Huskies basketball team has the talent to be a big winner

It was garbage time, and the freshmen were a little overzealous. C.J. Wilcox decided to throw a lob, and he passed it a little high, a little wide, but Clarence Trent didn't care. The 6-foot-5 forward leapt, stretched his right hand almost to the top of the square on the backboard, grabbed the basketball with only that one hand and forced it through the hoop with flair.

The crowd gave a big "Ohhhhhhh!" one more time.

This game was an "Ohhhhhhh!"-fest. The players on the bench jumped out of their seats. And with that emphatic icing on this sweet first impression, the Washington men's basketball team left the Edmundson Pavilion floor a few minutes later with proof that they're worthy of their buzz.

Trent may not even play much this season. He'll likely be an energy guy near the end of the rotation. But his ferocious dunk reiterated the talent, versatility and depth of this team.

It's too early to make definitive declarations. The Huskies are only on their third week of practice, and because of a flu bug, they haven't shared much time on the court. Nevertheless, if you look at this team solely on raw talent, you have to like coach Lorenzo Romar's chances of molding this group into something significant.

After his team fought through poor shooting, customary exhibition sloppiness and heavy fouling to claim a 77-48 exhibition victory over Central Washington on Wednesday night, the coach was pleased.

"Well, I wouldn't say shocked, but I was pleasantly surprised with the energy we played with," Romar said.

He was impressed because the Huskies had practiced nine straight days. He worried they wouldn't have their legs. Romar discovered quickly that those concerns weren't necessary.

The Huskies dove for loose balls. They hustled for out-of-nowhere deflections and blocked shots. They played with the effort of a hungry team instead of one resting on its accomplishments from last season.

So here's an ultra-encouraging first thought: They have more tools than they had last season.

And here's the but: They have more shortcomings, too.

Over the next two months, until conference play begins, it'll be fascinating to observe how much of this raw talent can be polished.

There's little about this team that more basketball can't fix. The Huskies have it all, except for an extra true post player, and Romar gave us a taste as he tinkered with intriguing lineups all game.

You want to see the Huskies go small? For portions of this game, Romar put four perimeter players — Venoy Overton, Isaiah Thomas, Abdul Gaddy and Quincy Pondexter — on the floor with either Matthew Bryan-Amaning or Tyreese Breshers. And it looked like a combination that could work in a Pac-10 game.

You want to see the Huskies play bigger? Romar put Gaddy, Thomas and Pondexter on the floor with Bryan-Amaning and Breshers, their best two post presences. And that unit looked good, too.

You want a small but long, athletic, hustlin' group to steal a couple of minutes? Romar put Gaddy, Overton, Pondexter, Scott Suggs and Trent on the floor together. And, yep, you know the outcome.

Of the 12 players who saw action — only Justin Holiday, who's recovering from hernia surgery, didn't play -- you couldn't find a weak link, at least when it comes to talent. They all can help this team win. Romar's biggest worry figures to be defining roles and finding a workable rotation to keep enough players happy.

You saw Overton's defensive intensity and Gaddy's savvy. You saw Breshers — who has "farm strength," as Romar likes to say — be an unstoppable force at times, even as he works his way back into basketball shape. You saw Pondexter provide the necessary leadership and Thomas make impossible shots and a stronger Darnell Gant continue to do the little things for his team.

Despite their immense talent, the Huskies will need time to develop an identity. Last season's team was delightfully simple: It won because of defense, rebounding and timely playmaking. Can this group whittle itself down to similar winning essentials?

For now, the Huskies are that new, remote-control toy car that you can't stop crashing because you want to see how fast it can go. It goes fast, really fast.

It's going to be a fun season.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com, Twitter: @Jerry_Brewer