Weekly Grades: Pondexter Improving

Quincy Pondexter, UW Men’s Basketball Team: Pondexter did everything within his power to lead the Huskies to victory this past week in California. He scored 21 points in a loss against Cal and 20 in a win over Stanford, exhibiting much-improved play.

His new found aggressiveness and confidence in attacking the basket aided the Dawgs immensely. Pondexter single-handedly carried the Huskies for much of the Cal game, until they were finally overcome. He also helped lead UW to a win in Stanford, leading Washington in scoring both games and combining for 41 points on the week.
However, the loss to Cal showed that the Dawg’s success does not hinge solely on the play of Quincy Pondexter. Huskies got their first loss when he scored more than ten points, and are now 12-1 when he reaches double digits. Though Pondexter played outstanding basketball on the road trip, he cannot carry the team alone. Grade: A

UW Men’s Basketball Team: The Huskies opened off their road trip to California poorly, losing 86-71 to California. Washington lost a nine-point lead early in the second half, and were completely blown out by Cal who ended up winning by 15.
It seems the Dawgs are unable to hold on against a tough California team. Though it was not as bad as the triple-overtime Husky loss, UW again lost a big lead just when it looked like they were about to pull away.
However, the Huskies fared better at Maples Pavilion, where they snapped a 15-game losing streak in a 75-68 victory. It was a crucial road-victory in which the Huskies avoided a road sweep, which could have turned out disastrous for Washington in this tightly-packed Pac-10.
The series highlighted the Dawg’s need for better play from their back court and Jon Brockman. Dentmon and Thomas will both have to play better in order for the Dawgs to win. And though Brockman’s poor performance is partially due to the fact that teams are focusing on containing him, Romar needs to figure out some way to get him the ball. Grade: D

Alex Rodriguez: Call him A-fraud, A-roid, or whatever you want: Alex Rodriguez is a liar and a cheater. I remember when I was a kid, I used to idolize A-rod. Then he signed the huge $252 million contract to leave the Mariners for the Texas Rangers. And just like that, my idolization was gone.
Now A-rod has risen even higher up on my hate list. SI reported Saturday that A-rod tested positive for steroids in 2003, the same year he won an MVP award. And now, with Rodriguez added to the list of steroids users that includes Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa, baseball is even more tainted. It seems like no great hitter is able to resist the temptation of steroids.
However, A-rod did admit to taking steroids on Monday in an interview with Peter Gammons. He confessed using performance-enhancing drugs and apologized for it. And though this makes his actions no better, at least he didn’t worsen the situation by attempting to lie about it. Grade: F

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