Pac 12 Tournament 2012: Washington's Young Stars Will Sparkle in Postseason

The Washington Huskies are going to thrive in the tournament setting because their dynamic young NBA-ready players are going to lead the way. 

Sophomore Terrence Ross and freshman Tony Wroten are projected first round picks in the next NBA draft. Like in this mock where they are slotted 15th and 16th in the first round. 

They are the most explosive players in the conference, and when they are playing well, they are unguardable. 

They lead the Huskies in scoring. Wroten is putting up 16.3 points per game and Ross is checking in at 15.3. And they are both the heart of this team. 

Wroten can get to the lane at will. He is an elite athlete. He is inconsistent with his shot, but his ability to create makes up for it. 

Ross is not as good a play maker as Wroten, but he is a deadly spot up shooter and is athletic. He does an excellent job of playing without the ball.

Both guys are also excellent defenders. Wroten averages 2.0 steals per game, and Ross comes in with 1.3. Ross also isn't afraid to hit the boards. He is pulling down 6.6 rebounds per contest.  

Success in the tournament is about far more than stats. It is about performing in the bright lights against good teams, and Wroten has shown he can do that.

He showed that early in the season when he went for 23 against Duke. And he continued to answer this question down the stretch as he went for 22 points and nine rebounds against Arizona, and 14 points, five assists against UCLA in the final regular season game of the year. 

Ross also has proven time and again he is ready to rise to the occasion. He also has big time tournament experience.

As a freshman, in the Huskies narrow loss to North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA tournament last year, Ross put up 19 points and six rebounds. 

These guys are almost always going to have an athletic advantage over the man guarding them. They both like the ball in big moments. This invariably leads to great success in tournament settings.

And in case either of these players needed an extra shot of motivation, they will know that a strong postseason performance will boost their draft stack and line their pockets with an extra million or five.