Post by nutsberryfarm 🏜 on Feb 17, 2018 18:45:03 GMT
The diminutive guard from Tacoma will see his No. 2 jersey retired on Saturday at halftime of the Huskies’ game against Colorado.
www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/everybody-around-washington-has-a-story-about-isaiah-thomas-greatness/
Quincy Pondexter: “We wanted to rip each other’s heads off”
Pondexter, a former Husky star, played his final two years at Washington with Thomas. They shared a terse relationship as scoring leaders who led UW to a pair of NCAA tournaments in 2009 and 2010.
“When he came into college, he got on our team and guys heard about the stories about him scoring so much in high school, but you have doubts because of his height. We questioned it and we sat back to see what kind of guy he was and what kind of player he was. And he did something special. He captivated the team with his heart. He steadily added something all the time. He figured out how people were guarding him and always improved on how he was going to attack them.
“He started to really get into the gym a lot, I want to say, his sophomore year. And I was a gym rat so every time I would be in there, he would be in there. We tried to stay in the gym longer than each other. We were on separate ends of the floor working out with our trainers, and we would try to stay in the gym as long as possible. We can talk about it and laugh now, but at the time we were so damn competitive that we would hate each other for a couple of days.
“We both were so similar in the fact that we were so competitive. Whether we wanted to rip each other’s head off or score more points than the other person even within the game, we were going to do it and it made our team step up their game so much more because you had two competitive guys. I know I owe him for making me better.”
Lorenzo Romar: “The Shot that beat Arizona”
Romar, who spent 15 years coaching the Huskies, and Thomas combined to compile a 76-30 record, including an unforgettable 77-75 overtime win against Arizona to win the Pac-10 tournament title.
“If you ask Isaiah what happened on the shot, he tells a different story than I tell. Just so you know, his story is wrong. But I let him tell it because it’s kind of funny. So they scored to tie it and when that happens, sometimes on offense I didn’t like to call timeouts if I felt like we were OK because then it gives them a chance to devise how they’re going to defend. If they’re going to trap and get the ball out of somebody’s hand. I just like to play it out.
“So when the shot went in, I looked at all of our player’s faces, mainly Isaiah’s, to see how did they look. And I looked at him. As the ball was thrown into him, he looked at me. When he looked at me, he put his hand up like you don’t need to call a timeout. We’re good. I got this. He says he waved me off. He says I was calling a play and he waved me off. That’s fine. We’ll go with that one sometimes.
“But the truth is, he says ‘I’m good.’ I say ‘OK we’ve been here before let’s go.’ It’s the same thing we did the year before with Quincy Pondexter, and he hit the shot to beat Marquette. So there goes Isaiah. What most people don’t realize, and I didn’t realize until Isaiah told me this, when he was going up for the shot the ball bounced high and he lost it for a second so he had to pull up right there.”
Jason Hamilton: “Isaiah, the competitor”
Following a two-year stint at San Diego State, Hamilton played two seasons (1994-96) at Washington while averaging 7.6 points, 4.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He became a UW assistant (1997-99) and joined the team’s radio broadcast in 2002.
“Isaiah Thomas and what he’s about, it’s not one single moment for me. It’s about the fact that when he was on this team and he was in the game, you always felt like you had a chance to win. You never felt like the competitor in him was ever going to give an inch. If you were down 10 or up 10, he was just so fiery that you just knew you would be in the game. It didn’t matter if you were playing North Carolina or if you were playing any directional school in the nonconference, you just knew you were going to win.
“The three guys that stand out to me as the most competitive would be Isaiah Thomas, Nate Robinson and Will Conroy. And it’s probably in that order. They all just had that edge where they took on a personal challenge. They weren’t afraid of whoever came into the gym whether they were ranked or not. They took it personal and that’s how Isaiah has been his whole life, even at the next level. You knew he was ferocious, but at that level you have to be a different kind of person and he’s been that.”
Jen Cohen: “Not IT, but Zay-Zay”
Cohen took over as Washington’s athletic director in 2016. The Tacoma native joined the UW athletic department in 1998 and spent the bulk of her 18-year tenure at the school in fundraising efforts.
“When I think about IT, first of all I smile because I think of his smile. So that is the first thing that always happens. And then the influence that he’s had on my own kids (Tyson 16 and Dylan 13). I was raising my kids — and still am obviously — during the time that he was here. My kids call him Zay-Zay so I still call him Zay-Zay. We never call him IT. Just that smile and graciousness and how kind he always was to my family. Every time I talk to him, he always asks me about the boys. Just how important family is to him. A lot of great memories of him on the court, but just as many off the court as well.
David Crisp: “Us Tacoma guys stick together”
Crisp is a junior left-handed point guard at Washington who found a role model in Thomas, another left-handed point guard from Tacoma
“He’s like a big bro. I’ll talk to him occasionally and he’ll check in to see how I’m doing. If you think of UW, a lot of people think of Isaiah Thomas and that three at the buzzer and the heart that he played with. That’s why a lot of people love him and I try to model my game after that and play with my heart.
“When you think about the Tacoma guys, there’s Avery Bradley, Allonzo Trier, Abdul Gaddy, Ahmad (Rorie), Dave Jenkins, Malachi Flynn, Donaven Dorsey and a whole bunch of guys. There’s a lot more. … I’m not going to say Isaiah put Tacoma on the map, but represents the town for sure.”
Will Conroy: “He is the definition of grit”
Conroy, a former walk-on, played four years (1991-95) at Washington and still holds the school record for most assists with 515. The former Husky standout joined the UW coaching staff in 2015.
“I remember texting Zeke last year and telling him you did such a great job. And he says thanks big bro, I’m getting MVP next year. He’s not satisfied. He has good game and scores 40, but he’ll come back and say I should have had 55. And that’s the reason why he’s good. He wants to be the best. And his work ethic is bar none. The dude is in here at 6 o’clock in the morning. That’s who he is. He was hurt last year. He wasn’t supposed to be on the court, and he’s in here shooting with his hoodie on by himself. He wasn’t jumping, but just on his toes. And I was showing our guys, that’s what greatness looks like.
“He is the definition of grit. He is the definition of not giving up. Not letting people put you in a box and say what you can and cannot be. And trusting his work. He trusts his work and believes in himself. If there’s any kid out there today who is trying to identify with our program, that’s who I would want them to identify with. He’s 5-9. It’s the little-man story. But then he went out there with a league full of giants and he believes he’s the best. That’s his mindset.”