College basketball season is upon us, and I feel confident in predicting that the Puget Sound area’s national championship tally will remain at zero. Your Washington Huskies have a ton of talent, but not the front-line depth required to win six games in March. And your Seattle U Redhawks aren’t even eligible to compete in the tournament. So closing the gap on Raleigh-Durham CORRECTION SEE BELOW! (11 titles) will have to wait.

On the bright side, both teams will be highly enjoyable to watch. This is not exactly coincidental, as Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar was formerly an assistant under UW coach Lorenzo Romar. Both share an affinity for fast-paced offense and aggressive defense, a combination that leads to high-energy, high-scoring games.

Washington, especially, combines the showtime style with some exhilaratingly talented players. For pure excitement value, freshman Tony Wroten will be the one to watch. The Garfield product is the flashiest passer Hec Ed Pavilion has ever seen, throwing no-look lasers with no more thought than you’d give to turning a doorknob. If you want to know what I mean, and also utter the exclamation “daaaaannnng,” check out the pass at the 2:22 mark of these highlights of UW’s exhibition game last Saturday.

The 6’5″ Wroten is considered a top NBA prospect, one mock draft has him going 4th overall in 2013. Fellow backcourt mates Terrence Ross and Abdul Gaddy are also considered NBA prospects. If only the Huskies had this kind of talent in the frontcourt. UW has only true big man, Aziz N’Diaye, a Sudanese import who is still learning the game. Behind N’Diaye are players with talent, but who are more comfortable on the wing than rebounding or posting up. The Huskies will win a lot of games this year, and have the talent to go deep into the NCAA tournament, but their lack of size up front makes a championship seem very unlikely.

Seattle U is still in the probationary period of their transition to Division I, and isn’t eligible for the tournament until next season. Just as well, because they have some talent deficiencies. Still, while not likely to be fielding many ticket requests from pro scouts, the Redhawks have some exciting players as well. I’m amped about Clarence Trent, a tall, athletic wing from Gig Harbor who began his college career with Washington. Trent is 6’6″, but he doesn’t jump like the 6’6″ guys I knew in college (sorry, Josh). In Trent’s limited game action as a Husky freshman, he threw down a sick one-handed dunk that ranks as a UW all-timer. See below:

You’ve got a great chance to check out the Huskies this weekend, as they play Saturday (2 p.m), Sunday (5 p.m.) and Monday (7 p.m.) at Hec Ed. They are hosting the four-team “World Vision Classic,” an each Husky game will be preceded by a game between two of the other smaller D1 schools in the event–so it’s a good value! You can find some solid ticket deals on StubHub, they’ll be $22 (or higher) at the door. Here is the Huskies’ full schedule.

Seattle U also plays this weekend, hosting an exhibition at KeyArena vs. Pacific Lutheran. The official home opener is Saturday the 19th, vs. San Francisco. Seattle U tickets are a real bargain; they aren’t very well-attended, so you can pay not much for amazing seats. I bought season tickets this year, and I paid just $15/game to sit in the third row at center court. Here is SU’s full schedule.

UPDATE–CORRECTION PROVIDED GRATIS  BY THE DURHAM CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU:

The article They Won’t Win a Title, But Washington and Seattle U Basketball Will Be Damn Fun to Watch references Raleigh-Durham in the first paragraph. Please accept this as a heads up that Raleigh-Durham is not actually a place. Raleigh-Durham refers to the airport which is located halfway between the cities which are, in fact, nearly 30 miles apart.

The phrase Raleigh-Durham is often mistakenly used to describe the area  – this is a common misconception we are working to amend. If your intention was to reference basketball programs throughout the area, we suggest using “the Research Triangle Region” or “Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC.” For further clarification, please look to the following graphic or feel free to call upon us for help.

Please make the location change and update your usage in future communications this basketball season.

Thanks!

Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau