Men's Hoops: Roy's week remains magical
After his latest masterpiece Sunday against California, Washington's Brandon Roy reflected again on why he decided to stay for his senior season.
"I remember sitting here last spring saying I want to leave out of here through the front door and not sneak out the back window," Roy said after scoring 27 points as UW beat the Bears 73-62.
The way he's playing lately, Roy may be carried out by delirious fans. And when he finally does leave UW sometime this year, he's going to need a hand truck or two to carry out all the hardware he's earning this season.
In the wake of UW's home sweep of the Bay Area schools, Roy was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week Monday for the third consecutive week.
Roy scored 50 points in the wins over Stanford and California, making 16 of 26 shots, 4 of 7 three-pointers and all 14 free throws as he extended his streak of free throws without a miss to 32.
He also had the primary duty in defending opposing point guards Chris Hernandez of Stanford and Ayinde Ubaka of Cal, holding each under double-figure scoring. The two combined for just 15 points on 4-of-22 shooting.
"He's just playing a complete basketball game right now," said UW coach Lorenzo Romar. "He's got to be playing as well as anyone in the country."
Roy scored 19 of his points in the second half Sunday as the Huskies improved to 11-5 in Pac-10 play and moved into a tie with Cal for second place, a game behind UCLA.
"Right now I feel very confident down the stretch that it's hard for opponents to stop me," Roy said.
It was a triumphant night all the way around for Roy, who was one of five seniors honored before the game as UW played its final home contest of the season.
"You want to go into Senior Night just having fun, but there was so much on the line," he said. "It's your last home game, but we're just one game out of first place. You want to have fun and enjoy the moment, but at the same time you want to get the win. Now that we got the win, the moment feels great."
Roy, who has scored 20 or more points in nine straight games, became the first Pac-10 player to win the award three straight weeks since Arizona State's Eddie House in the 1999-2000 season. It's the fourth time Roy has won the award, the most of any Husky — Chris Welp won three.
Roy's late-season onslaught, in which he has led UW to six straight wins and an almost-certain berth in the NCAA tournament, has him suddenly in line for all kinds of honors.
He is regarded as a favorite for the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, scheduled to be announced Monday, and figures to be a contender for numerous All-America teams.
His NBA draft stock is also steadily rising. The Web site hoopshype.com had Roy listed as the No. 7 pick in the first round Monday, going to the hometown Sonics.
The Huskies will conclude the regular season this weekend with games Thursday night at Arizona State and Saturday at Arizona.
NOTE
• The Huskies also moved up in the polls — to No. 14 in the AP poll and to No. 16 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. UW also improved its RPI to No. 30.
Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com