PORTLAND – The battle for the hearts and lungs of Oregon fans got under way in earnest Wednesday.
Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury admits he knew nothing of the Washington-Oregon rivalry until arriving in Portland this week for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
But once he found out, he quickly tried to create a home-court advantage for his team in its game today against UW, despite the Rose Garden being almost 2,000 miles from Starkville, Miss.
“I expect to see the headline, ‘Bulldogs love Ducks,’ ” Stansbury told a Portland reporter. “It’s all on you. I understand Oregon folks don’t like Washington folks. … So you Oregon folks get ready to help us. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
Stansbury didn’t actively court all the Gonzaga fans in Portland – perhaps he wasn’t told what they think of the Huskies. But even unsolicited, it isn’t hard to imagine visiting Gonzaga fans cheering for a second set of Bulldogs this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar and some of his players countered by appealing to Northwest and Pacific-10 Conference pride.
“I just know how loyal Northwest fans are,” Romar said. “And I know the loyalty of the Oregon fans. I know the loyalty of Gonzaga fans. I know the loyalty of our fans. So, I’m just pretty positive that they’ll all cheer for the Northwest teams. I just took that as kind of a given.”
The remark was greeted with laughter.
Freshman point guards
UW and MSU will both start freshman point guards today: Isaiah Thomas for the Huskies and Dee Bost for the Bulldogs.
Each was named to his respective conference’s all-freshman team. Each also attended prep school before enrolling. In fact, Thomas and Bost played against each other in a prep school tournament, with Bost’s Virginia school soundly beating Thomas’ Connecticut school.
“Great player,” Bost remembered of Thomas. “A great scorer getting into the lane.”
Double practices
Washington went through two practices Wednesday. The morning session at Portland State University was the serious one.
The afternoon work at the Rose Garden was mostly for the entertainment of the fans, who were invited to watch all eight teams practice.
As usual, the public workout concluded with a dunking exhibition.
Venoy Overton and Mathew Bryan-Amaning each completed slams after rotating the ball under one leg while in the air. Thomas completed one after leaping over a 7-foot prop – teammate Joe Wolfinger, although his height was lowered considerably due to bending at the waist. Meanwhile, Justin Holiday missed an ambitious dunk that began with teammate Scott Suggs bouncing the ball off the side of the backboard.
Fastbreaks
Wolfinger told reporters he expects to transfer before next season. The junior center played in 15 games this season, with no starts. … Stansbury said it is a misconception that his team is playing much better since the start of its six-game winning streak, which included a four-game sweep to the SEC tournament title. Stansbury said the Bulldogs’ perceived midseason slump was actually more related to a tough schedule and a couple of tight losses than to poor play. … Meanwhile, the Bulldogs denied any lingering effect from those four games in four days followed quickly by a long flight from the Deep South to the Northwest. “I feel great,” junior guard Barry Stewart said. “Ask me that a couple of days ago, I probably couldn’t tell you that. I had a good night’s sleep. I feel pretty good and ready to go.”
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808
blogs.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
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