Recent Stories with tag derek glasser

ASU's Derek Glasser Gets the Dawgpack Treatment (Photo via Twitter, @UWDawgPack)

At Hec Edmundson Pavilion, with a full student section behind them, the Washington Husky basketballers are as dominant as John Wooden's UCLA teams. In Seattle, the Dawgs bombed Pac-10 leaders Cal by 15 points. They crushed Pac-10 second placers Arizona State by 23. They dropped a 56-point second half on cross-state rivals Wazzu, and a 123-point game on crosstowners Seattle U.

Washington has won 16 of 17 games at home this year. But something happens on the road. Away from Hec Ed, the Dawgs are winless in six games. That ASU team the Huskies crushed here Saturday? Lost to 'em by 17 in Tempe.

Why the difference? On the road, the Huskies start the same guys, have the same coaches, play by the same rules--and flop. The one principle difference, it would seem, is the Washington fans--specifically the rowdy student section that goes by the name "The Dawgpack." Pac-10 players generally agree that Washington has the best crowd in the league. Oregon coach Ernie Kent has called The Dawgpack the best student section in the country.

The Dawgpack stands the entire game. When the opposing team is on offense, they keep up a constant shout, unnerving players and making it hard for them to communicate. When opposing coaches attempt to shout out instructions, they yell to drown him out. They pick on opposing players, like when they chanted "Mich-ael Cera!" at Cal's Nikola Knezevic (who does sorta look like him). A sign at Saturday's game had a photoshopped image of Husky guard Venoy Overton with his arm around the mother of hated ASU guard Derek Glasser. The sign read "Mr. and Mrs. Overton." With Glasser scoreless midway through the second half, UW fans held their hands in the shape of a zero and derisively chanted "Der-ek, Der-ek."...

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Someday, Venoy Overton and Derek Glasser will each be the terrors of their respective rec leagues. You know the type--feisty, cocky, obnoxious, a little bit dirty--the guys who play every game like it's their last. The guys who you want to say "It's just a game" to, but don't bother because they wouldn't agree.

For now, Overton and Glasser are the primary point guards for Washignton and Arizona State, and their similar style leads to some entertaining basketball. Last year, their rivalry led to a scuffle in last year's Pac-10 tournament.

I don't care about the scuffle, I just like seeing the speedy Overton frustrate the more deliberate Glasser.

Watch specifically when Glasser tries to bring the ball up the court. Glasser lacks the speed and handles to dribble forward while facing his man so he typically backs the ball down the court, flaring his off-ball elbow out to keep the defensive man at bay.

This is a very effective strategy against players who want to avoid getting elbowed in the face. Venoy Overton, however, lives for being elbowed in the face. The way he sticks his body into players, you get the feeling that an elbow to the face would be the crowning achievement of his day....

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