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Sure, there have been games in which he’s scored more points, and dished out more assists, but there has yet to be a game in which Wroten meant more to the Huskies than Thursday’s 60-54 win over Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena.
Wroten scored 22 points, pulled down six rebounds, dished out three assists, picked up two steals and added a block to lead Washington (13-7 overall, 6-2 Pacific-12 Conference) to its second road win of the season.
Perhaps more impressive, Wroten was 9-for-12 shooting. And not one of those attempts was more than five feet from the basket.
“I’d be willing to wager you’ve not seen what just happened,” coach Lorenzo Romar said about Wroten’s game. “Against a team that plays not just a regular zone, but really good zone for 40 minutes. I don’t think he took one outside shot and scored 22 points. That’s pretty impressive to be able to do that.”
On a night when Terrence Ross couldn’t find his jump shot and C.J. Wilcox looked rusty from three weeks off, Wroten embraced the grind-it-out, possession-by-possession game that the Sun Devils play and made it his own.
After Darnell Gant was fouled on a 3-point attempt and converted all three free throws to give the Huskies a 27-25 lead a few minutes into the second half, Wroten took over. He followed a missed shot with a putback dunk and scored on back-to-back drives. It spurred a 12-2 run that put the Huskies in control, 39-27, with just over 13 minutes left to play.
But ASU (6-14, 2-6) would not go away. Jonathan Gilling buried one of his five 3-pointers to spur a mini-run that cut the Sun Devils’ deficit to four points.
But Wroten crushed that momentum in one mind-spinning, jaw-dropping burst of athleticism and power.
He took a pass from Ross at the top of the key and, in an instant, was slashing through the lane. Instead of slowing up or diving to the left side of the rim to shoot a layup, Wroten elevated and threw down a vicious one-handed dunk over Gilling.
“He didn’t try to do it any other time,” Romar said. “He saw it that one time and seized the opportunity.”
Wroten’s knees were at Gilling’s chest and the two tumbled to the floor with referees calling a blocking foul on Gilling.
“Man, that might have been the best dunk I’ve ever had,” Wroten said. “I wasn’t even expecting it to happen. I haven’t gotten a single highlight dunk this year. It was good to get it on the road. Hopefully, it makes it on ESPN’s Top 10.”
It was certainly a highlight reel-type dunk. And if it doesn’t make it onto SportsCenter, the folks in Bristol, Conn., will have an angry power forward/tight end to deal with.
“That was some big-time stuff,” said Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who scored his first collegiate bucket off a Wroten pass in the first half. “If I don’t see it on Top 10 of ESPN, then I’m going to call ESPN and make sure it is.”
Beyond the highlight shows and the fame it will garner on YouTube. The play crushed the Sun Devils’ momentum.
“They were coming back, and we were only up (four), and I think it was momentum breaker for them,” Wroten said. “Plus, I made the free throw.”
ASU made one last push as Gilling hit yet another 3-pointer to cut it to 50-46. But Wroten did it again, this time in less dramatic fashion.
Wroten missed a short shot in the lane, and Seferian-Jenkins was able to get his hand on the ball and keep it alive. Wroten somehow found the ball in the scrum, picked it up and made a shot while getting fouled.
“I don’t know what happened,” Wroten said. “I shot it and the ball just disappeared and I seen it right there. I picked it up and got the and-one.”
Wroten also made that free throw, essentially ending the game. Washington was 6-for-6 on free throws in the final 1:30 to close it out.
It was anything but easy, but Romar expected as much.
“I could care less what the score is,” Romar said. “I’m looking at improvement every time down the floor. That’s just how Arizona State plays. Every time we play here that’s how the game goes. Earlier in the year, I don’t think we win our last two road games.”
Earlier in the year, Wroten probably doesn’t show the level of maturity against the Sun Devils defense that is designed to swallow up dribble penetration and force teams to settle for jump shots.
“He’s much more selective now after 20 games under his belt than he was earlier in the year,” Romar said. “Earlier in the year, he would have tried to crash through that zone and may have turned it over or forced shots. He has really matured a lot and picks his spots.”
Wroten acknowledged his game has grown.
“It’s just being more patient,” he said. “I’m maturing. I know every Pac-12 game is going to be harder. I have to let the game come to me. Don’t force anything and be patient.”
Ross was the only other Huskies player in double figures, with 12 points. Gilling finished with 20 points for Arizona State.
Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483 ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
