All the way from Tacoma, Huskies hit a trey

• Huskies’ 2009-10 schedule, 2008-09 results, stats, more
Like anyone from Tacoma, Isaiah Thomas, Abdul Gaddy and Clarence Trent know the most direct way to Seattle: Hop Interstate 5 and head north. However, that’s not the route any of them took from the City of Destiny to the University of Washington.
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Despite detours, they finally got there. And all three will be wearing purple and gold tonight when the 14th-ranked Huskies open their 2009-10 men’s baseball season against Wright State at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

That will be a first. Because while all three Tacoma hoops stars have known each other since childhood, this is the first time they have been united on one team.

“Once we’re on the court together, we’re definitely going to represent and show that we’re from Tacoma,” Thomas said this week. “Clarence and me played together, but Abdul was always younger. So we played in the same program, but he played on the younger team. We never really played together except summer in open gym and things like that; so not in an organized game. But it’s going to be fun.”

Gaddy was separated not only by age, but also by geography: Thomas and Trent grew up on the Hilltop, while Gaddy was on Tacoma’s East Side.

“I’ve watched them play,” Gaddy said last week before practicing with his new teammates at Hec Ed. “They’ve become sort of like big brothers. They watch over me because I’m younger. To have them here, it’s more comforting to me.”

A look at the unlikely paths that finally brought this talented Tacoma trio together:

THOMAS

For a while, it looked as if Thomas might take the most direct route from Tacoma to UW.

Starting with a series of youth teams in the fourth or fifth grade, he climbed the basketball ladder: the Washington Warriors fifth-grade team that practiced at McCarver Elementary, then the Icemen, then he became a teammate of Trent’s for the first time with the Tacoma Regulators. He attended McCarver Elementary, Naches Trail Elementary, Spanaway Junior High, Curtis Junior High, Curtis High School.

Finally, so close to becoming a Husky that he could taste it, Thomas found himself whisked a continent away to Connecticut, ironing out his grades and his game with two unexpected and unwanted years at the South Kent School.

“I never really liked it over there,” Thomas said. “But once basketball season came, time went by so fast because we played so many more games. It was like college, playing like 40 to 45 games. But from after basketball season to when school was over, that was like the slowest part. I swear it took forever to end.”

It seemed that way for Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, too.

But when Thomas arrived on campus last season he proved to be worth the wait. He led the Huskies with a 15.5 scoring average and was named Pacific-10 Conference freshman of the year.

“A lot of the local kids that end up here, sometimes in practice I catch myself saying, ‘Wow, he’s really here,’ ” Romar recalled last season. “All these home visits and evaluations we use and sitting with them at the football games and the basketball games and now they’re wearing one of our uniforms. It’s kind of neat.”

GADDY

While becoming a McDonald’s All-American at Bellarmine Prep, Gaddy knew exactly what uniform he wanted to wear next.

“My dream school was always to go to Arizona,” he said. “It was like a dream for me, a dream come true. Like when I was a kid I was like, ‘That’s where I want to go.’ ”

The reason was Arizona’s reputation for sending point guards into the NBA: Jason Terry, Damon Stoudamire, Gilbert Arenas.

One thing all those Wildcats had in common was playing under coach Lute Olson. And when Olson offered Gaddy a chance to be next in line, he jumped.

But then a series of disruptions jolted the Arizona program, topping out with Olson’s surprise resignation before the start of last season.

Suddenly, life in Tucson didn’t seem quite so dreamy.

Gaddy reopened his recruitment and finally decided to join a different line of guards who got their chances at the next level: Will Conroy, Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy.

“Switching was tough but (Arizona) just wasn’t a situation for me when the coach retired,” Gaddy said. “I looked at Coach Romar, and when (former UW assistant) Cameron Dollar was here he recruited me also. And they both seemed like great role models for me. My family talked about that. And staying close to home was real key for me. I think that’s why I kind of changed it up.”

TRENT

Of the three, Trent took the most indirect route to the shores of Lake Washington, and he seems the most surprised to have ended up there.

“I didn’t think I was mature enough to stay home,” he said. “… I told (Romar) I don’t think I’m going to come. He told me he’s still going to recruit me and whatnot. Most coaches probably would have backed off, but he still recruited me like I never told him that.”

Even before picking a college, Trent had bounced around the area – as well as the country – while trying to find the right environment for his personal life, his studies and his hoops dreams.

He started high school at River Ridge in Lacey. Then he spent two years at Gig Harbor High while living with his uncle. Next, it was on to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., and finally the Patterson School in North Carolina.

“(At Gig Harbor) my academics were good, but not good enough to go to college,” Trent said. “So I had a chance to go to Vegas, which helped academics and basketball.”

The shadow of the Las Vegas Strip might not be the ideal place for most people to straighten out their lives, but it worked out all right for Trent.

“There was temptation; there’s always temptation,” he said. “But I was able to fight through it and not be sucked into that crowd and whatnot.”

Being that far from home – and then farther still in North Carolina – Trent finally learned the lessons he felt he needed before he could reconsider Romar’s offer.

“I was a big kid when I was home,” he said. “I relied on my family a lot more than I should have. But with me going away, I realized that my family is not always going to be there all the time, so it helped me through some tough times. I wanted to go home, but they helped me stick through it, and it helped me grow up.”

With Romar’s door still open, Trent figured it was finally time to walk though.

And when he did, he found a couple of familiar faces in the locker room.

“I never really thought of it at first,” Trent said. “I heard Isaiah was coming and I was like, ‘OK,’ because I didn’t think I was coming. But they kept recruiting me. I came for my visit. I loved it. I ended up committing. And I thought, ‘Me and Isaiah, that will be cool again.’ And then Abdul ended up committing, and I was like, ‘Three of us. It’s kind of crazy.’ ”

Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808

don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports

1 Venoy Overton
Seattle (Franklin)
Class: Junior
Height: 5-11
Weight: 185
Last year’s numbers: 5.8 ppg 2.1 rpg

2 Isaiah Thomas
Tacoma (Curtis; South Kent, Conn.)
Class: Sophomore
Height: 5-8
Weight: 185
Last year’s numbers: 15.5 ppg 3.0 rpg

11 Matthew Bryan-Amaning
London (South Kent, Conn.)
Class: Junior
Height: 6-9
Weight: 240
Last year’s numbers: 6.0 ppg 4.0 rpg

20 Quincy Pondexter
Fresno, Calif. (San Joaquin Memorial)
Class: Senior
Height: 6-6
Weight: 215
Last year’s numbers: 12.1 ppg 5.9 rpg

44 Darnell Gant
Los Angeles (Crenshaw)
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-8
Weight: 225
Last year’s numbers: 3.1 ppg 3.3 rpg

THE BENCH

33 Tyreese Breshers, F, 6-7/255, RS fr., Los Angeles (Price)
10 Abdul Gaddy, G, 6-3/190, fr., Tacoma (Bellarmine Prep)
22 Justin Holiday, F, 6-6/180, jr., Chatsworth, Calif. (Campbell Hall)
42 Brendan Sherrer, F, 6-9/240. so., Monroe (Archbishop Murphy)
15 Scott Suggs, G, 6-6/185, so., Washington, Mo. (Washington)
12 Clarence Trent, F, 6-5/225, fr., Tacoma (River Ridge; Gig Harbor; Findlay Prep-Nev.; Patterson School-N.C.)
31 Elston Turner, G, 6-4/205, so., Missouri City, Texas (Elkins)

THE COACH: Lorenzo Romar (eighth season). Fact: Romar is fourth in all-time wins (145-81) at Washington and 11 shy of surpassing Tippy Dye for third.

3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE HUSKIES

Can Quincy Pondexter replace Jon Brockman?
No. However, as the lone senior, Pondexter has become a leader, and even the highly touted underclassmen have shown willingness to follow. In terms of numbers, Brockman’s points and rebounds could be made up by committee. And by the start of conference play, Tyreese Breshers may be fit enough to add muscle when needed.

Is there enough outside shooting?
“Hopefully,” is all coach Lorenzo Romar was willing to say. There wasn’t much to begin with, and the decision to redshirt true freshman C.J. Wilcox leaves Elston Turner as the only proven shooter with range. However, the Huskies found ways around and through zones last season, and there is hope returning players improved their shots during the offseason.

Can this team defend its conference title?
This projects as a down season for the Pacific-10 Conference, and that should offer UW a chance to handle the loss of Brockman better than it handled the loss of Brandon Roy. California returns more proven talent, but the Huskies’ athleticism should keep them near the top all season – probably high enough for another NCAA tournament invitation.

Don Ruiz, The News Tribune