TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – The Washington Husky basketball team stinks. There is no other way to describe it. They are 0-3 so far, and there not in any of the three. They are supposed to be a good three-point shooting team, but so far they rank nearly last among 285 D-1 schools. They are 279th to be specific, shooting a god-awful 18.9 percent. The Huskies are averaging 52 points, which ranks 280th among D-1 schools. Mike Hopkins was named Pac-12 coach of the year his first two seasons, but he did that with players left over from the Lorenzo Romar era. Now that he has his own players, this is what is happening. So can Hop coach? I lean to saying no. He plays that stupid zone he learned under his mentor, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, and it just does not translate. It all starts with recruiting. Recruit players that are quick, fast and aggressive, and use a man defense as your primary strategy. I think you start with a man defense and depending on your opponent toss in a 2-3 or 3-2 zone, or a matchup zone. But playing strictly zone against everybody only works if your name is Boeheim, and even then it doesn’t work every year. I will say right now the Huskies are going to be in trouble Wednesday night (Dec. 9) when they host Seattle in an 8 p.m. contest. On the line is a 15-game winning streak against the Redhawks. That streak is in peril I think Seattle will win. If the Redhawks do, the noise about Hopkins is going to gather some not kind steam. Hopkins is a good guy, but good guys can finish last, as the Huskies did last year in the Pac-12 with two first-round NBA draft picks (Isaiah Stewart, 16th, and Jaden McDaniels, 28th)…. The Seahawks play the New York Giants Sunday (Dec. 6) and the line on the game has them winning by 11 points. Take the Giants and the points. This is not going to be an easy game for the Hawks. The Giants are my pick to win the NFC East. Granted the division is the worst in the league, but they are no wall-flower. The Giants are good against the run. They will make it difficult for the Hawks to consistently move the ball. I see a 20-17 Seahawk victory. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants won. That’s it for today.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.
