With season on the line, Romar called on seniors

With the game, the season and the dreams of his team on the line, Lorenzo Romar called on those he has trusted the longest as coach of the Washington Huskies.

For the last 8 minutes, 2 seconds of Washington's 67-64 win over Illinois on Saturday that put the Huskies in the Sweet 16, the only UW players on the court were seniors Brandon Roy, Bobby Jones, Mike Jensen and Jamaal Williams and freshman point guard Justin Dentmon.

Together, the four men and a diaper dandy overcame a nine-point deficit with 6:48 left to give Washington a date in Washington, D.C., Friday against the Connecticut Huskies.

Washington won't be expected to beat a UConn team that is the No. 1 seed in the region and finished the season as the No. 2 team in the country.

But few expected Washington to get here in the first place. Many thought the losses of Nate Robinson, Tre Simmons and Will Conroy would prove too much to overcome.

That they have traveled this far has cemented these Huskies in UW history, especially the four seniors who have each been part of back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16. That's something only six other Pac-10 teams have done since the tournament expanded in 1985.

"I know they definitely wanted to prove that this was a program and not just a team, not just a one-year deal," said UW assistant coach Cameron Dollar. "Brandon and Jamaal and Bobby and Mike — they were eager to prove to those on the outside that they were significant parts of that turnaround and that they could sustain that success."

Having done just that, they say they now want more.

"It's a national stage now, and all eyes are on you," Jensen said. "We learned that a little bit last year [when UW lost to Louisville in the round of 16]. Maybe last year we were a little bit satisfied being in the Sweet 16. We've got some experience this year. We know what it's like to go further. We're not going to be satisfied just going to the Sweet 16. We want to make it to the Elite Eight. The Final Four. That would be a great experience to make it to the Final Four as a senior."

It obviously won't be easy.

UConn is as talented as any team in the country. A mock NBA draft in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, compiled with the help of five NBA insiders, listed three UConn players in the top 20: forward Rudy Gay (No. 6), forward/center Josh Boone (No. 17) and center Hilton Armstrong (No. 20). Then there's the team's best-known player, point guard Marcus Williams, and three-point shooter extraordinaire Rashad Anderson.

"They are talented. They have great size and great depth," Dollar said. "It'll be a great challenge for our guys. But no doubt we'll be excited."

So will UW fans, eager to see if this team can win for two reasons. First, to go where Washington hasn't been since the school's lone Final Four team of 1953. Second, to avenge one of the most painful losses in team history — a 75-74 defeat to UConn in the Sweet 16 in 1998 that was decided on Richard Hamilton's putback at the buzzer.

"That's when I started watching the Huskies," remembered Jensen, a graduate of Kentwood High School. "You never thought they would make it that far. UConn had Rip Hamilton and all those guys in the NBA now. And now we have a chance to play UConn again, and they will have a bunch more guys who will be in the NBA. It's almost like a sweet repeat."

The UW program faded after that Hamilton shot, leaving it to Romar to pick up the pieces when he became coach in 2002. After beating Illinois, Romar was asked to reflect on the turnaround.

"You mean from the Bottom 16 to the Sweet 16?" he said, remembering how the Huskies finished 10-17 his first year, losing the season finale at UCLA to miss out on a chance at making the conference tournament with a team that included Jensen, Roy and Jones.

"But our guys were in the airport the next day talking about how excited they were to start the spring season in terms of getting in shape and starting individual workouts because, 'Coach, we can't wait until next year,' " Romar said. "That group, that character grew together. When I think of that first year, all I can think of are those guys who decided that they were going to come together as a team no matter what. And as a result, we have been able to make it to this point."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com