His first season ended with a tearful wait for a National Invitational Tournament call that never came. His second ended with a one-and-done stumble in the College Basketball Invitational. His third ended in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
And Pondexter’s college career ended Thursday as the Huskies fell to West Virginia, 69-56, in the NCAA round of 16.
“I think last year was a big step up from the (first) two years,” he said. “And this year was remarkable how we played down the stretch. The grading for each of my four years has been different. I wish they could have all ended up with championships, but that’s not how it played out.”
Still, Pondexter was part of two championships: the Pacific-10 Conference regular-season title in 2009 and the Pac-10 tournament title this season.
He said the latter helped make his senior season the highlight, in part because of his leadership role on a team that hung together and rebounded from a disappointing middle stretch.
But that late surge also made the ending harder.
“At the end of the day, we feel like we could have done better,” he said. “We could have gone a little bit further. That’s going to stick with us. I know it’s going to stick with me for the rest of my life.”
Pondexter concluded his UW career with 1,786 points, third on the school’s career list. He appeared in 136 games, more than any previous Huskies player.
He scored 695 points this season, combining with Isaiah Thomas (593) for 1,288 points – making them the highest-scoring duo in UW history.
“It was great ride for him,” coach Lorenzo Romar said. “I’m so proud of him, how he finished up his college career. He went down when it was all said and done as one of the greatest Huskies ever to put on a uniform.”
Fastbreaks
Washington is 17-16 all-time in its NCAA tournament appearances, and 7-5 under Romar. … With 13 points in the season’s final game, Thomas moved to 1,134 points in his first two seasons, the most ever for a Husky at this stage. … Matthew Bryan-Amaning had five blocked shots Thursday, giving him 141 in his career, third on the school list. … Venoy Overton had two steals against the Mountaineers. That gives him 141 in his three seasons, passing Nate Robinson for fourth on the UW list. … This was Washington’s 36th game, equaling the 1938 team for the most in a single season. … Justin Holiday had five 3-point field goals in the regular season. He added five more in the three tournament games. … Thomas fouled out for the first time this season. … The Huskies’ 56 points were their second fewest of the season. … Several NBA players with Washington connections were in attendance: former Huskies Jon Brockman, Spencer Hawes (both Sacramento Kings) and Robinson (Celtics), in addition to Holiday’s brother Jrue (Nets.)
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808
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