For the better part of three hours Saturday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, it was impossible to watch Isaiah Thomas without wondering: How did he do that?
The Huskies’ freshman electro-guard, two years removed from Curtis High School, put on a spin-move exhibition against California that often found the guys trying to guard him reduced to spectators. He cut and juked. He went through three gear shifts in two steps. He changed direction in midair.
When the audience wasn’t roaring, it was buzzing with oohs and ahs.
How did he do that?
And then, just when the marathon contest finally appeared to be under the Huskies’ control late in the second overtime period, Thomas did something that posed another kind of question:
Why did he do that?
A desperation 3-point shot that would have tied the game was rebounded underneath the basket by Cal’s D.J. Seeley, who released a harmless, seemingly worthless jump shot. If it missed, the Huskies win 77-74. If it goes in, the Huskies win 77-76.
All Washington needed from Thomas was for him to stand still with his hands on his hips. But after two overtimes, after 50 minutes of unseasonably intense basketball, physical exhaustion possibly caused mental exhaustion, because Thomas didn’t stand still with his hands on his hips.
He contested Seeley’s inconsequential shot, and when the ball dropped through the net, a whistle blew. Foul on No. 2. Amid raucous catcalls, Seeley went to the line and converted the cold-blooded free throw that sent the game to the third overtime.
Washington still had every chance to win after Thomas’ careless foul, but the Golden Bears weren’t to be denied. Granted a stay of execution with 1.3 seconds remaining in the second overtime, they held on for an 88-85 victory.
“It’s frustrating,” Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar said of the most glaring of several judgment lapses that cost his team a chance to win. Instead, the Huskies lost the school’s first triple-overtime game in 24 years. “And at 2:30 in the morning, when I’m throwing a banana at the TV, I’ll be frustrated again.
“If any of us are watching the game, we’re saying, ‘Don’t do that!’ But sometimes, in the heat of battle, mistakes are made.”
Mistakes are made, to be sure, but that Thomas will be remembered as the culprit is downright cruel. It was his energy and artistry that single-handedly transformed a game between two equally matched teams into a classic. He scored 13 points in the first half, most of them at the expense of California’s Jerome Randle, the scintillating guard who’s got almost as many moves as his UW counterpart.
Bears coach Mike Montgomery did some tweaking during halftime, essentially assigning reserve guard Jorge Gutierrez to shadow Thomas.
Between the different look – Gutierrez is probably Cal’s best defender – Thomas’ shooting touch regressed as the game was extended into one overtime, then a second.
But even when his shot betrayed him, Thomas, who finished with 22 points, five assists and two steals, was a source of electricity every time he touched the ball – he was the brightest light in the building – until the bulb went dim for a split second.
“Clearly a foul,” Montgomery said of Thomas’ hack of Seeley. “But to get that whistle on the road, with that much time left, you’re like, ‘He’s not going to call that.’ ”
If it’s any consolation to Thomas, he wasn’t the only Huskies player to suffer brain-lock. Washington had an opportunity to seal the deal in regulation time when it called a timeout with 43.9 seconds remaining in the second half, and the score tied at 58-58.
No sooner did the huddle break than forward Quincy Pondexter, who had yet to score a basket, drove the baseline and took a rushed shot that caromed off the backboard. The possession clock was not an issue; there was plenty of time to set up the play diagrammed on the bench.
But the best the Huskies could deliver was a hurried shot released from a cold hand.
“So many errors are committed in a basketball game,” said Huskies forward Jon Brockman, “you can’t beat guys up over one thing. You can’t think like that.”
Said Thomas: “This game’s over with. We’ve got the Oregon schools next. Now we’ve got to get after it in practice.”
He is poetry in motion, a highlight waiting to happen. He might be the most exciting college player in the nation.
He is also freshman.
If you’re Lorenzo Romar, you take the miscues with the majestic moves and plod on, trusting your TV screen will survive the banana thrown at it at 2:30 in the morning.
John McGrath: 253-597-8742; ext. 6154
john.mcgrath@thenewstribune.
