The Pac-12’s rise to national prominence in the past few years has not come without a cost. Pac-12 basketball has hit a bit of a lull recently. Traditional powerhouses Arizona and UCLA have maintained strong teams, but teams in the northwest like Washington and Oregon haven’t been able to keep pace.
Lorenzo Romar is the longest tenured Head Coach in the Pac-12 but hasn’t done much recently to reach a solid level of job security. Teams in large conferences, especially ones that have little depth, expect to make a push for the tournament every few years. The Washington Huskies may go an entire class without making it to the big dance. Romar may have to survive one more bad season before it gets much better.
Washington hasn’t made the NCAA Championship Tournament since 2011 and this year doesn’t figure to change the tone. Recruiting hasn’t been great as of late, but that could change in a hurry with this class ranked 10th in the nation by ESPN. The class is highlighted by four four-star recruits that should figure heavily into plans for the future. The team will be talented, but probably too young to make the top teams in the conference too worried.
In most Pac-12 previews from Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated, the preseason rankings aren’t optimistic about the Huskies’ potential. Both publications have the Huskies ranked as the eighth-best team in the conference. The lower middle-ground in the conference is a tough spot for a team that could be seeing large amounts of roster and administrative turnover in the next few years.
The 2015 recruiting class figures to be the saviors featuring four four-star recruits and a few three-star players. It will probably get worse before it gets better as the Huskies will lose their leading scorer from last year C.J. Wilcox. Wilcox was one of three players to start every game last year and the Huskies are lucky to welcome back the other two, guards Nigel Williams-Goss and Andrew Andrews. Williams-Goss and Andrews will form a strong guard combination for the Huskies.
Williams-Goss is clearly the star of the show though, ranking as the 17th best point guard in the nation at the start of the year. He will need to display incredible playmaking ability this season if the Huskies are to have any chance of contending for one of the six spots that the Pac-12 is anticipating receiving for this years tournament.
Although the year has yet to begin, there is already some controversy. Early this year, first-year Tristan Etienne left the team for personal reasons. Etienne has said that he does not intend to transfer. The move leaves Washington at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to size. The Huskies now only have four players above 6’7″ on the roster for this season. To add perspective, Whitman’s basketball team featured the same amount of players of that size last year. Whitman didn’t have much a of a problem playing the in NWC, but the Pac-12 is a different animal in terms of size.
Washington could make some noise as a potential upset team. For a team regarded so poorly by the media it would be easy for teams to see the Huskies as an easy victory. This would be a mistake as Washington’s roster is poised for explosion, though likely not consistently. Depending on how quickly Romar can begin to maximize his youngest players, the Huskies could aim to make a push for the NCAA tournament, especially if they have a strong end to the season in the Pac-12 tourney.
Husky fans may be witnessing the end of Romar’s time at Washington unless he can really maximize the talent he has this season. The next coach will inevitably have more success with the classes coming in over the course of the next few years. It’ll get worse before it gets better, but it should all happen pretty soon.
