Washington Basketball: Why the Huskies Aren't the Same Without Quincy Pondexter

If you subtract a four-year starter from any college team, you have a void to fill.

If you lose your top scorer and top rebounder, you need to replace those points and boards somewhere.

If an all-conference performer goes away, it's gonna hurt.

Lorenzo Romar and his Washington Huskies are missing Quincy Pondexter this season.

His departure to the NBA has left a hole in the Huskies line-up.

Washington's record (17-7, 9-4 in the Pac-10) has not been devastated, but the Fresno native's departure has changed what the Huskies do and can do.

The following are 10 reasons why the 2010-11 Huskies aren't the same without Quincy Pondexter

Was on The Court Night After Night

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 21: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies reacts in the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 21, 2009 in Portland,

Pondexter finished his career with a UW all-time best 136 games played.

His senior year, he led the team in minutes (32.3 mpg).

Pondexter only fouled out of one game in his junior and senior years combined

While these aren't the most sexy statistics out there, a star player who is rarely on the bench because of foul trouble and never misses games because of injury or disciplinary action is a huge asset.

Used His Length to Get Steals and Deflections

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 20: Forward Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies fights for possession of the ball with guard Phillip McDonald #23 of the New Mexico Lobos during the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion

Because of Pondexter's length and athleticism, he had the ability to defend a number of positions, anything from shooting guards to power forwards.

Using his 7'0" wingspan, Pondexter was second on the team in steals last year (1.3 spg) to Venoy Overton.

Great on The Boards

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 18: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies fights for position against Joseph Fulce #21 of the Marquette Golden Eagles during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion on March 18, 2010 in Sa

Quincy Pondexter was the Huskies leading rebounder last year, grabbing 7.4 per game.

This put him No. 3 in the Pac-10.

His 757 career rebounds may not put him in the Steve Hawes or Jon Brockman category, but that's a lot of boards to go away.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning is a good rebounder, and Aziz N'Diaye pulls down a nice number of boards per minute, but it was nice having Pondexter's rebounding ability from a non-post player.

Attacked The Offensive Glass

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 20: Forward Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies goes up for a shot against Roman Martinez #30 of the New Mexico Lobos during the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion on March 20, 2010 in

Pondexter was not only the best overall rebounder last year, he was the team leader in offensive rebounding with 107 offensive rebounds.

Pondexter developed a killer instinct of going to the offensive glass that was contagious. When he was aggressive on the offensive boards, others followed.

Big Scoring Nights

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 18: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies looks to move the ball against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the first round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion on March 18, 2010 in San Jose, Californi

Lorenzo Romar could always count on Pondexter's scoring ability.

In his senior season, Pondexter put up twenty points or more in seventeen games. That's just short of half of the Huskies games last year. Seventeen 20+ point games in a season was good for No. 4 in Huskies history.

This year, Wasington's three leading scorers have that many 20+ point games combined: Thomas (7), Bryan-Amaning (6), and Holiday (4).

To go beyond even last year, Pondexter had 30 games in his Washington career which he scored at least 20, and 75 games in double figures. 

Finished Extremely Well Around The Basket

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LOS ANGELES - MARCH 11: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies shoots over Calvin Haynes #22 of the Oregon State Beavers during the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.

Pondexter ran the court well for the Huskies, always filling the lanes on the fast break. He also had an excellent first-step that allowed him to get separation and get to the rim consistently. 

This translated into getting fouled a lot. Pondexter led Washington in free throw attempts with 226, one behind Pac-10 leader Derrick Williams.

While Isaiah Thomas is a great penetrator, and gets to the line a fair share himself, it is always great to have one of your front-court players who can take the ball strong in traffic, and draw the foul.

Made Opponents Pay at The Line

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies reacts after being fouled in the second half against the Oregon State Beavers during the Quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 11, 2010 in L

Not only did Pondexter get to the line, he made the Huskies' opponents pay for putting him there.

Pondexter put added pressure on the other team by knocking down his free throws.

To combine getting fouled a lot with being able to hit your free throws consistently is a killer combination.

Pondexter led the team by shooting 82.7 percent from the line.

Before getting hurt, Abdul Gaddy was the only Washington player who was shooting above 80 percent from the line this year.

Effective Mid-Range Game

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 13: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies shoots over Theo Robertson #24 of the California Golden Bears during the championship game of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 13, 2010 in Los Angeles,

A majority of Pondexter's offensive game was inside the arc.

A team is shorthanded when it lacks a dependable mid-range game.

During his senior season, Pondexter made nearly 60 percent of his shots from two-point range.

Pondexter did an excellent job going to turnaround jumpers out of his pinch post (mid-post) plays, allowing him to get off high percentage shots.

Decent From Downtown

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 12: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies shoots over Andrew Zimmermann #34 of the Stanford Cardinal during the semifinals of the Pac-10 Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, California

Even though Pondexter will never be mentioned in the same breath as Ryan Appleby or Tre Simmons in terms of three-point shooting, he was the team leader last year among the starters in shooting percentage beyond the arc (35.3 percent).

This was actually an area of great improvement for Pondexter from his junior to senior years. As a junior, he only shot 21.4 percent from the three-point range.

Good Overall Offensive Efficiency

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PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 19: Quincy Pondexter #20 of the Washington Huskies posts up Phil Turner #25 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Rose Garden on March 19, 2009 in Portland,

A less common but important statistic is points per shot.

Calculating how many points a player scores compared with the number of shots they take is a good way to figure out how efficiently a specific player performs offensively.

Lots of players take lots of shots to get their points. Not Pondexter.

Pondexter scored 1.5 points per shot.

A good comparison from this year's college basketball is Kyle Singler from Duke. A good scorer but his points per shot is 1.23.

There are no players on this year's team that are matching Pondexter's offensive efficiency.

Can Washington Pull Off Some More February and March Magic?

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 20: Guard Isaiah Thomas #2 of the Washington Huskies reacts after a play during their 82-64 win over the New Mexico Lobos in the second round of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at HP Pavilion on March 20, 2010 in San Jose,

Last year at this time, the Huskies went on a later-season run.

After a February 11th loss at Cal, the Huskies won five of their last six regular season games.

They followed that up with winning the Pac-10 tournament (three more games).

And then made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to West Virginia.

After Jon Brockman departed for the Milwaukee Bucks two years ago, someone had to step in to his scoring and rebounding role. Enter Quincy Pondexter. 

Now, Washington has to rely on someone other than Quincy Pondexter to lead the charge.

This week's sweep of the NorCal teams has hopefully helped the Huskies get back on track.

Isaiah Thomas' last two games have calmed the nerves of some of uneasy U-Dub followers.

The Washington point guard broke out of a mini-midseason funk and played less erratically against both the Bears and Cardinals.

This week, Washington has an important 2-game trip to Arizona.

After that, the Huskies return to play cross-town challenger, Seattle.

And then finish off the season with Washington State, UCLA and USC at home.

The question still remains: Can Washington again pull off some more February and March magic?

We'll soon find out!