As the hours and minutes tick down to the Purdue-UConn tipoff at 4:07 p.m., it’s hard not to think how easily that could have been a UW-UConn tipoff instead.

In retrospect, the UW regular season — a first-ever Pac-10 title — demands that the overall season be considered a success.

But that post-season: A loss to Mississippi State would have been greeted by most folks as a pure disappointment. A loss in the Sweet 16 against UConn would have been seen as the team going about as far as they could have been reasonably expected to go.

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UW coach Lorenzo Romar has been selected to a USA Basketball committee that will determine coach and player selection for various national team competitions.

Romar will join Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, Illinois coach Bruce Weber, North Carolina coach Roy Williams and former Duke University All-America Jay Williams on USA Basketball’s 2009-12 Men’s Junior National Committee (formerly the Men’s Collegiate Committee).

The complete release is available at GoHuskies.com.

I had heard that the Pac-10 might go with an unconventional selection in picking a new commissioner to replace Tom Hansen, and they did.

Tennis, anyone?

John McGrath takes an upbeat look in this morning’s paper.

Here’s the announcment:

The Pacific-10 Conference named Larry Scott,

Chairman and CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), its new commissioner, effective July 1, 2009. Scott becomes the sixth commissioner of the Pac-10, succeeding Tom Hansen who is set to retire

after 26 years in the role.

Since joining the Sony Ericsson

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No Huskies — but four Cougars — made the All-Pac-10 academic men’s basketball team announced today by the conference.

To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor.

Here’s the list:

First Team

Name, School, Year, GPA, Major

Aron Baynes, WSU, Sr., 3.24, Movement Studies

Derek Glasser, ASU, Jr., 3.14, Communication

Daven Harmeling, WSU, RS-Sr., 3.54, Heath and Fitness

Nikola Koprivica, WSU, Jr., 3.39, International Business

Taylor Rochestie, WSU, RS-Sr.,

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With the end of the UW basketball season on Saturday, it’s time to look ahead.

We started that process a bit in today’s paper with a first look at the 2009-10 basketball Huskies … which figure to be led by lone-returning-senior-to-be Quincy Pondexter.

We’ll take another look or two at the basketball team this week before turning our attention to coach Steve Sarkisian’s football team, which begins spring practice a week from Tuesday.

Purdue led wire to wire, but UW pulled to within two in the final minute.

However, the price for any loss — even one this close — is the end of their season.

Jon Brockman ended his career mgnificently: 20 points, 18 rebounds. But Justin Dentmon’s troubles continued: five points.

Purdue goes on to the Sweet 16 where UConn awaits.

Other notes:

Venoy annoyed

UW defensive specialist Venoy Overton picked up four fouls in a quick flurry of the second half as the officiating crew began blowing whistles for the kind of defense

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A few folks — including the writer of The Nose column in the TNT today — only thought they knew what Isaiah Thomas was grabbing on Selection Sunday.

But the Nose’s assumption is so last century. According to Thomas — the UW star guard from Tacoma and Curtis High — the explanation is much more current.

“I’m sitting there holding my phones like this,” Thomas said, pointing his bottom of his warm-up jacket that hung, oh, just below waist level. “I had two phones right here – and an iPod, actually. I got up, I didn’t want

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The Huskies and Purdue will play the first Saturday game in Portland, which will tip at 2:40 p.m.

Here’s a quick look at the Boilermakers:

PURDUE (26-9)



School location: West Lafayette, Ind.

Conference: Big Ten

Coach: Matt Painter (107-54 in fifth season).

How the Boilermakers got here: Purdue went 11-7 in the Big Ten regular season and then won an automatic NCAA tournament bid by winning their first Big Ten tournament with wins over Penn State, Illinois and Ohio State. They advanced to the NCAA second round with

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