Joe Wolfinger Comes Alive

Even though the Huskies only got a split in the Bay Are this past weekend, the Huskies managed to play well in back to back games for the first time in a long time. At the center of this inspired effort? None other than 7-footer Joe Wolfinger, who shot the lights out and scored 29 points for the weekend. The Huskies haven't had this kind of inside-outside threat since the Mike Jensen days! Ok, let's not go overboard here, let me rephrase that. The Huskies haven't had this kind of soft big man and defensive liability who can shoot the deep ball since Mike Jensen! Better. Hey, the Dawgs did manage to go to the tournament three years in a row with Jensen as the lone true big man in the starting line-up. Let's not forget that experience wise Wolfinger is essentially a freshman. He red shirted his first season at UW and sat out last season with a foot injury. It should be no surprise the guy is showing improvement. Big guys tend to be slow to develop as it is, but then also throw in the fact that he sat out an entire year, because of injury and then was limited throughout the off-season and early season practices. Like Jensen, Wolfinger will probably never be a big low post threat or great rebounder or a defensive presence. But if he can continue to fill the role he played over the weekend -- shooting and pulling an opposing big away from the basket -- then he can be a solid contributor in the future. Heck, in my book all he has to do pass Jensen is not make a stupid foul in the closing seconds of a tournament game and not cost the Dawgs a trip to the Elite-8.