UW Hoops Notebook: Dentmon passes first test

SAN DIEGO — The spotlight will really be on Justin Dentmon now.

The kid from Illinois — Carbondale, to be exact — will get to play against Illinois on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

But if Thursday is any indication, Dentmon, a freshman point guard for the Huskies, can handle it.

In the first NCAA tournament game of his career, Dentmon was almost flawless in helping the Huskies beat Utah State 75-61.

In 32 minutes, he had 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, four assists and not one turnover. He also hit 3 of 4 three-pointers as the Huskies fired away from outside against Utah State's zone.

"He controlled the ball, he played good defense," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar. "He did a tremendous job. It gives you a lot of comfort and a lot of confidence when you know you have a freshman like that who you will have for the next few years who can come in and play like that in his first NCAA tournament game.

"... I don't know what will happen Saturday, but he passed the test tonight."

Much will surely be made of Dentmon's matchup Saturday against the school from his home state. But he downplayed it after beating the Aggies, saying only, "It's just going to be like another game. They are in our way for where we want to be."

Likewise, he downplayed the pressure of his first NCAA tournament game.

Somewhat oddly, he said the only difference he felt was that the court seemed to be a little bigger than normal.

Late, late show

The Huskies knew going in they would be the nightcap to the first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

But this wasn't quite what they expected.

Washington's game against Utah State, set for a 6:55 p.m. tip, didn't get going until an hour later because of a brief, morning bomb scare at Cox Arena.

UW athletic director Todd Turner said the Huskies were relatively unaffected. The team was at breakfast when it heard about the incident.

"All it did was move our pregame meal back an hour," he said.

Glad to be here

Freshman center Artem Wallace didn't figure to see much time against Utah State. He was on the court for only 14 minutes in four Pac-10 games this year, and has played 143 minutes in 14 games.

But Wallace, who averaged 2.6 points overall and 2.0 in Pac-10 games, said he doesn't consider this season a bust, and is more than happy just to be along for the ride.

"I don't really feel like it was a wasted year," he said. "There were some games early in the year I was able to get in and it's definitely been a great experience. Just being able to go on the road and practice has been a good experience, one very few people get to have. I'm not really worried about my playing time. I'm only a freshman."

Notes

• Utah State coach Stew Morrill said the Aggies never could figure out how to deal with UW's pressure defense, which forced the Aggies into an uncharacteristic 22 turnovers. Utah State's previous season high was 18 against Boise State. "They sped us up, and when you get sped up, you need to keep your composure," he said. "We were just playing too fast. Washington causes turnovers, and they forced their will on us."

• Bobby Jones had one of his better games with 11 points — his most in the past six games — and a stellar defensive effort on Utah State point guard David Pak, who had four turnovers and just two points.

• Utah State outrebounded UW 35-22, the widest margin of the year against the Huskies. The previous biggest deficit was eight against UCLA.

• Don't be surprised if Cameron Dollar's name surfaces for the opening at Pepperdine created by the firing of Paul Westphal. The Washington assistant has some name value in Southern California because of his playing days at UCLA. And his association with Romar, who got his head-coaching start at Pepperdine, would seem to give him an in there. Dollar, who continues to be mentioned as a candidate at Idaho, said Wednesday he won't talk about coaching positions until after the season.

• The NCAA tournament always brings back some interesting faces. In this case, it was a couple of former Sonics embarking on new careers. Former Sonics center Jim McIlvaine was doing the color commentary for the radio broadcasts of Marquette, his alma mater. And handling the color for UCLA radio is Don MacLean, the former Bruins star who also had a brief turn with the Sonics.