UW men's basketball is just what Seattle needed

There was an urgency to this season. A deep belief that they were going to do something important, not only for the school, but for the city.

Even before practice began, University of Washington players were relishing their collective role as the only big-time basketball team in Seattle. They embraced their position as the only game in town, the fillers of the void created by the Sonics' departure.

The Huskies expected to compete for a Pac-10 championship, expected to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005, expected to march deep into March.

Senior Jon Brockman was back with All-American credentials. Isaiah Thomas had arrived, the latest in coach Lorenzo Romar's stable of explosive mini-guards. And center Matthew Bryan-Amaning had torn up Europe, playing for the English Under-20 team and looking ready for a breakout season.

The Huskies were deep and hungry and full of confidence. They believed they could lift the city out of the doldrums. They could help Seattle fans past their disappointments with the Seahawks, the Mariners and the Huskies football team.

This team was the answer.

Then they opened the season in Portland and lost to the Pilots. And then they went to Kansas City and lost by 19 to Kansas and lost the next night to Florida. By Thanksgiving, when they returned to Seattle, they were 2-3 and looking like another in the string of Seattle disasters.

But two months later, these Huskies have ignited like gasoline. They've won 13 of their last 14. Entering a treacherous four-game road swing that begins Thursday in Arizona, they lead the Pac-10 conference and are ranked 23rd in the AP poll.

"I don't think we were all on the same page in October," Romar said before Tuesday's practice. "I think now we are. You can sense that whether individual players have liked it or not, at this point, they have accepted certain roles. They've put their individual aspirations aside."

These Huskies are swaggering again. Hec Ed is loud and vibrant. There's joy in the gym again.

Washington has warmed an especially cold winter. The Huskies have lifted Seattle out of its lingering funk. They have given fans' sagging sports psyche a generous lift.

"A lot of fans in the area and the city have been a little disappointed with the way things have gone recently," Brockman said. "Now to finally have a team that everyone can get behind and support, definitely can bring some joy and happiness in tough times."

In their small way, these Huskies even have lifted the load, lightened the gloom and given people something to talk about besides layoffs, foreclosures and other assorted economic distresses.

"We talked about that briefly before the season started, but just briefly," Romar said. "It wasn't something I wanted to make a big deal with our team, that we had to be the saviors of the city, or anything like that. But it makes you feel good that you can be in a position to make people feel better."

It isn't just the winning, it's the way they are winning.

They are playing defense the rough-and-tumble way Romar's teams are supposed to play it, waking up the echoes of Bobby Jones, Will Conroy, Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy.

They're making free throws as if their bodies have been inhabited by Rick Barry, shooting 80 percent against SC and 83.7 against UCLA.

Senior guard Justin Dentmon, who has struggled so profoundly the past two seasons, is reborn, scoring 38 points in last week's wins. His Renaissance is the best Seattle sports story in a long time.

Justin Holiday has become a lockdown defender in Jones' mold. Fearless freshman Thomas is a herky-jerky, ankle-breaking, natural-born scorer reminiscent of former Arizona All-American Damon Stoudamire.

After two uncertain seasons, Quincy Pondexter is understanding who he is — 11 points, 5 assists, 2 steals against USC, 10 points, 2 steals against UCLA. And Brockman just continues to rev at superhuman rpms.

This team has become a band of brothers bent on doing something special for Seattle.

"This summer I didn't think I was going to be hanging out with the guys on the team like I have," Thomas said. "But we're just all one now. We're so close. We hang out all the time. The relationship we have off the court just makes it so much better on the court."

Turns out these Huskies have become exactly what Seattle hoped they would be in November, when this city felt like the Siberia of sports.

Washington is the good news that has been so long coming.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com