Recent Stories with tag lorenzo romar

One of the few knocks against Lorenzo Romar during his wildly successful tenure as head coach of the University of Washington basketball team has been his inability to recruit a dominant big man. There's a reason for that--talented big men are as rare on college campuses as Lawrence Welk records. Even Arizona coach Lute Olson, who took the Wildcats to four Final Fours, had just one in 25 years.

But it looks like Romar scared one up, via Senegal, an Illinois prep school, and the College of Southern Idaho. Meet seven-footer Aziz N'Diaye. You and I will have our first chance to see N'Diaye Saturday afternoon, when the Huskies play Saint Martin's in a exhibition game. From what I've been hearing about him, I can't wait.

Why?

His conditioning: N'Diaye, who, let me repeat, is seven feet tall, ran the mile in 5:21. (Try that pace for even a quarter-mile next time you're on the treadmill.) He finished first of all Husky players in Romar's annual mile run.

His intensity: Abdul Gaddy says of N'Diaye's defense: "He's kind of like a Venoy, but he's a big guy in the middle." Venoy being Venoy Overton, the disruptive defender who led the Huskies in steals last season.

His work ethic: "If we had a workout at 6 in the morning, he'd be there at 5," says N'Diaye's prep school coach. "He knows this is his chance and he's just working his butt off every day."... (more)

Coach Romar, Sane Genius

Flexibility is not among Lorenzo Romar's attributes as a coach--or as a person. Yet Romar may need to channel his inner relativist if his Washington hoopsters are going to beat USC tonight.

Romar: A man of such high ethical principles that he doesn't swear. ("Dog!" is the saltiest epithet that passes Romar's lips.)

So dedicated to his profession that he took his wife to a high school basketball game one Valentine's Day (I was there, too, though sans date).

So strict that he benched starters Will Conroy and Bobby Jones for the start of an NCAA tournament game for a minor curfew violation. (The Huskies started slow and lost by just two points.)

Romar's ethics, dedication, and willpower are strengths. They inspire respect from his players; and have made Romar the most successful Washington coach of the past half-century.

But flip that coin. Romar's inflexibility may have stiffed him a Final Four appearance. Had he instructed his 2006 Huskies to foul UConn's Rashad Anderson with time running out remaining in an NCAA Tournament regional semifinal, the Huskies would likely have won. Left unmolested, Anderson hit a game-tying three-pointer that sent the game into an overtime period that the shorthanded Huskies lost.... (more)

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.... (more)

The stars were out for Metro League Tuesday

Before we get to the whys and wherefores of how the spittle of the 14th-richest man in America ended up on my right hand, let me make one thing clear. Underemployed though I am, I did not attend Tuesday's Lakeside/Rainier Beach game with the intention of sitting next to, and eventually shaking hands with, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

First of all, I did not even know Ballmer would be at the game. Only when I had found my seat and noticed a "Sam Ballmer" on the Lakeside roster did I suspect any impending Ballmerness. Furthermore, I did not sit next to Ballmer. He happened to sit next to me. And, to finally get to the expectoration you were expecting: If you sit next to Steve Ballmer at a Lakeside basketball, you are going to get a little wet. And possibly go a little deaf. The man is not shy with the yelling.

I'm okay with that, because Ballmer is the best kind of parent rooter: He encouraged Lakeside's overmatched players from tip to buzzer, all the way through a 47-point loss. He laid off the referees. And he even cheered the (very many) exciting plays by Rainier Beach.

His high-energy rooting style--at times, his non-stop nervous rocking shook the bleacher bench we were sharing--made me wish heartily that he'd managed to purchase the Sonics. A courtside Ballmer would make notoriously excitable Dallas owner Mark Cuban look phlegmatic.

So, yeah, a few minutes into the game, something moves Ballmer to shout "Boom" (his favorite exclamation), and I suddenly feel a drop of wetness on my hand. Oh. That's Ballmer spit. At halftime, I'd see a Microsoft employee friend of mine who'd come to his first Metro League Tuesday.

"I'm sitting next to your boss," I said.

"I saw that," he exclaimed.

"He spit on my hand!"

"You'd better not wash it."

And I never will. NEVER! I am buying protective gloves tomorrow. AND NO MOM I AM NOT COMING OUT OF MY ROOM!

One Ballmer moment before we move on to the other famous people who were at the game. Ballmer's son Sam had the best Lakeside play of the night. Receiving the ball on the right wing, young Ballmer created space with his off-hand, stepped back and swished a 12-foot jumper. Papa rose as the shot was in the air, and unleashed a thunderous "Boom!" as the ball slid through the net. It was cute--and lest you think I'm being overly sentimental, I said as much to my ex-girlfriend, who was sitting on the other side of me, and she nodded vigorously in agreement.

Also at the game: University of Washington basketball head coach Lorenzo Romar, taking up his preferred spot behind the baseline. Ballmer and Romar had a long talk at halftime. Meanwhile, chatting next to them were Seattle city councilmember Bruce Harrell, whose son is a backup guard for Lakeside, and Husky hoops legend and former NBAer Eldridge Recasner. It was a veritable who's who of Seattle!... (more)

Tomorrow night's your first chance to see the University of Washington basketball team play against another team. The game is an exhibition (and, thus, viewable for the bargain price of $10) against Central Washington University, a team of predominately Puget Sound area kids. If you are any kind of high school hoops fan (and if you aren't, what's stopping you?) you will recognize some of the names on the CWU roster.

But let us discuss the Huskies. When we last left them, they had suffered a close loss to Purdue in the NCAA tournament's second round. But I prefer to remember the home win vs. Washington State which clinched the school's first Pac-10 title since the Eisenhower Administration, and watching an exultant Lorenzo Romar cut down the nets. One of my favorite Seattle sports memories.

This year, the Huskies confront life without four-year starter and team captain Jon Brockman. The school's all-time leading rebounder, now playing in the NBA (here he is dunking against the Zombie Sonics!), averaged a double-... (more)