Lorenzo Romar says Huskies have ‘become a team that we can count on’
Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar met with reporters today to preview UW’s Wednesday game at Utah (6 p.m., ESPNU). He also discussed several other matters, including UW’s defense, Markelle Fultz’s trip to watch the Huskies game against Arizona, and UW’s attitude after losses.
(What do you remember from the first game against Utah?) “I remember we started out the game really well, I thought we played with a lot of energy. I think we’re long, but they’re long, also, and I thought not unlike last game (against Arizona), the offensive boards, they did a good job there. Poeltl hurt us in the second half and especially in the overtime when we played against them last time. They kind of just continued to stay the course in how they were playing. We would go up, we would make a run, and they remained steady and they were able to pull out the victory.”
(On reviewing Arizona film and what stood out about how Ryan Anderson got so many offensive rebounds) “You know, Andrew Andrews pulled down a rebound against Washington State there, where he just willed his way to get it. When we played Utah last time, there was a play where Matisse Thybulle was on the wing, almost had the ball, didn’t quite have it, and just willed his way. Might have even grabbed the guy’s jersey a little bit, and just went after the ball and got it, led to a dunk. That’s kind of what happened down the stretch. They just kind of willed their way to some rebounds and were able to get the ball. Like I said after the game, they ended up with a lot of offensive rebounds, but one guy had eight of them. He just was determined to go get that basketball.”
(Is there a way to counter that will?) “He didn’t do it as much last time. Ryan Anderson I think is one of the best offensive rebounders in the league. We have to have the same will.”
(On what makes this road trip to Utah and Colorado so difficult) “Because they’re two good teams, for starters, and combined I don’t know if they’ve lost more than two or three games at home this year. That, in itself, makes it a challenge.”
(On if the altitude has an impact) “Shhhhh. Not my opinion – I did play once (upon) a time – I played in that altitude, and the first time we played there, guys were making mention at the end of the game that it was just too much. ‘The altitude got to me.’ When I experienced it, it got to you at first. At first, you feel like your lungs are burning. You feel like, wait a minute, am I out of shape all of a sudden? Did I not get enough rest? But after a few times down the floor, you’re OK. I always feel like that’s a mental thing that as much as you want to talk about it and let it get to you, it can get to you. That’s how I feel. It is a factor if you allow it to be a factor.”
(On what makes Jakob Poeltl harder to guard this year) “He’s so much more active this year. Last year, Delon Wright did quite a bit of their scoring and he kind of played off of him. but he also was in foul trouble a lot last year. There were a lot of times he wasn’t in the game. This year, he’s so much more active. He’s so much more mobile. He can actually put the ball on the floor and go to the rim. And he probably had this in him, but he’s using it much more – the pass. They scored six points off of us last time just because he passed the ball. You step up, he passes it right away. If you double him, if you’re not totally organized, he’s going to find the open guy, and they shoot the ball so well, it hurts you.”
(On what UW can change from how it defended Poeltl in the first game, when he scored 29 points) “When you look at his points – I think he had (29) – four of them were off of us missing assignments on out of bounds plays. He had four free throws. There were three switches that we didn’t execute, he scored off those, so there were 10 points just off of our lack of switching. He scored four points in transition, where he got ahead of the pack once on us, and another time we kind of lost him in transition. He scored that way. He scored I believe six points off of them running good offense and getting him the basketball. They practice too. He scored that. So there’s 20 right there. he scored in a lot of different ways. There wasn’t just one way he just got us. And that’s a credit to him as a basketball player.”
(On defensive breakdowns possibly creating mismatches against bigs) “It’s like anything else. If we played a pack defense where we didn’t pressure at all, if there were breakdowns in that pack defense, you have flaws within your execution, maybe not in the defense itself. But if the defense is executed properly, it serves you a lot better. We’ve gotten better at it, but there are times when we simply have breakdowns. If we were playing zone, if we were playing regular man to man, whatever it is, if you have breakdowns in anything that you run, it can look like you’re not being effective. Our breakdowns, I think, are diminishing, though. I thought in the Arizona game we played maybe as good of defense as we’ve played. There were a lot of positives. But Arizona’s a good team. Ryan Anderson’s a good player. But I don’t think it had a whole lot to do with the switches. In fact, there were many, many times – I think people see the times when they get by and score, but if you added them all up, that’s not what beat us.”
(On using zome zone defense and whether they’re more comfortable doing that now) “We did do that. If you saw that, you’ve got good eyes, because we played several zone possessions. In fact, one of them bit us. It was a big one. It was near the end of the first half, and we were supposed to be in zone, and kind of guys forgot, and (Gabe) York got wide-open for a 3. That was because we were supposed to be in zone and one guy thought we were in a different defense. But for the most part, when we did go zone, we either forced a turnover or they didn’t take a good shot. So, yeah, as this team begins to grasp things, as now we only have seven regular-season games left, maybe we can add some more things here. With this group, I talked about the balance of moving on, and being patient, and you start doing too many things, you become a jack of all trades and master of none. We don’t want to be that team. So we’re still trying to get this defense together. I thought we made great strides the last couple of games.”
(On being excited to see how the team handles the high stkes of the upcoming week) “Each day is a new day. Presents a different challenge. But I think the stakes were pretty high against Arizona. I think the stakes were really high, and I thought our guys did a tremendous job. We left probably 10 points out there on the floor with maybe shots that were too quick or turning the ball over when we had opportunities to score. We left those out there. Some defensive situations where we had them stopped, the shot clock runs down and we foul at the end of the shot clock, give them new life. But I thought our guys did a really good job. And I say that to say that the stakes were high then, and I thought – we didn’t win the game – but I thought we approached it the right way. There’s not a reason for me to think that we’re going to take a step back in that regard. I’m not telling you we’re going to go undefeated, but I feel like this team now has become a team that we can count on. That’s how I feel about it.”
(Has there been a low point this season where you were concerned about how the team might respond?) “Maybe after the Bahamas, when we had lost two in a row there. but I think we responded the next game. We played Charlotte in the final game there. but guys were down. After we lost two in a row, guys were really down. And we had to make a quick turnaround the next day. But I thought our guys responded well. Throughout the course of the year, there are highs and lows, and you have to console guys, keep guys going, rally guys up. But this group has been special that way. We haven’t been down for very long.”
(What did you see that made you think that way, that maybe you haven’t seen since?) “Well, it’s like we told our team in the beginning. When you first start practicing, everybody’s going to conquer the world. Man, we’re a great team. Rah-rah, team. But then when you don’t get as many shots as you thought you were going to get, you don’t get as much playing time as you thought you were going to get – on top of that, you lose a game or two, and you thought you could have helped the team – that’s when teams can start to possibly lose that chemistry a little bit. But we didn’t see that. We didn’t see that with our group.”
(On Noah Dickerson’s absence impacting the game) “I thought it played a huge part. I heard some comments that Sean Miller made about Allonzo Trier, that even though he didn’t score a lot, his presence might have made the difference in the game. With Noah, you talk about the physicality, he might be our most physical post man. He probably is, out of the guys who are playing. Not only that, I think he scored in double-digits against Arizona the first time. So to not have him in there took away a little bit from the team that we could be. But you’ve got to find a way.”
(On if his foot injury is bothering him to the point where it’s hard for him to stay in front of guys) “I don’t know if that’s the case. Just a bad day at the office in terms of being able to stay on the floor.”
(On the freshmen handling the cumulative effect of the Pac-12 schedule) “So far, so good. If the practices were still two and a half hours like earlier in the year, it might be a little more difficult. But as you move on, you want fresh legs, and practice times have been cut down considerably. So we try to not only keep their legs fresh, but their minds fresh, also, and their minds seem to be pretty fresh.”
(On if UW’s foul trouble has led to other guys getting more experience) “I don’t know. I don’t know if that benefit outweighs if the guys were really in there. there’s no question we missed Noah. And then all the games that Marquese has fouled out – we are a different team with Marquese in the game, there’s no question about it. He rebounds, he scores, he can stretch the defense, he can guard all five players on the floor. He’s very unique in that regard. He blocks shots, he protects the rim. But he’s been in foul trouble, and the benefit of somebody playing extra minutes I don’t think outweighs having Marquese Chriss in the game.”
(On if he thinks Pac-12 games are being officiated the same) “Pretty similar. The officials are doing what they’re asked to do. … Sometimes the check of the monitor, I wish there was a way to be able to check it quicker. It seems like when I’m watching a game on television and they play the replay, ‘oh, yeah, he fouled him.’ That’s it. Five seconds. I’m not an official, though.”
(On signee Markelle Fultz flying to Seattle for the Arizona game) “He had been dying to come see a game. The beauty of Markelle Fultz is, with all the recognition, all the accolades he’s received, he is so bought into Washington basketball. He’s so bought into it. I think he just prodded and prodded and finally, ‘I’ve got to get out there.’ He wanted to come out here for this game, so he did it. And that’s during his season. But he wanted to come out. He says he didn’t want to leave when he was here. It was a good game for him to come to. I wish we could have won it.”
(On if there seems to be more excitement about Fultz than some other high-profile recruits) “Remember, there’s a mystique about him, because he’s not from here. No one’s seen him play up close, unless you were down at Les Schwab watching him play. So you hear a lot about what he’s doing. You hear the highlights and you just wonder, man, we want to see him play. There are guys here that – Dejounte Murray, there was a lot of excitement about him. I remember Tony Wroten, when he was going to come here. Spencer Hawes, Jon Brockman. A lot of excitement, but you were able to get some sneak peeks in high school while they were here. Not with Markelle. So I guess the mystique grows more and more. But I think he walked up, as soon as he walked up, somebody recognized him – the students, the Dawg Pack were out there – they started chanting his name, and he thought that was pretty cool.”
(On Utah’s playing style) “They play a methodical, percentage-type game. They’re going to change defenses to try to keep you off balance a little bit, but they’re not going to get out and pressure you a whole lot. They’re going to make you shoot hopefully low-percentage shots over a hand. Offensively, they’re going to try to dictate the tempo and control the tempo, try to play inside-out. They’ve got Poeltl in there with a plethora of shooters around him. And then guys like (Kyle) Kuzma and (Chris) Reyes and Brekkot (Chapman), those guys, they can burn you. I watched them play against Oregon and Kuzma started out the game, he looked great. So they have a nice mix of what they’re trying to do. And those guys stick to what they’re trying to do with their philosophy and their system.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Lorenzo Romar says Huskies have ‘become a team that we can count on’."