Josh Smith’s college decision came down to Washington or UCLA.
When the Kentwood High big man picked the Bruins, it was viewed as Washington once again coming close but not being able to pull in the big recruit.
Three years later, Smith is available again. He asked for and was granted his release from UCLA on Nov. 28.
“I have made the decision to leave the program for personal reasons,” Smith said in a statement at the time. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at UCLA and am grateful for the opportunity that has been presented to me here.”
The time at UCLA was a battle for the 6-foot-10, 305-pound Smith. His weight continued to be an issue, and coach Ben Howland often commented that until Smith was in better shape, he wouldn’t be the player many think he could be.
Now, Smith’s next step is up in the air. Players rarely transfer within conferences, and it’s no different in the Pacific-12 Conference. It is difficult to do. Two of the main reasons are because any intraconference transfer waiver requires approval of nine member schools, and the transferring player cannot receive athletically related aid for a year. Those are Pac-12-specific rules.
“Josh has some unbelievable talent and potential,” Howland said Tuesday on the Pac-12 conference call. “It’s him deciding that this is really important to him, that this is what he wants to do. He did a great job his freshman year to get in physical condition; that’s the whole key for him.”
Howland also wished Smith luck.
“I’m pulling for him,” Howland said. “He’s a good kid, and has a great family. I hope things work out for him in the future.”
The question is if his future involves the Huskies or not.
SKIN OF THEIR TEETH
Arizona coach Sean Miller didn’t mince words when talking about the good fortune the Wildcats had at the end of Saturday’s game against then-fifth-ranked Florida.
“I’m sure Florida is sick to their stomach,” Miller said.
He’s surely right. Arizona was down six, 64-58, entering the final minute. Florida had handled the Wildcats’ offense all afternoon.
But Arizona was able to press and get a couple of turnovers to set up Mark Lyons’ driving layup with seven seconds left that gave Arizona a 65-64 win.
It was a big win for the Pac-12. The Wildcats are up to fourth in this week’s Associated Press poll and are the only conference representative. They have also emerged as the clear favorite to win the conference after narrowly being chosen to do so in the preseason media poll.
“They’ll (need to) be some good fortunes there,” Miller said. “Hopefully good health. Injuries can derail any good team.”
Unlike most other Pac-12 teams, Arizona has depth at every position. Lyons is as expected, a scorer with swagger who does a number of impressive things coupled with a few semi-crazy ones. But, he’s a fighter. Apparently, so are his teammates, who trailed by 11 midway through the second half.
“I think if we deserve credit the other night for one thing, is we just fought all the way to the end,” Miller said.
ON THE BOARDS
At 9-1, Oregon is just outside the AP top 25, and leads “others receiving votes.”
Oregon piecing together a competitive team should stop being a surprise as long the Ducks are coached by Dana Altman. He has a knack for putting together transfer-laden teams and turning them into productive units.
It also helps when the transfer is someone like Arsalan Kazemi. He transferred from Rice, where he was expected to be a player-of-the-year candidate in Conference USA.
He missed two games while waiting for the NCAA to rule on his hardship waiver request and has been a menace since being granted the transfer waiver, which allowed him to play this season instead of sitting out a year.
Kazemi is averaging 9.4 points and 10.3 rebounds. He’s just 6-7, but is sturdy and ambitious. He’s also the first native Iranian to play Division I basketball.
“He’s done a great job of getting both offensive and defensive rebounds for us,” Altman said. “Really made us a solid rebounding team.”
todd.dybas@ thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports @Todd_Dybas
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