Super Bowl Update

By  Kshell

The Washington Huskies recruiting class was looking like a disaster with 48 hours to go until the official signing day begins. Now Steve Sarkisian is looking like the man as his staff is closing the deal on some big time recruits. Sarkisian isn't a dumb individual was hearing the critism about his defense and recruiting. He made some changes on his staff to help out with both. The main hires were defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi who is regarded as the top recruiter on the west coast. Lupoi has lived up to his billing as the Huskies who were ranked 46th on scout.com just 27 hours ago are now ranked 19th in the country(were 9th in Pac-12 now 3rd) while the California Golden Bears who once had a top five recruiting class as of four days ago now sit at 42nd in the nation good for 9th in the conference.

In keeping up with last night the Huskies landed four-star Jordan Payton. Payton is the 15th rated wide receiver who like Shaq Thompson was a California Golden Bears commit at the Army All-American game. Like Thompson he followed Lupoi to Washington. Payton who played at Nick Montana's and Erik Kohler's old high school Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California is your prototypical Sarkisian receiver as he is 6'2" 205 pounds. Payton chose the Huskies over Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State and of course California. Payton really enjoyed his visit up to Seattle a few weeks ago during the basketball game against Stanford the student body even started to chant to his name. Huskies sophomore soon to be junior quarterback Keith Price showed him around. Having Price back for two more years and with Jermaine Kearse and Devin Aguilar graduating being a wide receiver in this offense was an easy sell for Sarkisian. Payton will try to crack into the rotation that will already feature Kasen Williams(5 star), James Johnson(3 star), Kevin Smith(4 star) and Cody Bruns(4 star). Not mention the Huskies also landed a four-star wide receiver later on in the day. With Payton the Huskies have a terrific receiver from a high school they are starting to develope a nice pipeline with.

Sarkisian followed up the signing of Payton with Shane Brostek. Brostek is a three star recruit and 71st offensive guard in the country. He is from Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kamuela, Hawaii. He is also the son of former Husky great Ber Brostek who also played in the NFL. Brostek is the fourth offensive lineman to commit to the Huskies this year. The Huskies beat out Colorado, UCLA, home state Hawaii and the Oregon Ducks for him. Brostek is a big body standing at 6'3" 300 pounds. He'll fit in with Jake Eldrenkamp of Bellevue High School. Eldrenkamp also a three star recruit is the 60th rated guard in the country. Eldrenkamp is 6'5" and weighs 295 pounds. He chose the Huskies over Yale, Brown, Utah, Purdue, Oregon State and cross state rival Washington State Cougars. Although Sarkisian missed on the two big in state offensive lineman he is doing a decent job of getting lineman in the program. The day wasn't over yet for Sarkisian who pulled off the hat trick of recruits a day before the big national signing day.

The final snag for Sarkisian was four-star wide receiver Jaydon Mickens who had originally committed to the USC Trojans. Mickens is the 46th rated wide receiver in the nation but stands only 5'9" 175 pounds. Mickens who is electric speed with the ball comes from Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, California. Mickens had offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Hawaii, SMU, UCLA and USC. For his hat announcment it was down to Washington, Washington State and Oklahoma State. He immediately faked putting on the Cougars hat then tossed it away before choosing the Huskies hat. For Keith Price his head coach just gained him two four-star wide receivers in the same day which has to make him happy. The Huskies will be loaded at the wide receiver spot in this upcoming season and beyond.

These last 24 hours has to feel special for Sarkisian as people including myself were doubting his recruiting ability. Now it appears Sarkisian will have his third straight ranked recruiting class something the Huskies haven't done since the early part of the 2000's which was also the last time they were a bowl team. The Huskies sitll have five scholarships left meaning Sarkisian still has some tricks up his sleeve to pull in some other big recruits who suddenly decommitt from a rival school. Last few years people have questioned Sarkisian's closing ability on recruits(This wasn't me actually try Dawgman and Jim Lambright) well I think he has proven that myth to be false. Whether it is actually Sarkisian or Lupoi doesn't matter. As head coach you receive the blame when things go wrong on your staff you also receive praise when things go right as well. For Sarkisian this was about as good of a 24 hour stretch any coach could have had in the offseason.

National Signing Day is tomorrow (Wed). These guys have all said they committed, and are expected to sign. Nothing is final until ink hits paper and paper gets faxed to school. So maybe they don't sign, but we will see.

Below this list, I'll list some guys that are potential signees for Troy.

HIGH SCHOOL
Brandon Silvers (QB, Gulf Shores, Ala.)
Brandon Burks (RB, Daleville, Ala.)
Andre Allen (RB, Panama City, Fla.)\
Bobby Walker (WR, Fruit Cove, Fla.)
Brandon Brooks (WR, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Michael Lindsey (WR, Elba, Ala.)
Antonio Garcia (OL, Riverdale, Ga.)
Luke Lawrence (OL, Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Tyler Lassiter (OL, Hazel Green, Ala.)
Garrett Peek (DE, Millbrook, Ala.)
Jamal Stadom (DE, Melbourne, Fla.)
James Mathis (DL, Valdosta, Ga.)
Terris Lewis (LB, Linden, Ala.)
Mitchell Roland (LB, Auburn, Ala.)
JaQuadrian Lewis (DB, Fitzgerald, Ga.)
John Knight (DB, Thomasville, Ala.)
Rishad Goode (DB, Madison, Ala.)
Montres Kitchens (DB/ATH, Burke County, Ga.)
JUNIOR COLLEGE
Braylon Williams (DE, Kilgore, Texas CC)
Derrek Upshaw (DL, Jones County, Miss. JC)
Xavier Melton (DT, Butler County, Kan. CC)
Zach Miller (DB, Butler County, Kan. CC)


SOME OTHERS WHO MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT SIGN WITH TROY

***Wide receiver Cody Core (Auburn High) has been committed for a long time. He visited Ole Miss last weekend and two Ole Miss recruiting sites list him as a commitment. Core's high school coach told the Opelika-Auburn News that he committed. However, Core hasn't been quoted at all. You'd think that if a guy was gung-ho about committing to an SEC school, it would be all over the place. So, I'm starting to wonder if he did actually commit there. We will find out tomorrow where he signs.

***Defensive back Chris Humes (Spain Park High School) was listed in the Birmingham News as an Arkansas commit, but visited Troy right after that. None of the recruiting sites that cover Arkansas list Humes as a commitment, and you figure they'd have their pulse to that situation. How committable of an offer does/did Humes have to Arkansas? Is Troy a possibility? Don't forget about this kid tomorrow.

***Jones County (Miss.) defensive end Anthony Wilson recently visited Troy. He hasn't posted on his twitter account yet where he's going for sure, although the three-star recruit signed with Southern Miss out of high school and is listed as a USM commit. However, USM changed coaching staffs in this offseason and Troy had an in with Wilson.

***Burke County (Ga.) defensive tackle Davante Lambert hasn't committed anywhere from where I've seen. He visited Troy two weeks ago and he had a pretty good high school career, but scout.com says he's likely headed to junior college after he recently visited Georgia. Not sure if he'll sign and place with Georgia, or if he'll do that with Troy, or if he could academically get into Troy.

***There may be a signee or two that I haven't written about. There is usually a surprise or two down the line, and sometimes a guy falls into Troy's lap. Remember how excited you were when four-star defensive end Antonio Harper signed with Troy in 2009? Sure, he ended up being a huge bust, but it's always good for fans when a high-star recruit surprisingly signs. Just keep that in mind, though I don't have any names.

***Rivals.com slapped a commitment label on cornerback Juan Neloms of Tallahassee, Fla., a 3-star. (Well, I didn't think he was signing with Troy, but he did)

I won't be at Troy until the 2:30 Signing Day press conference. The Dothan Eagle has a luncheon, where I'll try to get some quick interviews with Burks and Lindsey.

The @TroyAthletics feed will be releasing all of the signees first on its twitter feed, according to a release from the school. I won't retweet each one unless it's a new signee or a new name, but will update on the twitter and update on the blog as much as I can before heading off to the luncheon and then driving to Troy.

Also, it's almost 4 p.m., and stuff could still happen tonight that causes this post to be updated. Stay tuned.

When talking to defensive tackle commit Xavier Melton, he mentioned that his teammate, cornerback Zach Miller, is also committed to Troy. Miller is 5-foot-11, 178 pounds.

Miller later confirmed that for me.

He played at Butler County (Kan.) CC after signing from Byrnes, S.C., a perennial nationally-ranked team. Miller said he was going to sign with North Carolina out of high school, but his ACT score was too low. He should be in Troy this summer.

"The coaching staff's all really good people and the coaches up here were telling me that they were good coaches," Miller said. "I loved the tradition that they have and it's close to home. They're looking forward to me being on the field and told me to take care of the responsibilities that I can take care of."

Miller was named a first team All-American (and all-conference) after he intercepted a team-high eight passes and broke up eight passes. He had 52 tackles (44 solo), one sack, six tackles for loss, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble. The Grizzlies finished No. 2 in the NJCAA Rankings with an 11-1 record.

"I really liked the guys at Troy," Miller said. "They're a good group of guys and we bonded like a family. I'm looking forward to being there."

Troy picked up a potentially big performer for its 2012 defensive line when Butler County (Kan.) defensive tackle Xavier Melton committed and will sign on Wednesday.

Melton, 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, has a chance to play right away.

"I knew I could come in and play right away, but I had no idea how close the coaching staff was with each other and how the players were," Melton said. "I hung out with Chris (Pickett), the defensive back, and he's a real cool guy. The food's great, and I'm from (Lakeland) Florida, so the southern food was great. Just the atmosphere, and the fact a lot of guys have come out from there and gone on to the NFL, like DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora, Troy has a great tradition for that."

Melton started his career at Purdue, going there for two years. After Purdue moved him to the offensive line, he transferred to Butler County because he wanted to stay on defense. He was a second-team all-conference selection.

"Troy wants me to come in, push the pocket, be a disruptive force in the backfield and wreak havoc," Melton said.

Melton was recruited to Troy by defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell.

"Coach Rowell, he's a real cool guy," Melton said. "He reminds me a lot of Coach Williams, who is now at Texas Tech but was the defensive line coach when I was at Purdue. He's a laid back guy, and a funny dude, but he knows when to be serious."

Wall Street Journal video: Florida Tea Party to Vote Against Mitt Romney. January 31, 2012. http://youtu.be/6V1muYp0bGU



Contrary to MSM's contention, while I'm neither an Undecided, Early, Hispanic or I-4 voter, it looks like I "may hold key" to the 2012 Florida GOP Presidential Primary. I am definitely NOT undecided.









Before I leave to go cast my ballot in today's Florida primary,

One of a kind Asian Eye scarves, Nic & Zoe collection suitable for work, Liebeskind German leather bags, pristine Jill McGowan blouses, stunning European ivory jackets by Groa, and much more, including cute Valentine pins, arrived for spring at Renee's last week. Here's a photo collection for you to browse. Please stop in soon to try on something new for spring!












Don't forget our "Soup" event on Wed., Feb. 8. Bring a crock pot of your favorite soup to share. Or just drop in for lunch. Either way, there will be enough hearty and nutritious lunch for all.

Sending warm love on the last day of January,

~renee

I am very proud to share with you this article that I was asked to write for PBS Food regarding our Indy food scene and the Superbowl!

I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.pbs.org/food/features/indianapolis-food-restaurants/

By Kshell

In sports one player can truly make the difference in the perception of your team. That point was further proven tonight when Grant Union High School star Shaq Thompson tweeted he was going to the Washington Huskies. On the same day the Huskies recruiting hit rock bottom in the Sarkisian era as they landed just one of five recruits in state the Huskies landed the biggest recruit since Reggie Williams. Shaq Thompson is a five star safety from out of state(Sacramento, California) who is the #1 ranked safety in the nation. He is also the #3 overall player in the entire country. For Sarkisian this is the third five star recruit he has landed in the last two years. For the Huskies they moved up from 46th to 34th in the country according to scout.com and moved up to 26th according to rivals. com. The Huskies aren't done recruiting yet as they plan to steal another highly recruited player from the California Golden Bears four star wide receiver Jordan Payton. The California Golden Bears who once had a top five class in the country have lost the #2 and #3 overall players in the country in a span of 36 hours to conference foes. This move for Sarkisian was a giant move for this recruiting class as he still has one more day to land some key kids.

The Huskies are landing the #1 safety in the country from out of state which is very significant. Thompson who was originally a Golden Bear commit chose the Huskies over the Michigan Wolverines, USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Florida Gators, Arizona State Sun Devils, Oregon Ducks and of course the California Golden Bears. Thompson is a great athlete who can play both safety positions as well as both corner positions. He can and will play some receiver/running back this season too so expect some trick plays with Thompson. Thompson is electric in the open field so expect him to return kicks and when he has an interception he is looking to score. Thompson will also play baseball like another Huskies safety who was a legend Lawyer Milloy. Thompson along with teammates Sean Parker and James Sample(Thompson's cousin) form a great trio of safeties for the Huskies bringing them back to the days of Safety U.

There was a time when the Huskies were safety university starting with Shane Pahukoa and highly recruited Tommie Smith from California. That tandem helped the Huskies to three Rose Bowls and a national championship. Following that terrific tandem was the greatest safety in Huskies history Lawyer Milloy who was first team all pac-10 twice and an all-american. Milloy like Thompson also played baseball and led the team in tackles in 1994 and 1995. Milloy would go on to the NFL where he won a super bowl and made several Pro Bowl appearances. In fact Milloy on twitter was very influential in landing Thompson as those two were tweeting back and forth. Following up Milloy was another future NFL player in Tony Parish who was also first team all Pac-10 as well. After Parish the Huskies enjoyed the tandem of Hakim Akbar and the late Curtis Williams who helped the Huskies earn a Rose Bowl title in 2000. After that there was a drop off until 2006 when C.J. Wallace was named first team all Pac-10 and eventually made the NFL. The Huskies now with Parker, Sample and Thompson are returning back to that era of greatness with the safety play. Milloy wasn't the only one who recruited Thompson hard. Instead the man that athletic director Scott Woodward paid a lot of money towards came through right off the bat.

After the defense let the Huskies down in the Alamo Bowl Sarkisian and Woodward recognized changes needed to be made. They hired former Oregon Ducks players Justin Wilcox and Peter Sirmon as coaches. Then the Huskies stole former California coach and player Tosh Lupoi to their staff. Lupoi was named the recruiter of the year in 2010 and was a big reason why the Golden Bears had a top five recruiting class. The Huskies finished second on Thompson originally to California but when hiring Wilcox(coached Thompson's brother) and Lupoi(played with Thompson's brother and is very close to Thompson) that changed everything. Lupoi is a big reason why many expect the Huskies to land four star wide receiver Jordan Payton tomorrow. Lupoi has been on the job less than a month and has already made an impact on this recruiting class. As CEO of this program Sarkisian deserves a lot of credit as well for scouting out Lupoi. Woodward who is basically the owner of this program spent enough money to convince Lupoi to leave his alma matter for Washington. Lupoi will truly make his name with the Huskies next season when he has a whole season to recruit. Remember this year the Golden Bears were ranked in the top five then Lupoi leaves and they are now ranked 33rd while Washington is up to 34th. Lupoi is the Mariano Rivera of this staff which is what they needed. The knock on Sarkisian is that he can get guys interested in the Huskies that the Huskies have no business being in the running for but can't close. Well he has his closer now so look out Pac-12 here comes the Dawgs!

This was a huge land by the Sarkisian staff on the same day he lost out on Banner. Tomorrow's headlines won't care about losing out on Banner as Sarkisian went out of state and landed a top five player in the nation to decommit and come to Washington. For the third straight year now it is looking like the Huskies will have a ranked recruiting class. Unlike last two years where Sarkisian wrapped up the classes early this year was at the very last second and there are more recruits to be had in the next 48 hours. Sarkisian stepped up and replaced his staff admitting he couldn't do it alone. Whether Lupoi or Sarkisian landed Thompson doesn't matter. What matters is the Huskies got a premiere defensive player for the first time in a very long time. Recruiting matters and the Huskies just knocked one out of the ball park with two outs in the ninth inning when everyone had counted them out for the dead this recruiting season including myself.

Butler County (Kan.) Community College defensive tackle Xavier Melton will sign with Troy on Wednesday, according to an e-mail from his father, Nathaniel St. Clair.

You can go HERE to check out highlights of Melton.

Melton is 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds and will compete for a spot in the middle of the line. According to St. Clair, an assistant coach at Winter Park (Fla.) High School, Melton runs a 4.8 40-yard dash, bench presses 450 pounds, squats 600 and power cleans 315.

Melton was a three-star prospect in high school and started his career at Purdue. Melton is from Lakeland, Fla.

I'll try to get up with Melton on Tuesday to get some thoughts from him on signing with Troy.

HERE is what scout.com said about Melton: "DT Xavier Melton - The Purdue bounceback came to Butler because the Boilermaker coaches wanted him to switch to offensive tackle and he felt he was a defensive line prospect. This season Melton earned Second Team All-KJCCC honors and has several FBS and FCS programs looking his way.

2011 Stats: 13 tackles

By Kshell

When Steve Sarkisian became the head coach of the Washington Huskies he promised to keep a fence around the state of Washington. During the 2010 and 2011 recruiting seasons Sarkisian did a good job upholding that promise as he kept 9 of 11 blue chip recruits here at Washington. Last year he was a perfect six for six showing that he had put up a fence. Then this year happened and someone busted that fence down as this state produced five blue chip players. The Huskies will only land one of those five. Sarkisian's fence is no longer up anymore showing a changing of the times. Not even during the Tyrone Willingham days did the Huskies recruit this poorly in state. Sarkisian who is known for being a good recruiter struck out on this state and has his work cut out for him in the next 36 hours.

The state of Washington had five blue chip recruits with Joshua Garnett(5 star recruit, #3 guard in the nation) from Puyallup High School, Zach Banner(4 star recruit, #13 tackle in nation) from Lakes High School, Cedric Dozier(4 star recruit at either receiver or defensive back) also from Lakes High School, Keivarae Russell(4 star recruit, #24 running back in nation) from Mariner High School in Everett, and Jeff Lindquist(4 star recruit, #8 quarterback in nation) from Mercer Island. Sarkisian started off this recruiting season nicely landing Lindquist back in May. After that it was downhill as Dozier immediately eliminated the Huskies choosing the California Golden Bears(he has no considered going to in state rival Washington State Cougars). Then Russell chose Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the day the Huskies lost to the Baylor Bears in the Alamo Bowl. The Huskies then recently lost Garnett who eliminated the Huskies rather quickly to divisional rival Stanford Cardinal. Now today Zach Banner who is the bioligical son of the greatest Huskies offensive lineman in history Lincoln Kennedy. Banner is going to conference rival USC Trojans meaning Sarkisian went just one for five on the big in state recruits which is good for 20.0% which isn't going to get the job done at all. This recruiting year is bringing up memories of the "Lazy Recruiter" also known as Tyrone Willingham.

When Tyrone Willingham was the Huskies head coach he had a reputation as being a lazy recruiter who spent too much time on his golf game and not enough time recruiting. One of the main reasons Sarkisian was hired was his love for recruiting and supposedly being a great recruiter. During Willingham's career with the Huskies his recruiting classes were ranked 55th, 35th, 29th and 14th while at Washington. His average class was ranked 33.25 nationally and 5.7 in the Pac-10. Which isn't that good but still better than Sarkisian who has seen his classes ranked 66th, 11th, 22nd and currently 46th. Sarkisian's average class ranking is 35.75 and 6.5 in the conference. Sarkisian is actually recruiting at a slightly worse clip than the lazy recruiter did. Luckily for Sarkisian signing day is a day away meaning he still has time(be it very short) to salvage this recruiting class as he has his eyes set out on some major recruits from out of conference.

If you believe the reports the Huskies are trying to poach two California recruits with the recent hires of Tosh Lupoi and Justin Wilcox. Sarkisian is after Shaq Thompson from Grant Union High School in Sacramento, California. Thompson is the #1 overall safety in the nation and a five star recruit. In fact Thompson is the #3 player overall out of all positions in the nation. The Huskies are also in on Jordan Payton of Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California. Payton is a four star recruit and #15 wide receiver in the nation. The Huskies are also hoping to close the deal on Brandon Beaver from Dominguez High School in Compton, California. Beaver is a three star recruit #27 cornerback in the nation. If the Huskies can land those three to go along with Jeff Lindquist and quarterback Cyler Miles(4 star quarterback, #13th in the country) from Mullen High School in Denver Colorado that is a pretty solid class. The key is since Sarkisian let the fence get broken for the state is to steal from other opponents backyards like what had happened to him.

This is a big time for Sarkisian to steal other recruits as his own state has turned on him. If he can salvage this class with what just happened that would be huge. The state of Washington no longer has a fence around it like Sarkisian had promised. Perhaps he can make up for it with some big out of state recruits which would be nice. I haven't given up on Sarksian as a recruiter yet just this year far as this state is concerned was pretty bad.




As I finished this post Sarkisian did just land Shaq Thompson so feel free to mock this post as this post is really outdated.

Newt Gingrich campaign video: Newt Gingrich discusses "the Facts and Florida" on his campaign bus with Greta Van Sustern of Fox News. January 28, 2012. http://youtu.be/mpOg027vWp4

National and Florida Mainstream Media reach unanimity: Undecided voters, Early voters, Hispanic voters, Anglo voters, I-4 voters and Older voters "may hold key" to 2012 Florida GOP Presidential Primary."

Gee, thanks

The Spouse/Caregiver Scholarship program identifies, recognizes, and rewards spouses/caregivers for their strength, fidelity, and resolve despite adversity. Scholarships aid in continued education at a reputable, accredited university, college, or trade school for spouses/caregivers as they assume critical roles in the financial well being of their families.

Scholarship awards are $5,000 and are made payable to the scholarship recipient's institution for payment of tuition, books and supplies.  Recipients may receive a scholarship award up to four years for a maximum of $20,000.   

In addition, we have one additional scholarship which was donated by Mr. Ivins "Itchy" Popkin--a member of our Board of Directors and the owner of Furniture Fair in Jacksonville, NC.  The Sidney Popkin Memorial Scholarship, in memory of his brother, will allow a fifth scholarship in the amount of $1,250.

Since 2006, close to 50 scholarships have been awarded to spouses and family members who have served our country by taking care of our wounded service members.  Applicants may use the scholarship in pursuit of a Bachelor's or Master's degree or vocational program.

For more information on the scholarship, eligibility requirements and more, visit the Scholarship Program web page. 

We encourage you to share this information with anyone you know who is the spouse or caregiver of a wounded service member or, the spouse of a fallen service member.

Troy pitcher Tyler Ray spoke with me in THIS STORY, which ran last Friday.

I shot the video last Wednesday, and now getting around to editing it.

Troy shortstop Tyler Hannah spoke with me in THIS STORY you may have read last Friday.

This video was shot last Wednesday but I'm just now getting around to getting it edited and posted.

By Kshell

With the game on the line the game came down to two five star recruit guards as Josiah Turner of the Arizona Wildcats(14-8,5-4) drove past C.J.Wilcox for the game tying bucket only to see fell five star recruit Tony Wroten of the Washington Huskies(14-7,7-2) block his shot as time expired. That block by Wroten put the Huskies in first place and also clinched their first win at Arizona since 2006. For the Huskies who had blown an 11 point lead due to poor free throw shooting down the stretch this was by far their biggest win of the season. The Huskies-Wildcat rivalry just continues to produce great games as the last three games have been decided by just five points. In front of ESPN gameday and a whiteout by the Wildcats  crowd these young Huskies won a game which saw plenty of momentum changing runs by both teams. This is the type of win that can carry a team throughout the season and even into March Madness. As Lorenzo Romar told reporters after the game "this is a game we lose by 15-20 points just a month ago" meaning this team has grown up right in front of his eyes. This Huskies team overcame bad calls, overcame poor free throw shooting and overcame blowing a large lead to getting the win. Wroten who didn't have his best offensive game still made a difference when his team needed him most.


In the first half featured plenty of runs by both teams. The Huskies began the game up 14-7 as Aziz N'Diaye had scored six points for the Huskies. The Wildcats responded to that with a 10-0 run going up 17-14 as Darnell Gant had a tip in for the Huskies which stopped that run and sparked a run. The Huskies had gone on a 11-3 run to lead 25-20 before the Wildcats ended the half on a 9-2 run to lead 32-29 as Kevin Parron got away with offensive goaltending with a tip dunk at the buzzer to give the Wildcats a three point lead. The Wildcats shot 12-28(42.9%) from the field, three for seven(42.9%) from three point range and made five of eight(62.5%) free throws as they outrebounded the Huskies 19-15. They were led by Junior Solomon Hill who scored nine points on four for five shooting including a three pointer and five rebounds. Parrom scored seven points on two for three shooting but suffered an injury so he didn't return to the game and is out for the season. Freshman guard Joshiah Turner scored eight points on three for four shooting with three rebounds.

For the Huskies they shot 12-30(40.0%) from the field, three for six(50.0%) from three point range but made just two for five(40.0%) on free throws. They were led by N'Diaye scoring eight points on four for six shooting with three rebounds. Tony Wroten scored five points on just one for five shooting but did make a three pointer and both free throws. Terrence Ross scored five points on two for six shooting with a three pointer and four rebounds. The Huskies once again struggled scoring in the first half of a game but were right in it with the Wildcats in a hostile environment.

Despite the momentum shift at the end of the half it was the Huskies who came out in the second half on fire. The Huskies went on a 10-4 run to start the second half takeing a 39-36 lead. After the Huskies already leading 45-42 they went on a 8-2 run which saw C.J. Wilcox hit a three pointer to go up 50-44 and then with two seconds on the shot clock Wroten launched up a desperation three pointer to give the Huskies a 53-44 lead. The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run to cut it to 53-48 which the Huskeis then responded with a 7-1 run going up 60-49 which saw Terrence Ross hit a crucial three pointer. The Huskies would then be up 64-56 with a little over two minutes left in the game. The Wildcats due to the Huskies fouling and missing free throws would go on an 6-0 run to cut the lead to 64-62. Ross would hit a jumper to give the Huskies a 66-62 lead with 45 seconds left. After a Wildcats miss Wroten would make one of two free throws to go up 67-62. After a Wildcats bucket pulled them within 67-64 they fouled Wilcox who was a 91% free throw shooter. Wilcox shooting the one and one missed the front end so the Wildcats took over. Solomon Hill who was red hot all game was somehow open for a three pointer as he drilled the three tying the game at 67-67 as the Wildcats had just gone on a 11-3 run to tie the game. Josiah Turner went for the charge on Wilcox who was inbounded the ball instead was called for the blocking foul sending Wilcox back to the line. This time Wilcox made both free throws giving the Huskies a 69-67 lead with 5.4 seconds left. As Turner took the ball up court the Huskies switched on the screen as Turner blew by Wilcox for the game tying field goal but Wroten blocked his shot. Nick Johnson dunk the block shot as the ball landed to him but it was after the buzzer had clearly sounded as the Huskies won 69-67 due to Wroten's block shot at the end.

For the Wildcats this is the second straight game they have lost to the Huskies at the buzzer. The Wildcats shot 21-50(42.0%) from the field, 4-13(30.8%) from three point range and 21-29(72.4%) from the free throw line. They were led by Solomon Hill who scored a game high 28 points on 9-10 shooting including hitting both three pointers while also making eight for nine at the free throw line. He also grabbed 11 rebounds as well. Senior Jesse Perry scored 13 points on just 3-14 shooting but made 7-10 at the foul line while grabbing a game high 12 rebounds. Josiah Turner scored eight points on three for nine shooting but had the costly foul then had his shot blocked by Wroten. Senior Kyle Fogg scored seven points on two for four shooting all three pointers. Parrom also scored seven points but was lost for the season. For the Wildcats this was the third loss in the Pac-12 by two points or less as they are showing they can't close games down the stretch. This is the first loss for the Wildcats at home to the Huskies since 2006 when Brandon Roy was a senior.

For the Huskies facing an incredible environment this win shows just how far they have matured. The Huskies shot well making 28-63(44.4%) from the field, 6-14(42.9%) from three point range but the game became interesting due to 7-16(43.8%) free throw shooting. The Huskies were led by Tony Wroten who scored 17 points on 5-18 shooting including two for four from three pointers and five for seven on free throws. Wroten also added five rebounds, four assists, a steal and the game saving block. Terrence Ross stepped up with 16 points on 7-12 shooting with two three pointers, seven rebounds, three steals and three block shots. C.J.Wilcox looked fully healthy in scoring 15 points on 6-10 shooting including a three pointer and five rebounds plus the game winning free throws. Aziz N'Diaye scored 12 points on 6-11 shooting with eight rebounds including five offensive. Abdul Gaddy added just two points but did dish out five assists. Desmond Simmons scored three points with four rebounds. Darnell Gant added just two points and four rebounds. While football star Austin Seferian-Jenkins scored just two points with three rebounds in limited action. For the second straight game all eight Husky players who played scored.

This team has came along ways in the past month. This team who started off 0-5 away from home has now won three games in a row on the road. This team just won a close game in a hostile environment when everyone had picked them to lose. There was no panic for the Huskies this game everytime the Wildcats made a run the Huskies would answer right back. For the second straight year at halfway point the Huskies find themselves 7-2 and tied for first place in the conference. The Huskies will return home to host the UCLA Bruins a team they have beaten three straight games and seven in a row at home. Then they take on the USC Trojans a team who is in last place in the conference so the Huskies winners of three in a row and six of their last seven games could go on a run. This young group with only one senior is finally starting to come around. The rest of the Pac-12 had their chance to put the struggling Huskies away but now the Huskies are emerging as the best team in the conference.

Observations:

- This was a really strange game for Tony Wroten who normally shoots such a high percentage. This game he didn't shoot well making just 5-18 shots. Considering he is a poor three point shooter he actually shot well making two for four and he is also a poor free throw shooter yet made five of seven. Wroten despite shooting poorly still scoring 17 points, grabbed five rebounds and had four assists. He did turn the ball over five times which is what he'll do. He did however make the play of the game with the block on Turner to prevent overtime. Wroten despite his struggles appeared to have embraced the environment much like he did earlier in the year at Madison Square Garden.

Wroten just like Isaiah Thomas loves the big moments. This isn't going to be a freshman who struggles in the Pac-12 tournament or hopefully NCAA tournament because of stage fright. Wroten has a chance to be freshman all-american first team and should run away with Pac-12 freshman of the year joining Thomas who did that in 2008-09 season. Wroten for the year is averaging 17.1 ppg, 4.6 RPG, and 3.3 APG. He is also averaging 2.0 steals per game as he currently leads all freshman in scoring amongst the super six conferences. Wroten at this rate is in contention for Pac-12 player of the year as he is putting this program on his back.

- With the win over Arizona down in Arizona there was a little bit of history to be made. Darnell Gant and Abdul Gaddy became the first players to win a road game at every Pac-10 arena(lost to Colorado on the road who is Pac-12 but only played them once) since Jon Brockman, Artem Wallace and Justin Dentmon. Even though neither player had a particulary good game this is still quite a huge accomplishment for the Huskies upperclassman to achieve. With a road win over Oregon State, Washington State this year and Stanford next year Terrence Ross, Aziz N'Diaye and C.J.Wilcox can join them. With a win over Arizona next year Scott Suggs will be able to join that group as well.

- Sometimes in sports you hear the phrase "he is better than what the box score shows" well in this case regarding tight end now basketball player Austin Seferian-Jenkins that is the case. The Huskies are now 3-0 since he has been playing in the games. Seferian-Jenkins is a big strong physical body who racks up hard fouls while rebounding tough. Seferian-Jenkins against Arizona played a season low six minutes while scoring just two points. He did grab three rebounds and had two hard fouls. He was also more productive than four star recruit Angelo Chol who chose Arizona over Washington and many other schools. For the year Seferian-Jenkins in 12.7 minutes per game is averaging just 2.0 PPG but 5.0 RPG. He is also averaging 4.0 fouls a game and makes the other team earn their buckets. He does the little things that doesn't show up like when the Wildcats were going for a dunk he fouled the man hard. The Wildcats player made just one of two free throws which saved the Huskies a point which proved to be pretty big. Seferian-Jenkins also brings a toughness attitude to this team that they were lacking earlier in the year and also allows Lorenzo Romar to play eight quality players instead of throwing a stiff out there. Seferian-Jenkins has made a huge difference on this team even if the numbers say otherwise.

- In big games you need big time performances by your stars. Wroten shined at times but mainly Terrence Ross carried the Huskies once again down the stretch. Ross scored 16 points on 7-12 shooting with two three pointers. He also added seven rebounds with three steals and three blocks. Ross also hit some tough shots in the second half whenever the Wildcats started to take back momentum Ross would give momentum right to the Huskies. Ross minus the Washington State Cougars game has yet to really explode but he is consistently scoring double figures having scored in double figures in every game this year but one. On the other hand in 21 games this year he has scored over 20 points just twice.

For the year Ross is averaging 15.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG with 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He is shooting well making 44.5% of his field goals, 38.3% of his three pointers while making two full three pointers a game and shooting 72.4% at the free throw line. Ross is having a first team all Pac-12 season just with his talent you feel like he should be doing more. One these days hopefully soon Ross will start doing just more instead of showing you these flashes which he tends to do every game. Ross is the closer though on this team down the stretch there is no doubt about it.

- Lorenzo Romar has had a tough year this year with the expectations of the team while having to replace his three best players from last year and a fourth player who was a key part of the team as well. As I've stated in the last few weeks Romar has had to take a bigger leadership role on this team than he'd like.

 Romar has also handled the addition of football star Seferian-Jenkins into his rotation terrific like he did with Nate Robinson. Unlike Bob Bender who didn't really embrace the football players tyring to play basketball(Charles Frederick was a 4 star recruit in basketball and never left the bench) Romar plays the best guys. The one knock on Romar is his loyalty to older guys and this game really showed that. When Abdul Gaddy picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench the Huskies went on a run. When Gaddy returned the lead had disappeared. Going forward Romar has to sit Gaddy and start Wilcox. Your best five is Wroten at the point, Wilcox at the two, Ross at the three, Simmons at powerforward and N'Diaye at center. Romar now in his 10th year at Washington improves to 12-10(3-0 on neutral, 6-3 at home, 3-7 on road) against the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona has been the dominant team in this conference for a while and really dominated the Huskies. The fact the Huskies have a winning record against them in a 10 year stretch shows how much the Huskies have improved as a program.

This win was huge and especially for Romar. He has seen a team that was young, undisciplined, and at times appeared to care more about twitter than the game they are playing in. Every tournament team in the Romar era has had that gutcheck moment and this team just achieved that. Even the loss to Cal when they really only had six guys the effort was there. The Huskies have three big time players in Wroten, Ross and Wilcox probably the best three man trio they've had since Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy and Will Conroy. When you factor in they also have great big man play in N'Diaye, Simmons, Gant and now Seferian-Jenkins this team can make some noise in the tournament. This win right here will go along ways towards playing in March Madness for the seventh time in the last nine years. For coach Romar this win was huge for his program as he is seeing his team mature right in front of him which should all be credited to his leadership he has shown throughout the season.

Winning Our Future PAC video: Obama's Dream Debate, Part 1, January 17, 2012. http://youtu.be/mv078A36t7Y

More Winning Our Future PAC videos at: http://www.youtube.com/user/WinningOurFuture

If you think that Mitt Romney doesn't like the national news media now, i.e. the Mainstream Media, and their questions he doesn't want to answer truthfully -the very questions that Newt Gingrich has been

Back home and still doing some work. Looks like Jamal Stadom of Melbourne, Fla., has committed to Troy. I haven't been able to get in touch with him, but if I see a recruit post on social media where he's going, it's good enough confirmation with me. Stadom confirmed it on his facebook wall, which is open.

I also feel good enough to add Derrek Upshaw to the commitment list. Upshaw is a defensive lineman from Jones County (Miss.) Junior College. Upshaw also confirmed it on his open facebook wall.

Hopefully I can get up with these two to write more on them, but if not, well there's always 2 years of college in Upshaw's case and 4 or 5 in Stadom's case.

Possible bad news for Troy, as Ole Miss's 247sports.com and Ole Miss's scout.com site are reporting that Cody Core has switched his commitment from Troy to Ole Miss after taking an official visit to Ole Miss this weekend. Core, a wide receiver from Auburn High, had been committed to Troy since last fall.

But they don't have any quotes from Core that I can find. Good thing we don't have to wait much longer for all of this madness as National Signing Day is in a couple of days.

9:20 update - Our man Jason Galloway of the Opelika-Auburn News, a sister paper of the Dothan Eagle, did confirm Core's commitment to Ole Miss through Core's head coach.

Tough break for Trojans, which got down by 20 at South Alabama, came back and took a lead, but lost on a last-second shot by South Alabama's Augustine Rubit. The final was 68-66.

You can read a recap HERE.

Troy is now 2-7 in conference play, a half-game in last place in the East. Fouls were a key early, as Troy, at one point, was down 25-1 in free throw attempts and had three players with four fouls early in the second half, and key player Justin Wright fouled out with 5 minutes to go.

Makes you wonder, though, this could be a back-breaking loss and you wonder how Troy regroups and responds in home games this week Thursday (UL-Lafayette) and Saturday (FIU). ULL is tough and FIU, you never know what Golden Panther team you're going to get, but those teams have had Troy's number over the past couple of years.

Stuck in the BWI airport for a couple more hours before a flight to PC and drive home. Turns out, even being away, I can still update. So, through some searching, here's what I've been able to find.

Signing Day is 3 days from now.

***If there's a commitment, looks like it may be from Jones County (Miss.) defensive tackle Derrek Upshaw. He tweeted "Troy University!!!" Also, Upshaw started his career and played two years at Middle Tennessee.

But I hope to get Upshaw to tell me in some form or fashion that he committed before I add him to the list. (if only he had put the words 'committed to' in his twitter post!)

***Rivals.com said Yulee athlete Zach Camp didn't have a decision yet after his visit.

***Jones County defensive end Anthony Wilson said on his twitter he didn't have a decision yet.

***Melbourne, Fla., defensive end Jamal Stadom appeared to have a good visit based on his facebook posts, but I don't yet see confirmation of a commitment. Looks like his brother is Marty Stadom, who signed with Troy last year from JUCO, but didn't qualify to enroll last fall.

I didn't know what ever happened to Marty, but perhaps he finished his schoolwork in JUCO and is now at Troy. He wasn't listed on the midyear signees, though. Just check out this tweet. That makes it seem like both brothers will be at Troy playing in the fall, but we might just not find out until Wednesday.

Marty is also a defensive end. He could be at Troy finishing up academic work before he's eligible to practice or play, but it sure looks like he's at Troy. Maybe he didn't have to sign again after signing last year.

***It's now 1 p.m. CST. If I'm able to, I will update this post later.

***2:15 p.m thought - Marty Stadom may be in the same boat as WR Chip Reeves, who is back in school but likely not going through spring to get his academics in gear for the fall.

So I'm not distraught and I'll tell you why. Nadal could've lost this match in the fourth. Easily. He was down to sets to one. He was struggling. He was serving down 3-4 at 0-40.  One more point to Djokovic and it would be 5-3 for Novak to serve it out and that would've meant lights out and a very disappointing loss for Rafa. But then suddenly Rafa fought back. He won the next 5 points to hold his serve. He then fought to 6-6 and a tie break. Then he was down 5-3 in the tie break! Still he fought back again and won the 4th set! The 5th set was really incredible. Very impossible to predict who would take it. It became the longest match in the Aussie Open record books at 5 hours and 53 minutes. In the end, that Djokovic magic came back and got past Rafa at 7-5 in the fifth. It's sad, of course. I wanted Our Hero to win, my friends, but I'm not devastated because here he really competed like a champion.


I hope he takes away a lot of positive things from this tournament, even though it is admittedly a seventh straight Final loss to Novak. The past two years Rafa crashed out of the Aussie Open in the quarters and this year he made it back to the Finals. Even though he didn't win, I feel like he had to have reached a place in the 4th set where he mentally believed he could win and that he was not just going to hand Novak a 4-set victory.  He would be aggressive and take it to him and fight like hell against whatever odds. Again, maybe it didn't quite work out at the very very end, but I liked what I was seeing from Rafa in those 4th and 5th sets in terms of fight, not to mention his mental and physical toughness shown in his quarterfinal and semifinal wins earlier this week. I feel good for Rafa heading into the rest of the season. I believe he will eventually get another win against Djokovic. He still holds a 4-game cushion in their lifetime head-to-head match up, so hopefully Novak can't go 11-0 through this year against him.  Gotta give credit to Novak too. That guy just finds a way to win. When he should be over and done with. You can talk to Roger Federer about that too the last two times he faced Novak in the semis of the US Open. Novak should not have one those matches being double match point down. But he did. What can you say on the day besides, "Too good"?

Hopefully Rafa can now take a little bit of a rest on the tour before jumping into the next big tournament. There's about six weeks or so before the tour heads to Indian Wells and then Miami. And then the clay court season begins. As always I'll be wishing Rafa the best. VAMOS!


And of course the tournament wouldn't be complete if Rafa didn't flash us some skin. Thanks for reading! See you next tourney!

iJustine video: Justine at NATPE. January 28, 2012.
http://youtu.be/Q3S1yKyYhyw
http://ijustine.com/natpe-in-miami-2/

Justine Ezarik, a.k.a. iJustine, modern-day Digital Renaissance Woman and well-known  YouTube Partner, back from CES, is in Miami for NATPE and checking-out the South Florida scene.


iJustine video: we in miami, trick. January 29, 2012.
http://youtu.be/gPQFUzahJEM

I

CBS-TV - Mannix  (1969) Intro credits. 
Music composed by Lalo Schifrin.
http://youtu.be/vyZL_3bxD68

Breaking News: Mannix Marathon on Cloo until 6 a.m. Eastern Sunday, DirecTV Channel 308. Be there! 

Back in the day before we all knew what CSIs and mass spectrometers were, all you needed when you were in a real tight pinch was to call your ex-Army pal from Korea out in LA named Joe Mannix.

By Kshell

Tony Wroten led the Washington Huskies(13-7,6-2) into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 win a road win over the struggling Arizona State Sun Devils(6-14,2-6) 60-54 down in Tempe, Arizona. After scoring a season low 22 points in the first half the Huskies overcame that with a strong second half that saw them go on a 13-1 run to begin the half. Wroten also excited everyone with the #1 play on Sportscenters top 10 plays with a dunk after the Sun Devils pulled within four points. Lorenzo Romar also saw his roster gain some depth as C.J. Wilcox returned from injury and football sensation Austin Seferian-Jenkins continued to give the Huskies good minutes. Despite making only one three pointer the entire game the Huskies once again won with defense and hustle which has always been a trademark for Romar teams who have made the NCAA tournament. The Huskies may have defeated a bad team but road wins especially for this young group is hard to come by. Just like that the Huskies have now won two road games in a row and despite everything that went wrong in the non-conference season they have positioned themselves in the first half of the season to be able to contend for a Pac-12 championship which is always the goal.

The first half was played at an ugly pace as both teams failed to shoot above 35.0% which played right into the Sun Devils hands as they tried to pull the upset. The Sun Devils led at halftime 24-22 as they scored a layup at the buzzer to take the lead. The Sun Devils shot 10-29(34.5%) from the field but were helped out by  making four for nine(44.4%) from three point range. They were led by Jonathan Gilling who scored eight points on three for seven shooting including two three pointers. Sophomore big man Jordan Bachynski provided a lift off bench for the Sun Devils scoring four points on two for six shooting while pullng down seven rebounds as the Sun Devils led in the first half.

For the Huskies they also shot 10-29(34.5%) from the field but failed to make a single three pointer in five attempts. They were also just two for six(33.3%) from the free throw line. The Huskies were led by Tony Wroten who scored nine points on four for five shooting while making one of two free throws. Wroten also had four rebounds in the process. Terrence Ross scored eight points on only 4-12 shooting and missed all three three point attemps. Abdul Gaddy also struggled scoring just one point while missing all five field goals including two three point attempts. Gaddy did add four assists as the Huskies offense was terrible in the first half.

In the second half you saw a much different Huskies team as Wroten took over the second half. The Huskies began the second half on a 13-1 run to extend their lead to 35-25. The Sun Devils then went on a 6-0 run to pull within 43-39 that is when Ton Wroten made sportscenter top play on the top 10 plays. Wroten took the ball dribbled left down the lane then throw down a one handed jam on Jonathan Gilling for the sensational dunk. To cap off the dunk Gilling was called for a blocking foul as Wroten sank the free throw giving the Huskies a 46-39 lead. With 1:39 left in the game the Sun Devils again pulled the game within four as the Huskies led 50-46. Once again Wroten bailed out the Huskies with another three point play giving them a 53-46 advantage. From there on out it was a free throw war as the Huskies held on for the important win. Despite shooting so poorly the Huskies found a way to win over the Sun Devils led by Tony Wroten. Wroten scored 22 points on 9-12 shooting with six rebounds and three assists. Ross scored 12 points on 4-13 shooting with seven rebounds. Darnell Gant scored eights points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench. Austin Seferian-Jenkins also scored four points off the bench while grabbing five rebounds. Aziz N'Diaye scored five points with eight rebounds and a block shot. C.J. Wilcox returned from injury to score four points sinking all four free throws in the final minute as he played just 10 minutes. Abdul Gaddy scored just five points with five assists as the Huskies are now tied for first place.

For a young team like these Huskies are this was a huge road win. They are now tied for first place in the conference despite their struggles a month ago. This team is starting to have an identity and is gaining some depth with Seferian-Jenkins joining the team. Now if the Huskies can pull off the shocker and defeat Arizona in Arizona(something they haven't done since Brandon Roy was a senior) they could be in the drivers seat for the conference crown. This has been an up and down season for this group. Hopefully winning five of their last six games is the turnaround this team needed moving forward.

Observations:

- Earlier in the year I had complained about the Huskies lack of depth on the team. Well that isn't the case anymore with freshman Austin Seferian-Jenkins joining the team. C.J. Wilcox also returned from injury but played just 10 minutes. When he is healthy the Huskies will have eight quality players vs just six against California. Against Arizona State Seferian-Jenkins fouled out again like he did last game in 16 minutes. He also provided tough defense as you can see in this picture while scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds. In 32 minutes this year he has grabbed 12 rebounds which is 15 rebounds per 40 minutes.

When a player joins the team though that means someone's minutes are cut down. I figured Romar would take some from Gant, N'Diaye and Simmons. Instead Desmond Simmons appears to be the odd man out. Against Stanford Simmons scored six points but had just one rebound. Against Arizona State Simmons played just 10 minutes, scoring zero points and grabbing only two rebounds. Still with Seferian-Jenkins on the team that is huge as he is a quality big man unlike Bruenig or Kemp Jr who were just useless out there. With Seferian-Jenkins joining the team the Huskies now have a toughness to them that was left when Tyrese Breshers was forced to retire.

- Tony Wroten was big time once again as he appears to be running away with the freshman of the year award in the Pac-12. Wroten is going for a much bigger award which is Pac-12 player of the year. Twice when the Sun Devils had cut the game down to four points Wroten had a three point play to kill their momentum. Wroten also attacked that zone scoring 22 points on 9-12(75.0%) shooting which were all in the paint as he didn't attempt a single jumper. The previous game against Stanford Wroten scored 21 points on 9-14(64.3%) as he once again was attacking the rim. With Wilcox hurt teams are playing in a zone which at first frustrated Wroten as he was jacking up three pointers and that isn't his game. Now he is attacking the zone showing that he is most talented player in the conference already.

For the year Wroten is averaging 17.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He is shooting 49.6% from the field and he leads the entire Pac-12 in 7.6 free throw attempts per game(only making 54.6% of them). He is averaging a full two steals per game as well. Wroten has been as good as advertised for the Huskies.

-  Lorenzo Romar after winning his 300th game as a college coach started his quest to win  400 games. I liked how he used Wilcox in this game to get the rust off and it was nice having a good free throw shooter down the stretch. When Wilcox is fully healthy hopefully Romar inserts him into the starting lineup and finally benches Abdul Gaddy who has been holding this team back all season long. With Wroten, Wilcox, Ross, Simmons and N'Diaye everyone is playing their natural positions plus those are your five best players. With Gaddy, Gant and Seferian-Jenkins off the bench that is also a good bench to call on. This conference is wide open and typical Romar teams hit their stride during conference play like clockwork. This team is talented but as we've seen at times is immature so Romar has to do more leading than a head coach normally would have to do. Romar also improves to 17-5 all-time against the Sun Devils while being the Huskies head coach as he has just dominated the Sun Devils. Including going 8-2 down in Tempe which most of those wins were just like this one pretty ugly but Romar always finds a way to beat the Sun Devils.

Just like this Huskies team has found ways to win three of their last four games despite not shooting well at all in the first half of any of those games. They also won their of their last four conference games with Wilcox playing a combined 10 minutes and failing to make a single field goal. Ross carried them against the Cougars and Wroten has carried them the last two games. This team is starting to play defense which has to make Romar happy as his teams always play defense at least his NCAA tournament calibar teams do. The team that lost to South Dakota State at home in dominating fasion is now tied for first place in the Pac-12 with 10 more games to be played. This team has come a long ways in a month and can go even further in the next two months which is ultimately the goal.