Can't write too much about Terrence Ross (far right), who stole the show tonight. What a performance. When the sixth man is scoring 25 points and collecting four steals, you know you have something special.
But then, the Huskies have always known that about Ross, their 6-foot-6 freshman who led them in their 87-69 win over Oregon tonight. These are the games that turn heads and create a national buzz. Sure it was just the Ducks, who are winless in the Pac-10.
Consider, however, Ross scored 18 points last week at USC and he's averaging 16.7 points in three Pac-10 games.
Coach Lorenzo Romar paid him a high compliment comparing Ross to Brandon Roy and Spencer Hawes in terms of raw basketball talent.
"In terms of just his talent alone, right up there with Brandon Roy," Romar said. "Brandon Roy had signed when we got here. Spencer Hawes is really talented. To be able to do what he does at 6-11. The way he passes and shoots and all that, he's really talented. Terrence is up there. He's up there in the top couple."
The biggest question the past 24 hours was who was going to replace injured guard Abdul Gaddy?
Ross more than offset the loss of Gaddy. He didn't start, but he was a catalyst when the Huskies turned a 51-51 tie into an 84-63 lead. He led UW with a career-best scoring output and its obvious his defense has improved. In the first half, he intercepted a pass for a layup an he had an emphatic block on Joevan Catron (above, left).
"I knew that everybody on the bench was going to have to step up," Ross said. "Gaddy was a big part of our team, and we're going to have to take on a little more of a load. I think we did pretty well."
With Ross emerging as a primary scorer, the Huskies have changed recently albeit slightly. Romar implicitly trusts Ross and has given him the green light. Tonight he attempted 18 shots in 27 minutes. For the season, Ross has 92 attempts and has played 205 minutes.
He's averaging a shot every 2.2 minutes, which is the highest frequency among the Huskies.
Ross entered the game not terribly confident in his shot and he still finished with 25 points. Pretty good.
"At the beginning of the game I didn't really feel my shot," he said. "The coaches said we were taking too many contested threes and we needed to attack the basket. I think that's when I got my game going. I got to the basket and they just kinda played off me. Then I hit a couple and had the chance to go right back to the basket.
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