Huskies resemble old selves in win

The act will be a lot harder to pull off on future dates.

But on Sunday night, the supposedly new-look Washington men's basketball team performed an almost dead-on imitation of the 2004-05 squad in beating Simon Fraser 114-48 in an exhibition game at Edmundson Pavilion.

Just like last year's team, the Huskies pressed and ran at will, forcing 42 turnovers; shared the ball for 31 assists on 50 baskets; and even turned in a handful of highlight-reel dunks.

And in the biggest revelation of the night, Ryan Appleby looked just like Tre Simmons in draining 6 of 10 three-pointers and scoring 20 points.

"The one guy who surprised me was Appleby and how he could shoot it," said Simon Fraser coach Scott Clark.

The game provided ample evidence to back up the postgame statement from Washington coach Lorenzo Romar that "we haven't changed a thing" philosophically despite the loss of Simmons, Nate Robinson and Will Conroy.

Of course, the caveat was that it came against a Simon Fraser team that was hardly competitive.

Still, there were all kinds of positive signs in a game played in front of an announced crowd of 9,481, though the number was well shy of that number.

Forward Jamaal Williams looked more confident than ever in scoring a game-high 24 points and hitting 12 of 16 shots.

"With all those guys gone, it's asked of me to score now," Williams said. "I'm not second-guessing myself."

Freshman forward Jon Brockman made a solid debut, hitting 8 of 9 shots and scoring 18 points in 19 minutes despite wearing a mask to protect a broken nose he suffered in practice last month. He will probably wear the mask for about two more weeks.

"He looked like he's been playing with us for a while," Romar said.

Appleby, a Stanwood native playing his first organized game since leaving Florida in March 2004, saw time at both point guard and shooting guard. And while his shooting gained the most notice, Romar lauded his defense. The game was a rout from the start.

The Huskies led 54-27 at halftime, scoring 17 straight at one point. Washington forced 18 turnovers in the first half, made 13 steals and dished out 16 assists on 24 baskets.

Brandon Roy scored seven of UW's first 16 points and finished with 13 points in just 18 minutes.

The rout left plenty of time for the reserves in the second half. Walk-on Brandon Burmeister took advantage with 14 points in 11 minutes.

Romar praised the team's five freshmen, as well. Justin Dentmon got the start at point guard and had six points and four assists, though Appleby started the second half. The only freshman not to score was Joe Wolfinger, who played 10 minutes and missed his only shot.

Wolfinger is still a candidate to redshirt and said he expected to make a decision this week.

The Huskies open the regular season Sunday when they host Morgan State at 6 p.m. in the first round of the Black Coaches Association Classic.

Romar said he thinks his team is close to being ready.

"I think we are making progress," he said. "Are we where we need to be? We need to be a little better."

But that was hard to tell on this night.

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