HUSKIES: Who will be the leader in 2011?

Terrence Ross

For a college basketball team to be successful there needs to be a leader. You can’t expect five guys in their early 20’s to run out on the floor and win consistently without someone to lead them. It just doesn’t work that way.

The leader for the Huskies in 2008 was Jon Brockman. 2009, Quincy Pondexter. 2010, Isaiah Thomas.

But what about 2011?

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Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning were the leaders of 2010, both leading the team in points and rallying the team late on the season. But they’re gone now, both being seniors last year. So where does that leave head coach Lorenzo Romar?

The first man I think of is senior Darnell Gant. The power forward really came on late last season, inspiring his teammates with his gritty rebounds and defensive sacrifices. He doesn’t have the freakish athletic ability some of his teammates possess, but has decent fundamentals and has won the approval of Lorenzo Romar who has hinted at giving Gant more playing time next season.

6-foot-6 guard Terrence Ross will be the next superstar at UW. I guarantee it. He has extraordinary athletic ability, showcasing it a couple times during the season by dunking the ball over unsuspecting saps. Ross never showed much leadership ability last season, but it’s hard to do that if you’re only averaging 17.4 minutes. Expect his hype machine to steadily increase as the season approaches.

The other person I see as a potential leader for the 2011-2012 UW basketball team is point guard Abdul Gaddy. Before Gaddy tore his ACL at practice, he was enjoying a bounce-back season after struggling as a freshman. He had the best assists-to-turnover ratio in the Pac-10 before the injury averaging 3.8 assists and 1.2 turnovers. Abdul has never shown himself to be a big vocal leader, but whenever you’re the team’s point guard, you have the potential to be the leader.

All I really know is that someone better step up and take control of the team before the season starts. There is no Isaiah, MBA, Quincy, or Jon on Lorenzo Romar’s team right now, so it’s essential that Gant, Ross, Gaddy, or SOMEONE step up and take the reins.

I’m not suggesting everyone freak out and start a riot right now because we can’t see an on court leader, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Reach Nathan Parsons at nathanparsons98@yahoo.com