Washington Huskies Impending Pac-10 Champions

With the conference season finally wrapping up, I think that the Huskies' strengths and weaknesses can be identified. Unlike past seasons, this seasons' guard play has been tremendous.

The arrival of Isaiah Thomas and the emergence of Justin Dentmon has made this team into an elite contender in the country. Now that Dentmon does not have point guard duties, he has reverted into a role that he has always bee more comfortable in, the two-guard position.

For Thomas, he has naturally fit into Lorenzo Romar's system and seems to be able to finish or get to the free throw line at will.

Along with the guard play, the whole team has been playing some "Trademark Husky Basketball." Do you remember the style of game played by Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, Bobby Jones, and Will Conroy?

These guys played an up-tempo style of game that encouraged on-ball pressure defense and a high-octane offense. This team has reverted back into this style and has been reaping the benefits of it.

The weaknesses are few, but the Huskies do have some. In the Huskies' four conference losses, every post-game analysis points at two factors as to why the Huskies lost. One of them is sharing the basketball.

Though the play of Thomas and Dentmon has been stellar, at times, they have not shared the ball and as a result turn the ball over or have taken a bad shot. In the rare times that the Huskies' offense has stalled, it has been because of the failure to find an open teammate.

Secondly, the Huskies defense—which has surprisingly been an upside this year—has sometimes fallen into a lull. The defense is especially a weakness when either Jon Brockman or Matthew Bryan-Amaning are in foul trouble.

Teams with strong offensive-minded forwards will be able to take advantage of Brockman and Amaning. What separates UW from UCLA is the Bruins' 40 minutes of hard-nosed defense. Right now the Huskies are at 35 minutes.

If the Huskies can keep on playing the way they are, making it to the Sweet 16 is a possibility. No other team in the country can rebound the ball like the Huskies and it's hard to find a team that can defend the Huskies straight up without having either Brockman, Thomas, Dentmon, or Pondexter lighting them up.

It's finally nice to have a a good team playing in Seattle.

Maybe this is God's way of saying sorry for the Sonics?