Huskies' Venoy Overton getting comfortable with bench role

If this was going to work, then Venoy Overton had to buy what coach Lorenzo Romar was selling, because everyone agreed this Washington Huskies men's basketball season couldn't end like the previous two.

So something had to give: Either the ultracompetitive Overton would accept a demotion to the bench or the foundation UW was building might collapse like a house of cards.

If this was not going to blow up in Romar's face, then the coach would have to play musical chairs with the two starting guard spots and not make the odd man out feel unwanted.

"I never thought of it as, 'Oh boy, how can I handle this?' " Romar said this week as the Huskies prepared for tonight's game at Arizona (12-8, 2-5 in Pac-10) at McKale Center. "I don't think I've ever thought of it that way. I think we've just kind of gone on. There's been time this year when [Overton's] gotten down, and it's been tough on him.

"But he is a winner, and he does want to win. I think he does understand that he brings value to this team, and that's important."

Looking back, Overton said the adjustment from a 26-game starter as a freshman last season to a reserve averaging 4.9 points and 19.5 minutes wasn't that difficult.

"It didn't take me long at all," he said. "I knew I was coming off the bench. I accepted it. And I knew if I wanted to keep getting good minutes then I'd have to keep playing my game. It was no problem."

The primary beneficiaries of Overton's benching know better.

Senior guard Justin Dentmon is midway into an extreme makeover, averaging a career-high 14.3 points, nearly a five-point increase from last season when he started eight games. He has relished the return to shooting guard and the starting lineup.

"Venoy is more mature this year," Dentmon said. "He's now getting comfortable with his role. I think at the beginning of the year, he wasn't so comfortable with it. I think now he wants to win, and he's comfortable with what's been given to him."

And then there's Isaiah Thomas. Washington's heralded freshman had star potential, and his personality wasn't suited for the bench. The 5-foot-8 dynamo didn't need to wade slowly into the waters of Division I college basketball.

Thomas is all about the splash, so something had to give.

"I got nothing but love for Venoy," said Thomas, who leads UW at 16.3 points per game. "He helps us win. It's not me or Jon [Brockman], or J.D. [Dentmon] or any one player. It's all of us. I said it before, I never thought I'd be so close to these guys, but I am. We're like a family, and Venoy is a big part of that."

Overton's contributions have gone largely unnoticed during a bounce-back season for the No. 23 Huskies. Washington (15-4, 6-1) has surged to the top of the Pac-10 standings, senior forward Brockman has drawn All-America consideration, and Thomas appears to be a shoo-in to win the conference's Freshman of the Year award.

Even among the reserves, forwards Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Justin Holiday garner most of the attention.

But it was Overton who filled in admirably and scored 10 points Saturday in an 86-75 upset of UCLA, a game in which Dentmon picked up four fouls and went to the bench. And when USC packed the middle against Brockman in last week's UW 78-73 victory, it was Overton who softened the defense with a pair of three-pointers from the wing.

"My role is to bring energy off the bench," Overton said. "Set up my teammates. Stay aggressive and go hard."

The best things about Overton's game are also the worst things about his game. He might be Washington's only pure point guard, but he also has more turnovers (44) than assists (34), causing critics to suggest he's out of control.

"I know people think I'm reckless and everything out there, but I'm not," he said. "I've got to play fast."

The Washington guards set the tempo for a chaotic offense that leads the conference in scoring at 78.9 points per game. In Pac-10 play, they're the best at forcing turnovers and ninth in committing turnovers. No Husky ranks among the top 10 in the conference in assists, and seven players have led the team in assists in games this season.

"I think some of those numbers where we don't look so good is because it took us awhile for people to settle into their roles," Overton said. "It wasn't until the Pac-10 season started did things start to fall into place."

Said Dentmon: "We've got the right people in the right places. Our puzzle is complete, and now all we've got to do is perform when the spotlight is on us."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com