game was the exception)...The facets of their game that I see potentially biting them in the butt later are:

Coming out slow, a bit lackadaisical and lacking aggressiveness and intensity from the tip-off. If I remember correctly, every one of their conference games have been pretty close (score) at half time, and in most of those games UW started the game a bit groggy. I'm not saying they have to go into half-time with a monster lead, but they don't seem to have the hustle and intensity and focus that they have in the 2nd half. The opposing team seems to really ratchet up their play and have a good game plan to throw off UW's rhythm and energy from the tip-off. UW then makes half time adjustments and plays a very intense, focused, energetic 2nd half, coming out like banshees and really taking it to the other team. The reason this is a concern to me is because on the road, or in post-season play, UW really cannot afford to come out slow at the start of the game. Giving the edge to their opponent or being too cautious or lackadaisical in the beginning could really put them in a hole that's tough to dig out of, especially on the road or against tournament quality opponents.

Playing focused and with energy and intensity towards the end of games. Against Cal, USC, Stanford and UCLA, I believe that towards the end of the game, UW started to lose focus and played a little sloppy, resulting in careless turnovers and/or the opponent closing the gap a bit with the score. This has been addressed by some players and coaches, but I'd definitely like to see this factor shored up. Again, it'll be a concern on the road and/or against post-season type opponents. Can't give the opponent any signs of life or any hint of momentum at the end of games.

These are areas of UW's game I'd love to see shored up more than anything. I'm really not that concerned about FT shooting or turnovers or other little things because I think we have the type of players to keep those things in control. And the potentially good thing is that these are mental factors, not so much physical. It's just an adjustment in mindset more than anything. If it hasn't already been brought up, could you address these things with the coaches and players?

I haven't really noticed UW coming out slow very much. I think some of the reason they may play better in second halves is because they're deeper than a lot of Pac-10 teams and play at a pace a lot of Pac-10 teams aren't used to and cant' match for 40 mintes.

As for free throws and outside shooting, I saw those as problem areas going into the season, but much less now.

Other than injuries, I think the biggest challenge might just be the turn of the schedule. And even that's not much. The Huskies actually play five of the final nine at home, so in that way the schedule turns in their favor. However, four of the next six are on the road. And the flips from the first half don't work in the Huskies favor.

At home, UW went went into triple-overtime against Cal and beat Stanford by a point. So, losing home court seems problematic, even though neither the Bears nor Cardinal has played especially well since their Seattle vists.

Then come the Oregon schools, and since UW swept on the road, there's no way to improve on that.

And then comes the visit to the LA schools, and even a split there would seem pretty ambitious despite sweeping at home.

Any others?