Summer basketball is in full swing and it is now time for Husky basketball fans to turn their attention to the ever important recruiting season. UW Dawg Pound will be tracking the performances and recruitment of the Huskies' current targets on a regular basis.
Head Coach Lorenzo Romar and his staff are focused on locking up players from the shooting guard and small forward positions. The Huskies currently lack serious depth at those positions and will lose even more after next season when C.J. Wilcox graduates.
Here's an update on some of the Huskies recruits from the class of 2014:
- Josh Martin (Seattle, Wash./Bothell HS), Forward, 6-foot-8, 220 pounds: I had the opportunity to watch Martin at the Quaker Summer Slam in Seattle last weekend. Martin is one of the most athletic players in the state, he has serious bounce along with a decent jumper that extends to three-point range. He showed surprisingly good vision for a player his size, throwing several nice passes in transition. His length and size also allowed him to grab rebounds and be a force on the defensive end. Washington is still considered the clear leader, but Florida State, Minnesota, Oklahoma St. and Oregon St. have also offered Martin.
- Namon Wright (Los Angeles, Calif./Findlay Prep), Guard, 6-foot-5, 175 pounds: Wright played in the prestigious Pangos All-American Camp last weekend in Long Beach, Calif. Scout.com's Josh Gershon tweeted, "Always like watching Namon Wright play. He's making some really nice entry passes, playing hard, defending and getting to the basket." Washington has some stiff competition for Wright, UCLA, Arizona and Gonzaga are among the several schools to have offered him. In mid-May, Wright announced a transfer to Findlay Prep in Nevada from his hometown school of Pacific Hills in Los Angeles; Findlay Prep is the former school of incoming Husky Nigel Williams-Goss.
- Dorian Pickens (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS), Guard, 6-foot-4, 190 pounds: In the latest slate of Nike EYBL games, Pickens scored in double digits in four of five games for the Oakland Soldiers. His best game came against the Spiece Indy Heat, where he scored 17 points and grabbed three rebounds. Arizona, Washington and a couple of other Pac-12 schools have offered Pickens.
- Silas Melson (Portland, Oregon/Jefferson HS), Guard, 6-foot-2, 170 pounds: Melson will be one of the top players in action at the 2013 Rose City Showcase in Portland, Oregon starting this Friday, June 7. Melson will play for ICP Elite. Also participating in the tournament will be Seattle Rotary Select and Josh Martin.