March Madness continues for the Huskies this week in New York as they face the Minnesota Gophers in the semi-final round of the NIT.
Even though this team fell a step short of making the NCAA Tournament I have been impressed with the way they have played so far in the post season. That being said all those games up to this point were at home and the potential final two will be in a neutral arena where the Huskies dropped two games earlier this season.
These are probably the last two games for both Ross and Wroten who have done nothing but solidify their draft status with solid play over the last couple of weeks. I would love to see both of these kids stay another year but the odds simply aren't in our favor for that to happen.
Neither one of them have announced or hinted at anything but it is tough to turn down the millions of dollars first round draft picks receive int he NBA. These guys are basketball players that happen to be students and you can't blame them if they leave early because basketball not physics is their future.
Do I think both of these kids could use another year of seasoning?
Absolutely!
Spencer Hawes left after only one season and I thought it was a mistake. I think he could have evolved into a much better NBA player if he had stayed in college another year or two. Uber-talent Martell Webster never even made it to UW and the result has been a lackluster career.
(Both of these guys have made more money than most of us will ever see in our lifetimes by the age of 25...so what do I know?) It is just my opinion...but I think these kids would serve themselves well by staying around another year under Coach Romar.
MWC/CUSA Merger
Jon Wilner comments the proposed merger which will take place in the next month. The new conference will consist of 18-24 teams. This merger could end up leaving schools like Idaho, Seattle U., and Denver without a conference once it is finished.
It could also severely impact a school like Boise State who will be parking its non-football sports in the WAC. Look for the WAC to be raided in the not too distant future by the new conference.
If ESPN says that more teams equates to more dollars, then the MWC/CUSA will almost certainly raid the WAC for Utah State and/or San Jose State and/or LaTech … and it will almost certainly raid the Sun Belt for the Florida schools (FIU/FAU) and/or North Texas and/or Middle Tennessee State.
Spring Football
UW begins spring practice on April 2 and will practice every Monday-Wednesday-Friday for four weeks, as well as three on Saturday.
We will be ramping up the coverage at that period of time even though all but two of the fifteen practices will be closed to the public due to safety concerns. There simply isn't enough room for fans to watch this year with all the construction going on in the stadium and parking lot.
UW will hold two open practices off-campus --- on April 21 at Memorial Stadium and the Spring Game on April 28 at CenturyLink Field. Both will begin at 11 a.m.