Props to Romar's boys

With the loss to UAB still fresh in my mind, I need to congratulate the Washington Huskies men's basketball team on a tremendous season. Wow, what a ride! The teamwork, grit and determination displayed by Lorenzo Romar's boys while fighting back from 5-8 (0-5 Pac-10) to 19-12 (12-6 Pac-10) was phenomenal. For me personally, the unexpected joy of watching this year's edition of the Dawgs scratch and claw their way from "Pac-10 doormats" to 2nd place in the conference and a berth in the big dance ranks right up there with some of the greatest in Seattle sports history. It evoked memories of the 1995 Mariner Miracle and the 2000 Cardiac Huskies all in one. As one who has followed UW basketball since the early 90s, particularly since I matriculated at the "U" in 1995, I enjoyed this season as much as any - even the Sweet 16 season of 1997-1998. It was a blast to watch that team grow during my 4 years on Montlake and it is even better watching this group, composed of so many home-grown players (8 Seattle area prepsters among the 10 on scholarship) develop with each passing game.

Lorenzo Romar deserves a TON of credit for keeping this group from falling apart when the chips were down and the losses were mounting. The miracle win at Corvallis opened the floodgates and the Dawgs crashed over the Pac-10 like a tsunami. There were close wins and there were blowout wins. There was the disappointing loss in Westwood that reminded the players that they weren't good enough to overlook anyone. There was the hard-fought heartbreaker of a loss in Raleigh to the ACC's #2 team, the N.C. State Wolfpack, that seemed to spur the Huskies on to another level of play from that point forward. The signature win over undefeated and #1 ranked Stanford at Hec Edmundson Pavillion won't soon be forgotten.

Although the Dawgs seemed to run out of gas, losing their last two - to Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament championship game and to UAB in the first round of the NCAA tournament - one cannot diminish what they accomplished. This team turned the corner and continued to improve over the course of the season. With 8th man Curtis Allen the lone departing senior and four sophomores among this season's five starters, this group is poised for an extended run at the top of the Pac-10 and multiple NCAA tournament berths. The future is bright indeed for the boys in purple and gold.