For UCLA coach Ben Howland, playing Washington on Thursday in
the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament means facing off against
an old friend.
He and Washington coach Lorenzo Romar have known each other
since high school.
“Lorenzo and I used to play pick-up ball during the summer
at Cerritos College,” Howland said.
“He’s done an outstanding job (at
Washington).”
Romar, who was a UCLA assistant coach from 1992″“1996 and
helped win a national championship in 1995, is in his second year
at the helm at Washington. Last year, the Huskies were one of only
two teams not to make the Pac-10 Tournament ““ a position the
Bruins almost found themselves in Saturday after losing at
Oregon.
Despite a preseason ranking of eighth in the league and a 0-5
start to league play, the Huskies have come back to capture the No.
2 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament.
Washington has won 11 of its last 12 conference games. The
Huskies toppled then-undefeated Stanford on Saturday and their only
season loss was at UCLA on Feb. 7.
EIGHTEEN TOO MUCH: Howland expressed his discontent for the
Pac-10 league system, citing 18 conference games as simply too many
for a college season.
Howland empathized with Stanford coach Mike Montgomery and
Arizona coach Lute Olson, who have had similar complaints.
“When you play 18 and then three in the tournament,
that’s when you hear them saying “˜We don’t want
this,'” Howland said.
He compared the Pac-10 system, in which every team plays one
another twice, to smaller conferences such as the Atlantic Coast
Conference. But the ACC only has nine teams, which results in 16
regular season games.
According to Howland, having a shorter schedule makes all the
difference when it comes to the postseason and the importance of a
team’s Ratings Percentage Index, a measure of strength of
schedule and a determinant in NCAA Tournament selection.
“There is a diminishing return when you beat up on other
teams,” Howland said.
For sophomore center Ryan Hollins, the end of the season means
exhaustion.
“Everybody’s tired,” he said. “Even
Stanford lost … it’s tough.”
MORRISON IMPROVING: Junior guard Brian
Morrison, who Howland said is 85 percent healthy, will be the first
perimeter player off the bench Thursday.