Seattle PI Reports on Open Gym

Dan Raley of the Seattle PI has posted a story online describing the latest Husky open gym. It begins a bit awkward with Raley comparing Justin Dentmon to a young, buff Mario Lopez of “Saved by the Bell” and “Dancing with the Stars” fame. While comparing Dentmon to a former actor of perhaps the cheesiest show of all time and former host of a show named “Pet Stars”, there were plenty of interesting tidbits that can only excite me more for the upcoming season.

First we learned that Quincy Pondexter has grown a full beard, which is something I strongly support. As long as it isn’t the Kevin Love thin ass chin strap and goatee it can only be a positive sign for the team. When I think of full beards I think of Baron Davis and the type of success he has had with his ever since growing it out and beating the #1 seed Dallas Mavericks in the first round. It adds character to the team, however Raley goes on to say that it could be gone come training camp because of Romar’s old style.

It goes on to describe 5′8″ Jesus Shuttlesworth in Isaiah Thomas and the impact that he will have on the team. Supposedly IT Factor is already chattering it up and taking on Justin Dentmon in some competitive match-ups, one in particular that left Dentmon on the sideline catching his breath. Here’s a direct part of the story…

Namely the presence of freshman guard Isaiah Thomas — someone Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar compares favorably to the feisty and compact Damon Stoudamire, formerly of the Arizona Wildcats and most recently the San Antonio Spurs — changes things dramatically for a Pac-10 team that had trouble scoring points and forcing the issue on offense last season.

Whether letting fly with high-arcing 3-pointers, snaking his way to the basket undeterred or zipping a no-look pass across the key, his new teammates agree that the 5-foot-8 Thomas is as good as advertised.

I don’t think I have ever been so excited for a prospect coming to Washington. Martell Webster would have easily been the number one guy, but he made the mistake of going to the league too early. Spencer Hawes kind of took some of it away knowing that he had his eye on the NBA since fourth grade. Jon Brockman is really the top guy, but even then a hard nosed brawler is not as exciting as a 5′8″ guard that I think will turn out to be a better Nate Robinson.

But the type of impact that IT’s presence will have may go unmatched in the conference. Washington has a real chance at making a big jump in the standing with some of the losses that other teams have had to go through while Washington has really only lost a one-dimensional player in Ryan Appleby while gaining some of the top young talent in the country.

The end of the Thomas segment should only put smiles on fan’s faces. Easily the best quote that IT could have given us.

“We’re going to be similar to B-Roy’s and Nate’s teams and get out and run and play defense,” Thomas said. “I think we’re going to be good, a lot better than last year. We could be a lot like the Phoenix Suns offensively. We’ve got a lot of guards and we’re kind of small.”

Going back to the uptempo offense that had so much success two/three/four years ago is a great sign that things are going in the right direction. While he has proven to be a loyal Dawg recently, Spencer Hawes kind of screwed the offense up upon his arrival with the team going to an offense that catered to him and Brockman. 

The final real interesting nugget that came from the story was a brief description of the final three recruits coming in. Tyreese Breshers is out with a minor shin injury, however both Scott Suggs and Elston Turner Jr. are participating in the offseason open gyms. 

Turner may be the “forgotten guy” of the class. Thomas and Suggs are the stud recruits, Breshers is the guy who fills a need perfectly, not much is reported on Turner. I’m real excited over the possibility of Turner, it seems as if he can bring some real interesting aspects to the game. His dad after all is a top assistant for the Houston Rockets, and was recently interviewed for the head coaching job in Phoenix. Turner Sr. and Jr. have both said that dad has worked with son extensively, there is no doubt in my mind the Turner could very well be the most intelligent basketball player on the team. This is a great tool to have as well as the physical and natural bonuses, basketball smarts can really be key come crunch time.

However Raley goes on to say that both Suggs and Turner “have 3-point strokes and plenty of offensive moves.” Both need to hit the weight room according to Raley. Although that comes to no surprise regarding Suggs, I had the impression that Turner was a little more physically ready, but I assumed both were more long term prospects.

It was a good report from Raley. Only ratchets up the excitement for next year.