Best Coast Sports

With the______pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the _______ select Tony Wroten Jr. out of the University of Washington. The man has been dreaming of this moment since arriving on the scene as an 8^th grader in inner city Seattle. Like his teammate Terrence Ross, Tone is going to forgo the rest of his collegiate eligibly and enter the NBA Draft. Unfortunately, the lasting memory fans will have of him is at the free throw against Oregon State and missing four consecutive free throws with a chance to tie or win the game.

There has been rumbling about his decision since the teams collapse in the Pac 12 Tournament and NIT. Many different prolific basketball sources think he should have came back to school due in part to different holes in his game. Chad Ford’s mock draft predicts Tony to be a late first round to early second round pick. I think he made a good decision to leave. Being placed in the right situation, you may see him flourish. Wroten has an NBA type body standing at 6’5 206 lbs. Most point guards in the league are shorter in height and smaller in stature. The quickness factor is the biggest attribute, like the saying goes “fast don’t lie.” Luckily he knows how to use his speed to his advantage. On defense he posses’ quickness to keep his defender in front of him and the anticipation to jump passing lanes and steal the ball. On Offense most defenders have a difficult time keeping up with him in the open floor, but everyone knows he is going left. Aside from shooting the focus needs to be on dribbling and finishing with his right hand, the off hand.

The comparison to a freshman Gary Payton is unreal. The finishing stat lines at the end of their first season are almost identical. In field goal percentage (GP: 45.9%, TW: 44.3%), steals (GP: 1.9 spg, TW: 1.9), rebounds (GP: 4.0 rpg, TW: 5.0 rpg), and turnovers (GP: 3.1 topg, TW: 3.8 topg).

Tony Wroten can be the biggest steal of the draft. Raw talent and quickness as well as basketball IQ make him an easy first round pick. If only he could shoot. If a jumper is developed and the erratic play slows down, you will be looking at one of the best guards in the game. Like mentioned above, a young Gary Payton had somewhat of a loose handle and struggled from the field. Those are things that you can correct with good coaching. Like Wroten, he had the intangibles and the work ethic, which lead to becoming a superstar and an All NBA defender.

It is going to take a lot of work for Tone to change the mind of scouts. Besides countless hours dribbling and shooting in the gym, I expect him to reach out to some of his Home Team friends Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford to help with shooting. If reaching out to them isn’t on his mind, it would not be a bad idea, especially with shooting being the strong suit of both players. The ball is tipped, the clock is running down, let’s see what Wroten can do before the draft buzzer sounds.

Washington (4-2) vs. 16 Marquette (7-0)

Madison Square Garden

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

6:00 p.m. P.T- ESPN

Huskies travel to the Big Apple to take on the Golden Eagles in the Jimmy V Classic. The two game annual tournament is in its 16th year of existence, tipping off for the first time in 1995. Jim Valvano, the late coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack passed away from bone cancer in 1993. This was weeks after he gave one of the most memorable speeches in sports history after winning an ESPY award. Proceeds go to the funding of cancer research.  Jim Valvano\’s ESPY Speech

The fiesty Washington squad is coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Nevada in which they led all game. Turnovers are becoming the telling story for this young team as of late.  Aside from these mistakes, they have done exceptionally well on offense. A typical Romar team is going to key in on every rebound. As a matter of fact, UW leads the Pac 12 in rebounding, grabbing 42 rebounds a game and 13 on the offensive end. A team that rebounds well will score more. Averaging 81 points per game, the Huskies rank 22nd in the country and first in the Pac 12, led by three players scoring in double figures, Terrence Ross (16.2 ppg), C.J. Wilcox (15.3), and Tony Wroten Jr. (13.0).

Marquette is coming off an upset victory against the in state rival No. 9 Wisconsin, led by senior star Darius Johnson-Odom. He and Jae Crowder have been a problem for defenses all season. The duo puts up a staggering 36 ppg (Johnson-Odom 19.4 and Crowder 16.9) out of 84 ppg which the team averages, ranking 11th in the country and first in the Big East.

The last time these teams faced each other, it left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Golden Eagles. They jumped out to a double digit lead in the second half of the 2010 East Regional NCAA tournament game. On the backs on Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter, UW came back to tie the game at 78. With one second left on the clock, Pondexter drove to the hoop pass Lazard Hayward to scope in the game winning layup. Dawgs upset Golden Eagles 80-78.

Marquette has and will play many more games at MSG due to it being the home of the Big East conference tournament. They are no strangers to the bright lights. As for Washington, they have a great chance to show their progress are on a national stage. However, road and neutral site struggles have been well documented. Coach Romar always finds a way to win the “must win” games. This game will be the Huskies biggest test of the season thus far.

The keys to the game for both teams will be rebounding and three pointers. They both like to get up and down the floor so expect an abundance of points and a lot of jump shots. Who ever controls the glass will control the game. Keep an eye on the Darius Johnson-Odom vs. Terrence Ross match-up. Both individuals are getting high praise from NBA scouts and like to turn it on when they know people are watching. We will see which star player shines the brightest.

Prediction: Washington wins a close one.