Washington Basketball: Why Darnell Gant is the Huskies' Most Important Player

The Washington Huskies' most important player for the 2011-12 season will be senior forward, Darnell Gant. 

I would even go as far to say the season, in fact, hinges on the Crenshaw native who played just 18 minutes per game as a junior. 

These might sound like overstatements, but this team badly needs a leader, and I don't see anyone else besides Gant, a drama major, stepping up to fill that role.

The Huskies will have a slew of talent, there is no doubt about that. Sophomore Terrence Ross is one of the most explosive scorers in the country. Add in sharp shooters C.J. Wilcox and Scott Suggs, and you have one of the best scoring guard trios in the nation.

Point guard Abdul Gaddy hasn't lived up to expectations, and even though he's coming off ACL surgery, he should be able to adequately distribute the ball.

The Huskies have also added the 19th best recruiting class, which includes immediate impact guys Tony Wroten and former Maryland recruit Martin Bruenig. 

So the Huskies have talent, and more specifically, they have scoring talent. Their weaknesses, however, will be both a lack of a leader and a lack of defense.

Defensively, the Huskies have never been that great. They rely on ball pressure to create lots of steals in order to get out on the break. It works sometimes, but it often leaves them susceptible to lots of dribble drives, and I don't see that getting any better next season.

Their best on-ball defenders, Venoy Overton and Justin Holiday, graduated, as did their best shot-blocker, Matthew Bryan-Amaning. Isaiah Thomas was also a pesky defender who created lots of steals. He, too, is gone. 

As far as leadership, the Huskies only have three seniors: Gant, Suggs, who, by all accounts, is very quiet on the court; and Brendan Sherrer, who only plays in blowouts. 

The one thing linking the Huskies' two weaknesses is Darnell Gant. He is supposedly working on being more vocal this summer, and he has always played hard-nosed defense. 

Gant is what I like to refer to as a mini-Kevin Garnett.

They have similar body types, and they play with a similar style. Gant doesn't quite have the post-up game that Garnett has, but he can step outside and hit the mid-range jumper (or even the three from the college line).

Like Garnett, Gant does the dirty work. He plays hard defense, boxes out, makes hustle plays and can guard any position. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes common to see him on the opposing team's best player. 

All the flashy, dominating scorers are nice, sure, but doesn't the age-old saying, "defense wins championships" mean anything? Who's going to make that key block? Or that game-changing out-of-bounds dive?

Vocally, who is going to step up during a crucial timeout? Who's going to get on his teammates for not doing what they're supposed to be doing?  Who are all the players going to trust?

Tony Wroten? Maybe, but he's still too young. Terrence Ross? Abdul Gaddy? C.J. Wilcox? They all strike me as quiet players on the court, just like Suggs. Aziz N'Diaye? Yeah, right. 

It's Darnell Gant. As a redshirt senior, he's been there the longest. He's know this team inside and out. He's easily the toughest competitor.

Will Gant be a volume scorer? Of course not, but the Huskes have plenty of those. They need someone who will be a consistent five point, seven rebound, two assist, one block, one steal, one three-pointer and five hustle plays a game type of player.

In short, Gant needs to step into Justin Holiday's role. He needs to contribute everywhere and keep all the young kids on their game. 

It's a tough task, and it's still a huge question as to whether or not he will be up to it. But as his protege Kevin Garnett likes to say, "anything is possible."