Washington opens season hosting Athletes In Action Classic

Seattle, WA (Sports Network) - The 14th-ranked Washington Huskies open up their 2009-10 season as they host the Athletes In Action Classic this weekend, starting with this evening's first-round matchup with the Wright State Raiders.

Lorenzo Romar's Huskies are coming off an outright Pac-10 title after going 14-4 in-conference and 26-9 overall. It was the team's first outright title since 1953. A four-seed in last year's NCAA Tournament, Washington lost in the second round to Purdue.

Brad Brownell's Raiders won 20 games last season and with a solid nucleus returning, remain one of the teams in the hunt for the Horizon League crown.

This game marks the first time that these two teams have met on the hardwood.

The Raiders' 20-win campaign was that much more impressive considering the injuries that plagued the team. Junior Vaughn Duggins only played four games a year ago before going down for the rest of the season with a broken ring finger. John David Gardner also had trouble staying on the court, as the guard played in just 21 games and is currently sidelined with a hip injury. Duggins is back to full health though entering the season and was named a Preseason HL First-Team member along with teammate Todd Brown (11.7 ppg last season). Duggins and Brown represent an extremely talented backcourt that could rival just about any team on the docket. A weakness could be in the low post, as Cory Cooperwood is the best offensive option in the paint. Cooperwood contributed 9.5 ppg and also pulled down a team-high 5.4 rpg in 2008-09.

As a freshman last season, 5-8 guard Isaiah Thomas scored 15.5 ppg and dished out 2.6 apg, en route to earning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. There shouldn't be a sophomore slump, as the explosive guard has plenty of talent around him. Quincy Pondexter (12.1 ppg) returns and the 6-6 senior forward could really improve on his numbers this year. The Huskies lost Jon Brockman and Justin Dentmon, two players who averaged more than 14.0 ppg apiece, so someone needs to fill the void offensively. The player that everyone is waiting to see for Washington is freshman point guard Abdul Gaddy (McDonald's All-American), who changed his mind after initially committing to Arizona and joined the Huskies. Gaddy figures to start immediately, and at 6-3 he may have to defend the opposition's shooting guard rather than point guard because of Thomas' lack of size. Other youngsters that could make immediate impacts are freshmen Clarence Trent (6-5) and Tyreese Breshers (6-7).