Washington Huskies Basketball

The University of Washington (8-5) will head East to meet their long-time Washington State (9-4) rivals on Saturday evening. This will be the 275th encounter between the two Washington schools.

The Huskies return as the Pac-12 title holders. Despite their success last year, Washington was snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

This year, both teams have records above the .500 mark after their non-conference matchups. Washington lost three home games to Albany, Colorado State and Nevada. Ohio State and Connecticut accounted for the remaining defeats.

The Cougars' losses were to Pepperdine in overtime, neutral court defeats to Kansas and Texas A&M and a two-point home loss to basketball powerhouse Gonzaga.

Husky senior guard Abdul Gaddy acknowledged that the matchup against the Cougars would be challenging.

"We have a real tough test coming up. We're all about getting better," Gaddy said. "We want to improve on our weaknesses."

Washington features three seniors and one junior in their starting rotation. Seniors Gaddy, center Aziz N'Diaye and guard Scott Suggs are the foundation for an experienced group to make another run at the Pac-12 title. Junior guard C.J. Wilcox leads the team in scoring with 18.5 points per game.

According to Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar, his veterans have the potential to replicate last year's successes.

"I just think we're better than we were early in a lot of those (non-conference) games," Romar said. "Our record doesn't reflect that, but we've seen improvements that we've made."

As for the Cougars, Romar identified senior forward Brock Motum as "the most versatile player in our league" during his Thursday afternoon press conference.

The veteran coach spoke about the 6'10", 245-pound Australian's effectiveness. "He plays on the perimeter. He shoots it from the perimeter. He drives it from the perimeter. He can post you up. He can pass. He can make free throws at 6'9" or 6'10". That's a tough cover anywhere...He's a guard and a 'big' all-in-one."

The Saturday matchup will be seen nationally on ESPNU at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Sources: University of Washington Athletic Communication and personal interviews 

As a sign of the talent coming out of the Washington Huskies basketball program, the Toronto Raptors picked 6'6", 190-pound sophomore shooting guard Terrence Ross No. 8 overall in the 2012 NBA draft. 6'5", 205-pound freshman point guard Tony Wroten Jr. found himself in Memphis after going No. 25 overall.

While Ross' and Wroten's early departures from Washington does leave sizable holes to fill, their presence in the first round of the NBA draft should be seen as a big win for the Huskies basketball program.

Washington, led by its top two scorers, Ross and Wroten, won the 2011-12 Pac-12 regular season title outright. The Huskies, however, missed out on the 2012 NCAA tournament, becoming the first major conference regular season champion to do so in the modern configuration of the event.

Washington went on to the 2012 NIT, where they lost to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the semifinals (Stanford then beat Minnesota to win the 2012 NIT). That event is long over, and now the Huskies can prepare for next season knowing two of their teammates, Ross and Wroten, were selected in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft.   

Washington coach Lorenzo Romar was on hand to support his players at the 2012 NBA draft. The coach, who recently joined Twitter, posted the following comment prior to the selection program: “At the draftess luncheon watching Terrence shake hands (for the first time) with David Stern. Awesome!!” After Ross was selected as the No. 8 overall pick, Romar tweeted "T.ROSS!!!!!" For Wroten, Romar tweeted, "Woof, Woof!!! TWROTEN!!!! Great night for these young men!!"

Hoopsworld recently posted an interesting interview with Ross. In that interview, when asked if there were any misconceptions about him, Ross responded, “I can get to the basket. A lot of people don’t think I can get to the basket, but I think that’s something I’m going to start proving to people that I can.”

The interview also revealed that when it came to draft number, while he thought about it, Ross was clearly focusing on just getting to the next level: “I think [draft selection number]’s important to every player, but I’ll just be happy to get picked.” At No. 8, Ross pulled out a surprisingly high lottery pick in the 2012 NBA draft, with no major mock drafts picking him that high prior to the event. 

Wroten’s family revealed a similar attitude toward the 2012 NBA draft selection. Wroten’s father told the Seattle Times, “It doesn't matter if he gets drafted No. 5 or 55. I always tell him, 'Do what you can control. Work hard. Bust your ass.' That's how you make it.”

With both players now headed off to the NBA, here is a look back (including individual stats) at the performance of these two basketball talents during their time at Washington. 

Ross scored 574 points in 2011-12, which was the ninth-highest single-season record in the Washington program’s history.  In the NIT alone Ross averaged 25 points per game. Ross scored a career high of 32 points against Northwestern in the 2012 NIT. 

Wroten scored 559 points with the Huskies in 2011-12. Wroten scored a career high of 29 points in a Washington loss against Oregon State in the Pac-12 tournament. However, Wroten’s performance in that game may likely be remembered more for his four missed free throws toward the end of the game.

Terrence Ross’ college stats:

Game Time: 31.1 minutes (2011-12), 17.4 minutes (2010-11)

PTS: 16.4 (2011-12), 8 (2010-11)

FG%: .457 (2011-12), .443 (2010-11)

3P%: .371 (2011-12), .352 (2010-11)

FT%: .774 (2011-12), .758 (2010-11)

REB: 6.4 (2011-12), 2.8 (2010-11)

AST:  1.4 (2011-12), 1 (2010-11)

BLK: 0.9 (2011-12), 0.4 (2010-11)

STL: 1.3 (2011-12), 0.6 (2010-11)

Awards: First Team All-Pac-12, NIT all-tournament team, honorable mention Pac-10 freshmen team, and named to the five men All-Pac 10 tournament team among other awards.  

Ross missed out on being named the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2012, which went to Cal’s Jorge Gutierrez. The Seattle Times quoted Ross as saying he felt “snubbed” and "I am a little surprised, but congratulations to Gutierrez…He is a great player and has helped Cal out a lot. You can see it in their record."

Tony Wroten’s college stats:

Game Time: 30.3 minutes (2011-12)

PTS: 16 (2011-12)

FG%:  .443 (2011-12)

3P%: .161 (2011-12)

FT%: .583 (2011-12)

REB:  5 (2011-12)

AST: 3.7 (2011-12)

BLK: 0.4 (2011-12)

STL: 1.9 (2011-12)

Awards: 10-man first-team all-conference squad, and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year among other awards. 

Although the futures of Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten are soon be determined in the 2012 NBA Draft, the future of Washington Huskies basketball, at least for next season, remains in question. 

DraftExpress.com’s Jonathan Givony has Terrence Ross going to the Minnesota Timberwolves (via Utah) in his latest 2012 NBA Mock Draft:

After eight straight years of missing the playoffs, and with general manager David Kahn entering the final year of his contract, Minnesota will need to make some moves this summer to improve its roster and finally break its postseason drought. The Timberwolves are especially weak at the wing positions, where they could use some additional scoring to take the heat off Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.

Terrence Ross has excellent size for the wing at 6-foot-7 and a picture-perfect stroke to go with it. His athleticism would make him a favorite for lob passes from the likes of both Love and Rubio, making this a no-brainer selection if he falls this far.

It is a little less certain what will happen with Wroten in the 2012 NBA Draft. Draftexpress, which ranks Wroten No. 10 in NCAA freshman, has the Pac-12 freshman of the year going in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft. 

Washington was almost absent from the recruiting scene with regard to their incoming 2012 class. However, Huskies Coach Lonrenzo Romar may be looking to take in a recruiting class in 2013 on par with the likes of what UCLA and Arizona brought in, in 2012. Romar is recruiting several top recruits including the Rivals’ No. 1 2013 recruit, Jarbari Paker. Whether the Huskies will sign any of the top 2013 recruits on their list remains to be seen. 

For this coming season, Washington will not be drained of talent even with the loss of its two top scorers from last season, Ross and Wroten, heading to the NBA. On that front, Romar is eagerly awaiting to see what happens with his two former players. The coach, who recently joined Twitter, recently posted the following tweet, “The NBA draft is taking waaay to long to get here.”

Romar is now another in a long list of current Pac-12 basketball coaches on the social networking site (h/t Percy Allen's Husky Blog) including Arizona’s Sean Miller, Oregon State’s Craig Robinson, UCLA’s Ben Howland, USC’s Kevin O’Neill, and Washington State’s Ken Bone. 

Players returning next season to the Huskies include well known names like Abdul Gaddy, Scott Suggs, Aziz N’Diaye, and C.J. Wilcox. Wilcox will be the player that would be instantly expected to take a leading role at Washington. 

Despite missing some play last season due to injury, as a sophomore Wilcox averaged 14.2 points per game, with 43.7 field goal, 40.3 three-point and 83.9 free throw percentages. In comparison Ross and Wroten averaged around 16 points per game last season. It was also Wilcox that made the game tying shot that took the Huskies into overtime in their Minnesota NIT match. 

Aside from familiar faces, there will also be a few less familiar names including Andrew Andrews, a player that redshirted for the Huskies last season. Andrews appears to be the heir apparent for Wroten’s position. 

Seattle Times Huskies basketball blogger Percy Allen recently interviewed Romar, asking what each player needs to work on during the off-season. In true Romar fashion, the coach told it how he sees it with all of his players. With Andrews it was clear that the coach has full confidence in his abilities:

(Romar on Andrew Andrews) "Just time on the floor. Andrew shoots the ball well. He's strong. He handles it well. He has an edge about him. I think Andrew is going to do fine."

(Allen: “What type of game do you think you'll see from him next year? He's started virtually every game his UW career.”) "I think people will be pleased with Abdul Gaddy. He had a great spring. You can just see when someone just totally understands what's going on around here. Totally understands. Totally gets it. He's had Isaiah (Thomas) and Tony Wroten with him. Andrew Andrews is a very good point guard and ball handler, but I just feel Abdul will feel maybe he's just more of an older statesman and will be a lot more comfortable."

As a high school player at Oregon’s Benson Tech, Andrews was named the 5A State Co-player of the year and scored 41 points to help Benson Tech win (79-73) the 5A state title game. Needless to say big things should be expected from Andrews this coming season. 

The Huskies have been ranking around the top third or so in the preseason Pac-12 rankings, with the Seattle Times Bud Withers ranking them No. 4 behind UCLA at No. 1, Arizona at No. 2 and Stanford at No. 3.

UCLA and Arizona are projected to be the dominate leaders in the Pac-12 next season, and with their 2012 recruiting bringing in several of the top prospects in the nation it is easy to see why. Although both the Bruins and the Wildcats had solid classes last year, which for various reasons couldn't pull it together. It seems less likely to repeat itself this coming season, and as the reining regular season Pac-12 Conference champions, the Huskies will certainly have their work cut of for them.  

Jabari Parker has the talent to play basketball anywhere in the country, but if he wants the best situation for himself, he'll choose the University of Washington.

The hands-down No. 1 prospect (ESPN, Rivals and Scout all have him at the top) in the 2013 class isn't your normal top prospect. 

Not in terms of talent, which he has oodles of, but in terms of personality. Parker has been dubbed as the "best high school basketball player since LeBron James" by Sports Illustrated, but unlike most young players with his type of talent, he doesn't want the spotlight.

Just watch this video for proof.

Parker has a rare combination of skill and humility. He's unique, and he's a joy to listen to.

Let's take a further look at why this unique young talent should take his talents to Seattle. 

Family Ties

Arguably more than anything else, family is important to Jabari Parker.

Take, for example, his relationship with his brother Christian (via sistasinzion.com):

"Christian [and] Jabari Parker are brothers from the South Side of Chicago who have been inseparable since their brotherhood came to be."

And where is Christian now? At the University of Washington, where he works as a manager for the Husky basketball team.

If Jabari wants to be close to his "inseparable" brother, he won't get much closer than being on the same team. 

Additionally, Parker's father Sonny played in the NBA with Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar. It has been said that Sonny doesn't fly, and that would mean Jabari would stay close to home, but Sonny denied that rumor.

Illinois will keep Jabari close to home, but he has a healthy dose of family ties at Washington.

Stay out of the Limelight

Washington is a big school, sure, but it's not as big as Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina or top programs like that.

That's a good thing for Parker, who doesn't enjoy all of the attention he gets (via ESPN):

"He doesn't like a lot of attention. He's managing. With all the interviews, they want to do a book, they want to do a movie, they want to do a documentary, those things. He says, 'Dad, why do they have to follow me to school and church and home and everything?' He's trying to get used to that."

Parker, who became the first high school athlete since LeBron James and Bryce Harper to make the cover of Sports Illustrated, will never get out of the spotlight. But if he goes to a big-time national program, he really won't get out of it. 

Instead, Parker would be smart to go to the West Coast and join the Pac-12, a conference that has been receiving less and less attention lately. 

The slew of top recruits heading westward in 2012 may change that, but the Pac-12 is still a better route to avoid attention than the SEC or ACC would be. 

And if you think going to Washington means a drop-off in talent and drop-off in help, forget about it. The Huskies have already added Nigel Williams-Goss for 2013 and have top prospects such as Jabari Bird, Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine on the radar.

Washington is a school that, with Parker, will contend for a national championship but do so as quietly as possible. 

The uber-talented Parker is a unique player because he has an old-school approach to the game and because he doesn't want fame. 

Because he is so unique, the No. 1 recruit must choose a unique school. Washington, a school that isn't usually in contention for No. 1 players, would be that unique school.

Follow @t_keen.

With the loss of Terrance Ross and Tony Wroten to the NBA draft, most experts are predicting a severe drop-off for Lorenzo Romar's Washington Huskies basketball team in 2012-13. They are wrong.

While the loss of Terrance Ross is huge and his talent will be hard to replace, he was not a tremendous floor leader. Ross had a propensity to disappear and did not make others accountable for their play.

As for Wroten...Tony Wroten was a distraction. He was a player with loads of talent but no substance. His addition to Huskies roster did nothing to improve them as a team. In fact, team chemistry was absolutely ruined after he came on board. He was a selfish player with a penchant for dramatic overindulgence. Consequently, the 2011-12 Huskies had 121 fewer assists than the 2010-11 Huskies. They finished the season ranked 136th in the nation in that category.

Tony Wroten's jump to the NBA should be met with resounding joy.

The vacancy created by the departure of Wroten will allow Abdul Gaddy to finally realize his potential. Gaddy will be entering his senior year and, for the first time in his UW career, he won't be the understudy. If Gaddy can live up to that potential the Huskies will see a marked increase in assists.

Entering his senior year alongside Gaddy, Aziz N'Diaye should become a more dominant presence in the paint. His steady improvement over the last three years should begin to bear fruit in 2012-13 and the Huskies will harvest that in the form of a greater ability to score on the low block.

This will open up the floor for the rest of the team and create more scoring opportunities for players like C.J. Wilcox.

Wilcox will be the linchpin for this offense. His understanding of his role and his ability to improve will be of paramount importance. The off season will be extremely important for C.J., as it will give him time to improve his health and work on his consistency. 

Defensively, the Huskies will be tremendously improved, as both Ross and Wroten were notoriously poor defenders. Look for Andrew Andrews to be a presence on defense. After having to undergo offseason surgery in 2011, Andrew red-shirted last year. Once his rehabilitation was complete he was able to practice with the team, during which time he earned the reputation as a fearless defender.

Add to the mix the rebounding prowess of Desmond Simmons, as well as an older Shawn Kemp Jr. and the Huskies should be able to greatly cut the number of points allowed per game.

Lastly, with the addition of Mark McLaughlin the Huskies have a replacement for the points lost with the defection of Ross. McLaughlin led the nation in scoring at the Junior College level and has the range to score from anywhere on the floor. At 6'6" and only 195 lbs, he needs to add some bulk and develop his strength, but in the meantime his stroke will be a key to the Huskies offense in 2012-13.

While there are other pieces needed to complete this puzzle. The current roster for the Huskies will see a marked improvement in team chemistry, as well as a return to the fundamentals. This will translate into UW returning to the NCAA Tournament and possibly the Sweet 16.

The Washington Huskies men’s basketball team's top two scorers, Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross, will be entering the 2012 NBA draft.

This brings up the question of how this will play out for this year’s regular season Pac-12 championship team.

Sophomore Terrence Ross led the Huskies this year with 16.4 points per game, closely followed by freshman Tony Wroten with 16 points per game. Both are predicted to go in the first round of the NBA draft on June 28. 

Playing an average of 30.3 minutes per game Tony Wroten’s shooting percentages suggest his youth. While one of the Huskies' top scorers, and clearly talented, Wroten had an unimpressive 16.1 three-point percentage, 48.3 two-point percentage and 58.3 free throw percentage this season.   

Tony Wroten had a career high 29-point game in the Huskies’ 86-84 loss to Oregon State in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament this year. Wroten missed four free throw attempts in the final 18 seconds of that game. Wroten struggled in the NIT scoring only nine points in the Huskies' semifinals loss. 

Prior to the 2012 NIT semifinals game Terrence Ross averaged an NIT tournament-high 26.3 points. Ross scored 21 points in the one-point overtime NIT loss to Minnesota. 

Playing an average of 31.1 minutes per game Terrance Ross made 77.4 percent of his free throws, 37.1 percent three-point shots and 51.8 two-point shots this season.

With these two players gone, the Huskies may have to rely on sophomore C.J. Wilcox to lead the team. Despite missing some play due to injuries this season, Wilcox averaged 14.2 points per game. 

Wilcox had a 43.7 field-goal percentage, 40.3 three-point percentage, and 83.9 free throw percentage this season. Taking advantage of a Minnesota turnover Wilcox made the game tying shot that took the Huskies into overtime in the NIT semifinals.    

In addition to Tony Wroten, there were eight other freshmen on the Huskies' squad this season, so it was a young team. 

Other than Wilcox, the Huskies will have Scott Suggs (Suggs redshirted his senior season this year) and Abdul Gaddy for the guard position next season. Washington will also have freshman Andrew Andrews (Andrews redshirted this year). Coach Lorenzo Romar compares Andrews to Wroten in his ability to create shots. Freshman Jernard Jarreau (Jarreau redshirted this season) is a player you will likely hear mentioned a lot more next season.  

With Tony Wroten, Terrence Ross and graduating Darnell Grant all leaving, that opens up three scholarship positions at Washington. 

On the recruiting front, the Huskies have so far only landed a commit from Tacoma Community College guard Mark McLaughlin. McLaughlin has an interesting past involving previous commitments to Washington State, Nevada, Baylor and Seattle University over the past few years.  

Washington is on the list of five schools being considered by ESPN's No. 7-ranked Anthony Bennett. Bennett is also considering Oregon, UNLV, Kentucky and Florida. He recently told Oregon Live that he plans to visit all five and make his decision by May.

Adam Zagoria listed Washington as a potential school for Connecticut’s Alex Oriakhi to transfer to after Oriakhi received clearance to transfer from Connecticut. Whether Washington is even a school Oriakhi is considering has yet to be confirmed. Oriakhi's father did not mention Washington in a recent list of schools he said his son was considering.

Terrence Ross and Tony Wroten entering the NBA draft this season was to be expected. Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar has been trying to recruit some top players to replace his top two scorers all season, however at this point, it is uncertain how much his recruiting efforts will payoff.   

After ending the season as regular season Pac-12 champions and failing to get an NCAA tournament bid, the Huskies will be determined to get into the Big Dance next year. Whether they’ll be able to land some top recruits or if current Washington players will be able to fill Ross' and Wroten’s shoes remains to be seen. 

You can read more about Tony Wroten’s decision to enter the 2012 NBA Draft in detail by clicking here.  

To listen to Coach Lorenzo Romar's interview with KJR where he discusses Wroten's and Ross' decision to enter the 2012 NBA Draft click here.

You can call the NIT tournament a lot of mean names.

The Consolation Tournament. Not the NCAA Tournament. The Not-Interesting Tournament.

The NIT tournament is generally regarded as "that tournament with all of those teams who weren't good enough for March Madness."

But I'm here to set the record straight.

Yes, the overall level of competition isn't nearly the same as the NCAA tournament.

I get that.

There are no Anthony Davises, Michael Kidd-Gilchrists, Thomas Robinsons or Jared Sullingers.

You don't generally have coaches with NCAA tournament records of over .700 participating in the NIT tournament.

But if you take the NIT tournament for what it is, you'd be surprised at the treasures you will find (note: I do not benefit in any way if more people decide to watch the NIT tournament. I am not part of some NIT tournament conspiracy).

So, here's my take on the tournament no one watches when they're watching that other tournament.

First of all, there are future pros in the NIT tournament.

Don't believe me? Watch the Washington Huskies.

They sport point guard Tony Wroten and guard/forward Terrence Ross, two potential first-round picks in the 2012 NBA draft. Ross has averaged 26.3 points on 51 percent shooting in three NIT games.

You also have teams gunning for the NCAA tournament next season.

You may call me crazy for saying this, given UMass hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 1998, but, well, UMass is poised to return to the NCAA tournament next season.

The Minutemen have a leader in point guard Chaz Williams, not to mention a nice starting five that includes underclassmen Raphiael Putney and Jesse Morgan, as well as junior Terrell Vinson.

You add in a bench that includes freshman Maxie Esho and sophomore Javorn Farrell and you have a team that appears to be growing before our very eyes.

Did I mention the Minutemen erased a 17-point second-half deficit and came back to win against ultimate NCAA tournament snub Drexel in the quarterfinals?

Call the NIT tournament all the dirty names you want, but, when all is said and done, you are missing out on a whole lot.

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about the NIT tournament.

The Washington Huskies became the first team in college basketball to not ride a major regular-season conference championship to a NCAA tournament bid. The Huskies are determined to prove they deserved that berth this week in Madison Square Garden.

The Huskies will head into Tuesday’s NIT contest against the Minnesota Golden Gophers looking to get their first neutral site win of the season. The Huskies have posted a 0-3 mark so far in such games, but this will be a different scenario all together for the Huskies.

Washington felt pushed to the side and disrespected by the lack of a tournament bid this season. Head coach Lorenzo Romar attempted to make a case for his team after its one-and-done Pac-12 tournament appearance by saying, “I would think the Pac-12 champions would be able to find a place in the NCAA tournament.”

He was wrong.

The tournament selection committee went another direction when selecting the tournament bids, leaving the Huskies the chance to prove their worth to the college basketball world in the NIT.

Despite the lack of a tournament bid, the Huskies have taken to the court for the NIT and owned the tournament field. Their closest contest was against Oregon, when they won the game, 90-86.

The Huskies will head into the Final Four at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night facing a Minnesota team that lost a lot of steam early in the season with the injury of star player Trevor Mbakwe, but played strong despite the loss.

This is the Huskies' chance to prove the world that they were worthy of a tournament bid. Not only are they 0-3 on the season at neutral sites, but when they hit crunch time in the Pac-12 tournament, they folded.

The Huskies can’t be in denial that a poor conference tournament showing likely pushed them over the edge in the tournament selection process, so finding a way to win the next two games is a must for this Washington squad to prove its worth.

The selection committee chose wisely as this tournament has been full of March Madness, but could the Huskies have added to the pageantry? They think so, and they will prove it when they hit the court of Madison Square Garden this week.

While most of the talk has been about the NCAA Tournament's Final Four in New Orleans, there is another Final Four that has taken shape in college basketball. That, of course, is the NIT's Final Four, which will commence at New York's famed Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

The big matchup to watch will pit the No. 1-seeded Washington Huskies against the upstart No. 6-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers. Many felt that the Huskies were snubbed in terms of making the Big Dance, and those people seem to have had a point as Washington has been dominant in its run through the NIT.

Here are three star players who will help the Huskies plow through the Golden Gophers en route to the NIT final against either Stanford or Massachusetts.

C.J. Wilcox

When it comes to Washington it's all about guard play, and one of the many spark plugs in the backcourt for the Huskies is sophomore C.J. Wilcox.

On a team with plenty of interchangeable parts, Wilcox is an incredibly important player. Not only is he third on the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game, but he pitches in 3.4 rebounds and one steal per contest as well. The biggest attribute that Wilcox brings to the table, though, is his shooting.

Wilcox has been the Huskies' best three-point marksman this season as he leads the team in makes from long range with 72, as well as three-point percentage at 41 percent. Also, he is the leading free-throw shooter by a wide margin at nearly 85 percent.

If this game comes down to the wire, then Wilcox will have to come up huge as he will be the guy who is counted upon to be clutch at the charity stripe late in the contest.

Terrence Ross

The Huskies have several players who do a lot of things well, but none is more versatile than guard Terrence Ross. The 6'6" sophomore is supremely athletic and that allows him to excel at nearly every aspect of the game.

Ross leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game and he also hits the glass hard with 6.4 rebounds per contest as well. Not only is he capable of playing around the tin, but Ross is more than capable of dominating the perimeter both offensively and defensively.

Ross is second on the team in three-point shooting with 69 trifectas and he is a pain on defense as his active hands net him 1.2 steals per game. Ross can truly do it all on the basketball court and is perhaps the main reason why Washington can get away with playing four guards.

If not for Ross' ability to rebound on defend, the Huskies wouldn't be as successful as they are this season.

Tony Wroten

It's no easy task for a freshman to step right in and dominate the Pac-12, but that is precisely what guard Tony Wroten did this season. Wroten most definitely isn't a great shooter, but his size and tenacity make him an extremely difficult player to deal with.

With averages of 16.2 points, five rebounds, 3.8 assists and nearly two steals per game, Wroten is the engine that makes the Huskies go. Because of that, he will need to come up huge on Tuesday night.

There is no question that Wroten has some deficiencies in his game as he shoots a mere 16 percent from downtown and turns the ball over four times per game, but the positives far outweigh the negatives when it comes to his contributions.

Wroten's ability to get into the paint not only creates scoring chances for himself, but it opens things up for his teammates as well, and that will be paramount against Minnesota.