Eastern faces big game
SEATTLE – It’s not a home game but a handful of Eagles are flying home.
The Eastern Washington men’s basketball team faces Washington tonight (5 p.m. Fox Sports Net) at Bank of America Arena Pavilion, which is close to home for four players.
The 16th ranked Huskies will be a difficult challenge for the Eagles (2-2). UW, averaging 88.5 points a game, is off to a 4-0 start, including an 83-74 win over another Big Sky Conference team, Sacramento State, on Sunday.
“The University of Washington is, without question, the best team we will face this year,” Eagle coach Mike Burns said. “They have two McDonald’s All-Americans filling their four and five spots, and I’m not talking about guys that were nominated to the team. These are guys that actually played in the game. There are not a whole lot of teams in the country that have two players of that caliber in the frontcourt.”
That would be 6-foot-8 sophomore Jon Brockman and 7-foot freshman Spencer Hawes. Brockman is averaging 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds; Hawes 11.5 and 4.3 with 13 blocked shots.
“Then you look at their backcourt,” Burns continued. “Justin Dentmon is one of the premier players in the Pac-10 and Quincy Pondexter is putting up some phenomenal numbers that are making him an early candidate for Freshman of the Year in that conference. They are very, very talented and it’s going to be a challenge, but we are looking forward to the opportunity to play them.”
Pondexter leads the team in scoring at 15.8 and Dentmon, a point guard, averages 11.5.
In four games, four different players have led the Huskies in scoring, Brockman (25), senior guard Brandon Burmeister (17), Dentmon (17) and Pondexter (22).
It’s just the opposite for Eastern – the leading scorer for 31 straight games has been sophomore guard Rodney Stuckey.
“Rodney Stuckey, if he remains healthy, will play in the NBA,” Lorenzo Romar, the Husky coach and a former NBA player, said in his Tuesday press conference. “He’s got great size, he’s got great strength, he can handle the ball, he can pass the ball. He’s got a very, very good knack and very good instincts for the offensive side of the game. And with his athleticism and strength, I don’t know why he couldn’t be a stellar defender. He pretty much has the entire package.”
In UW’s 91-74 win last year, the 6-5 Stuckey had 17 points when a pair of NBA-bound seniors, Brandon Roy (6-6, Portland) and Bobby Jones (6-7, Philadelphia), handled the defense for the Huskies.
“It will be a committee type of situation,” Romar said. “It won’t be one particular person asked to shut him down by themselves.”
Stuckey is averaging 25.5 points but he is getting help. Omar Krayem averages 13.7, Paul Butorac 10.3 and six other players are scoring more than six points a game.
Stuckey is from Kent, Kellen Williams (7.7) is from Seattle, Marcus Hinton (8.8) is from Tacoma, and Brandon Moore (9.7) is from Graham.
“I don’t think we have to play a perfect game,” Burns said. “We need to be able to move the ball offensively without turning it over and we have to make some shots. The most difficult thing about playing Washington is that they are so good at forcing turnovers and disrupting the opposing team’s game plan. If we take care of the ball, it will give us a chance to win.”
Eastern is 1-10 against ranked teams, the lone win coming over No. 10 St. Joseph’s five years ago. The Eagles have lost three straight to the Huskies since a 62-58 win in 2002 and trail the series 7-1. UW has won 10 straight home games and 43 of the last 45.
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