Husky Accountability Starts With Romar

This weekend in Arizona was Romar’s worst as Head Coach at Washington

For much of the non-conference schedule, Washington basketball coach Lorenzo Romar seemed content to live with the gameplan, ‘victory through superior firepower.’  The Huskies, tabbed by most analysts as the first or second best team in the Pac 10 conference, overwhelmed inferior opponents with their athleticism and won games by creating extra possessions through offensive rebounds, and forcing turnovers on the perimeter on defense.

Throughout it all, however, the Huskies never got comfortable running a true offense, and Romar never committed to a core group of players, instead choosing to consistently rotate as many as 11 players in and out of every game.  Aside from Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas, Romar made little effort to make sure other players were regularly contributing on a night to night basis.  Occasionally, a player such as Elston Turner, Scott Suggs, or Venoy Overton would break out for a game or two, but never was there a sustained period of time when any member of the Washington team appeared to have been installed as a legitimate option in the offense.

Apparently the other coaches in the Pac 10 noticed this.

Now, as the Huskies sit at 1-3 in conference play, Lorenzo Romar needs to be held accountable for his coaching style so far this season.  Romar needs to sit in front of a microphone and explain how the Huskies made it all the way through a relatively soft non-conference slate without ever installing a recognizable offense.  How Romar’s quick substitution patterns throughout the season appear to have mentally damaged his team – resulting in players being afraid to take a shot, for fear of missing and being yanked.  How Ernie Kent, Herb Sendek, and Sean Miller were able to completely dominate Romar’s team, despite each having younger teams who struggled with their non-conference opponents.  Each of those coaches completely shut down Washington offensively by doing nothing more than doubling Quincy Pondexter, and forcing Isaiah Thomas to take difficult shots.  In doing that, they shifted the burden back to Romar to find another way to manufacture points.  Despite having a roster loaded with experienced and athletic players, Romar had no answers.

For me, the biggest mistake that Romar has made this season lies with his failure to pare down the rotation.  Players such as Elston Turner, Tyrese Breshers, and Scott Suggs have separated themselves and shown the ability- at times- to contribute offensively.  Yet Romar has not shown confidence in them.  Has not let them learn to play together.  Has not allowed them to make mistakes.  Instead, he has yanked them from the game everytime one of these players has drawn his ire.  A missed shot, blown defensive assignment, or turnover has resulted in substitutions en masse.  The Huskies rotation has featured no less than 11 players.  Justin Holliday, Clarence Trent, Breshers, Turner, Overton, and Suggs have all come off the bench with regularity.  Thus, aside from the afore mentioned Pondexter and Thomas, nobody on the team has any confidence in themselves at this stage.  Beyond that, the Huskies do not have a lineup to turn to at critical stages in a game.  There are not 5 guys who have played together enough to deal with adversity when opponents make a run.

This past weekend in Arizona, as UW was swept away with alarming ease, the Huskies looked inept, frustrated, and rudderless.  Thomas struggled to find any open space with which to operate, Pondexter floated around the court without purpose, and the bigs were totally overwhelmed (frankly the level of play from Amaning, Breshers, and Gant was pathetic – absolutely pathetic).   And Romar showed no sign of being able to do anything about it.  Where were the offensive sets for Elston Turner?  Where were the high screens to free Thomas from the tight man defense that teams have started to employ on him?  Most importantly – where were the set plays designed to get UW’s best players open looks?  I’ll tell you what – I openly admit that I am not a basketball expert- but it appeared to my untrained eye that UW wasn’t calling any plays.  Didn’t have any strategy.  Showed up without a “plan b.”  Either that, or the Huskies were trying these things – and were just completely unable to execute.  Neither of these scenarios is acceptable and in my opinion both were preventable.

Lorenzo Romar had a very soft non-conference schedule to prepare his team to respond to adversity.  To learn how to play together and how to win on a night when the opponent takes away the Huskies’ talented duo of Pondexter and Thomas.  He didn’t get it done.  He was content to let Pondexter and Thomas win games and take whatever offense he got from the supporting cast.  Now, 4 games into conference play, that failing may doom a season that started with much promise.

Romar needs to win now and no longer has the luxury of time to prepare for contingencies.   For UW’s sake, lets hope he has some ideas.