UW Men's Basketball | Huskies' rotation unsettled

Uncertainty was the theme for the Washington men's basketball team at its annual media day on Tuesday.

Coach Lorenzo Romar started the year unsure about the health of his youngest team since taking over the Huskies program five years ago. Now the lingering question is which of his players will comprise the starting lineup.

The Huskies open their season with an exhibition game against Saint Martin's on Friday. But coach Lorenzo Romar said he will not know until Thursday's evening practice or perhaps Friday morning who'll join forward Jon Brockman and guard Justin Dentmon in the starting five.

"Nothing is in stone at this point," Romar said. "Very rarely from one day to the next do the same players practice together. Some have skills that are better than others, and some are coming [along] quickly right now. Sometimes guys break out ahead of the pack because they're a little more experienced, but as the younger guys gain experience, they pass them."

Currently, junior Ryan Appleby is battling freshmen Phil Nelson and Adrian Oliver for the starting shooting guard role. Appleby also could be used off the bench to make the Huskies' second unit stronger.

"It's not that big of a deal; it's all going to come down to who plays well together," Appleby said. "I know I can bring energy off the bench. Either way is fine with me. We switch the lineups so much in practice, it's tough to say who looks good with whom.

"There's probably a little uncertainty to the people from the outside looking in, but we practice together every day and we know who we are and what type of players that we have. I think people will see that once the season gets going, we're still the same exciting, up-tempo team."

In the past, Romar has used the top players from rebounding drills to determine his exhibition starting lineup. Injuries prevented him from doing the same this season.

Back in action

Freshman Spencer Hawes, who had arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 11, started participating in shooting and running drills this week. Romar said the 7-footer is "a couple of days" away from returning to full contact practice, but is doubtful for Friday's game.

"I'm ready to get going right now, but they're telling me to just be patient," Hawes said. "I'm kind of more focused on being ready 100 percent for the first game than maybe halfway for Friday."

Guard Joel Smith, who had surgery in September to repair a stress fracture in his right foot, is about two weeks from returning. The 6-4 junior is on the court doing some footwork drills and should also be ready for the start of the season.

Hot ticket

A limited number of single-game tickets for all November nonconference matchups will go on sale at 8:30 this morning. Tickets for all remaining nonconference games, excluding the Dec. 20 Louisiana State game, will go on sale Dec. 1.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.gohuskies.com or at the Husky Ticket Office. Season tickets are also still available online, by contacting the office at 543-2200 or by e-mail at tickets@u.washington.edu.

Soaring Husky

Sure, Brockman is honored he's the cover boy for the team's pocket schedule this season. He just wishes the folks digging through his file of photos would have helped him out a little bit.

"They could have picked a better one or maybe photo-shopped it a little bit to make my biceps bigger," Brockman joked.

The 6-foot-7 forward is shown soaring about 50 feet above the Edmundson Pavilion court with a basketball in his right hand.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com