UW vs. Northern Iowa

I went to Tuesday night's Husky game vs. Northern Iowa. It was a close game (both teams shot absolutely horribly); Huskies pulled away at the end thanks to a 3-point bomb by Appleby and a steal/fastbreak layup by Dentmon. We eventually won by 9.

Local Washington boy Jon Brockman is accompanied by Ryan Appleby on the regional cover of Sports Illustrated this week (below). Interesting that SI chose not to put our 7-foot McDonald's All-American Freshman, Spencer Hawes, on there. Who, by the way, was very impressive vs. Northern Iowa. He has a soft touch, good free throw shooter, and likes to shoot both left and right handed hook shots.

Clever Girlfriend Picked'em

Redick vs. Morrison

My officemate saw Adam Morrison of Gonzaga sink a last second three-point shot over two defenders with 2.5 seconds left yesterday at Key Arena (where the Seattle Supersonics play). We also watched Morrison dominate the game vs. U. of Washington last week (43 points, which ties his career high) -- Morrison is a spectacle, his shot is perfect and he always seems to be in the right place to get a much-needed steal or pick up an offensive rebound. I also observed that he tends to "power dribble" immediately after receiving a pass, which is particularly difficult to guard given that he is 6'9".

J. J. Redick of Duke also had an amazing performance yesterday, scoring a career-high 41 points vs. the #2 team in the country (Texas). He shot 9/16 from the three-point line.

Katz compares the two on espn for a preliminary investigation of NCAA player of the year.

(link)

Nash a Professional Soccer Player

You cannot escape the "grass-is-always-greener" syndrome:

"'How good are you?', I asked him after his team won. 'I guess I could have played professionally,' he said. 'If I’d focused on it. Sometimes I wish I had. But that’s probably just a grass-is-always-greener kind of thing.' " [Steve Nash talking about playing soccer professionally]

(from link)

Ah, Minnesota Pride

Yet it's safe to say the Jazz are looking for Humphries, who left the University of Minnesota for the NBA after his freshman season, to develop much more of an all-around game. "I told him, 'I don't want a confrontation every time. (But) how are you going to make a living in this league? Shooting it every time you touch it? Or, I say, you can make a living in this league if you defend, rebound, run the floor and do some of those things,' " Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said when discussing Humphries' play after Utah's Saturday-night loss to Memphis "I don't have a problem with a guy shooting," Sloan added. "But every time he touches it? He's got to learn to pass it. To me, that's one of the simple things to learn how to do. Once you do that, then your teammates accept you a lot more and it makes the game easier for you." Desert Morning News

And

"Another day, another lesson for Kris Humphries. The Jazz's second-year forward checked into the game at the start of the second quarter Saturday against Memphis. So he was obviously shocked when Robert Whaley subbed in for him just 2 1/2 minutes later. As Humphries approached the bench, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan stopped him with a blunt message. "I can't put you out there," Sloan said as Humphries passed by, "if you're not going to compete." Salt Lake Tribune

(from link)