>> steve: there's the husky outside. we started the game with thompson having his worst game

of the year. >> miles: struggling to find his rhythm. maybe a guy that's accustomed to starting with k. throw you off something. nothing has been able to drop for hill. he's frustrated because he knows these are plays that he typically makes and cop territo converts. >> steve: 1-11 from the floor. this is a guy who scored 43 in the great alaska shoot-out. >> miles: one thing i say, he's still learning to an star. a lot of recognition has come this way because of the points he put up. he was leading the country in scoring at one point. he's learn to go accept all those ak ocompany laids. >> we'll be right back. ffrs [anno] ining th-new gx.

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>> steve: following this game, we've got a good one with arizona state and cal in the women's basketball and how about the pac-10 player much the we'll, she scored 47 and 39 in her two game this is last week. >> miles: that's amazing. 240es are some those are in impressive numbers. >> steve: but stanford still is the team it beat in the pac-10 as they are knee in first place. klay thompson 1-11 as washington state trying to stay in the race. the pac-10 leader in the men's program is cal and they have a great match tomorrow against arizona, one versus two. and you can see it on many of these stations. washington state really need as basket. they're going klay thompson. koprivica. the extra pass. capers. and he misses. they're unselfish, but they just can't put it down. isaiah thomas. for three. >> miles: attacking the zone defend. overton pushes it up over the middle. thomas gets the wide open three. >> steve: washington state has not scored a field goal in this half. and moore is going to the foul line on a foul. >> miles: overton gets a deep outlet. zone defense can't get set. thomas has the perfect follow-through and splashes the three point shot. >> steve: the foul on overton, not thomas and that is venoy's third personal foul sending reggie moore to the free-throw line. six minutes have passed and washington state, with a great

distance on the road. the crowd giving it to reggie moore. he's a seattle mats differennat. >> steve: that blocking foul goes against watson. sending venoy overton to the free-throw line for two shots. please join us to help the people of haiti recover from the devastating earthquake that hit their country to make a $10 donation to the red cross relief effort, please text the word haiti to 90999. a $10 donation will be added to your phone bill. standard messaging and data rates may apply. but it was wonderful this week to see president barack obama call to go congratulate the wildcats for raising $1 million. that was great. >> miles: and also on being num one and then they lost. >> steve: to south carolina who played great at home. james watson with his fourth

foul. and the ball goes out of bounds to the huskies. >> miles: overton has changed the tempo. last possession down, moore mads the second free throw, he puts it up and goes coast to coast before the defense can get set and gets to the foul line. >> steve: it will be washington basketball, new shot clock at 35. watson with four fouls coming out. they've made the adjustments. isaiah thomas suddenly has gotten hot with back to back threes. >> miles: great baseline screen by bryan-amaning. >> steve: this is why they're so tough it at home. crowd gets in to this, georg

energyizes the team. a held ball situation. time-out. wow, i didn't think he had possession. i thought it was a held ball. but time-out called by washington with the huskies opening up a 13 point lead. former husky watching and having a little ice cream. >> miles: i love watching him play. and i remember seeing him as a junior, he could have come out, but he said i love college basketball so much, he had a blast and you worked with a lot of college basketball players or high school players and a lot of guys have their eye on the nba, but college is so much fun. >> miles: what youn

thing, they don't understand that they're not going to be hanginging out with their friends at much and they're with gasoline mrown men daily basis. >> steve: california will be at arizona tomorrow, both of those teams have won three in a row. and then you have five teams at 4-4. and three at 3-5. wild and whacky pac-10 this year. washington has been tremendous at home. 13-1. bryan-amani bryan-amaning. no this is the first field goal of the second half. it took nearly seven minutes. >> miles: that's how you you can counter pressure, though. anytime with the hard back up to the green that he the way to make the pass. >> steve: look at overton just

jumping on the floor. energizing his team and a held ball situation. possession arrow points at washington state. and look at this score from tempe. the sun devils are getting of a iter it against stanford. >> miles: they're capable of games like that with the zone against. they have guys that can play. >> steve: isaiah thomas, the littlest man on the court, grabbing the rebound. isaiah. bam! 3-3 from three point range in this half. >> miles: he's in a rits thumb. that's three in a row for him, all of them with his feet set. excellent follow-through.

>> steve: no help coming. they'll let him lay one-on-one. fouled by bryan-amaning. that's the third on matthew. >> miles: you saw right there they give to casto down low. they will let their big guys play one-on-one. >> steve: and now casto misses his first. remember the first half when washington state opens up going 5-7 from three point range? well, they have cooled off. they have not made a three in this half. and it's washington led by isaiah thomas 4-5. >> miles: they've let washington find a rhythm and washington is attacking now. pushing the ball up the court.

>> steve: he'll wind up at the line. >> miles: coach bone can't be happy with that right now. the huskies are running the ball right up his defenders backs. , weteamoth cohat tere milo wan y foas. los wan plabrus only toofor ai. buenes.. ort.is.. milos really wants to play for rome [ cr gla yourese? knoyou amerirli a v fr creiry. fe isedit. elsei ge a bcredit score? ok, ep y

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6 sixth man of the game. how about venoy overton? >> miles: he's changed the face of this game. right hand floater. pushing the ball up against the cougar defense, running it right up their backs. more importantly, he's been doing a great job of pressuring reggie moore in the half-court, helping to force him into six turnovers. >> steve: motel 6 proud sponsor of the pac-10 conference. we'll leave the light on for you. venoy, i was checking the nba last night, there's a guy from seattle, he came off the bench yesterday at 28 i think it was against the boston celtics, atlanta, beating the celtics. but the ability to come in and change the complexion of the game really difficult to do. >> miles: he's done a great job coming off the bench, playing less minutes but getting more

points. >> steve: great energy and leadership today. i thought the key figure six assists and no turnovers. xavier thames at the point. washington state led by four at halftime. and they have been blown out 24-5 in this second half. >> miles: overton not giving them any room to breathe. >> steve: thames gets inside. i like this young man's future. he and reggie moore. >> miles: he's played with a lot of poise and confidence. thames saying i'll take over the offense. >> steve: 13 points. his previous high 11 against oregon. misses the finish of that. cougars trailing by 13. back to the 2-3 zone.

hard to believe pondexter scoring his first points of the second half and his team exploding on washington state. >> miles: even harder to believe is that the cougars aren't recognizing where he's at on the floor. he's just finding creases and gaps in the zone anytime. >> steve: reggie moore is fouled. got to ask you this. the adjustment that lorenzo romar made at halftime, i think he's one of the game's best coach, but what adjustments do you think he made to create this flip-flop no for washington. >> miles: i think he emif a sised pushing the ball more, made or miss. you see his guard, anytime they have the ball, they're running it up, getting it to their offense a lot quicker and not allowing the cougar defense to get their feet planted in and really set inside that

three-point line and making them play in the half-court. >> steve: they've been a different team. certainly energy wise. and that young man has picked them up hitting all three of his three point attempts in the second half. moore makes the first. trying to keep washington state in this game. just inside of 11 minutes to go. klay thompson on the side line. having a miserable game just five points on 1-11 shooting. look at his strength. >> miles: coach rommar commente

to us yesterday about his growth in the game. he's expamded his game, he's shooting threes, he puts the ball on the floor a lot better. coach romar said after his sophomore year, he just was determined to get better and spent a lot more time in the gym just working on his game. >> steve: and he said with about 11 games to go last year is when he turned a notch. he was one of the best players at the end of the year. remember he was the biggest player in those two ncaa tournament games scoring 23 and 20 against mississippi state and purdue. >> miles: talent has always been there, it's just been a matter of him producing on the floor. >> steve: producing so much that back on december 23rd, he played the part of grand pa in the nutcracker performed by the pacific northwest ballet. and that was stunning. and i told him how impressed i was at how he got all of that gray out of his hair.

>> miles: a man of many talents. >> steve: washington trying to stay in the race. we told that you lorenzo said if they lose one or two more games, they may have to run the taeabl the pac-10 attorney to-10 attotn the ncaa show this year. >> miles: if they win on the road, it will give them a better standing. >> steve: 13-1 at home, 0-6 away. isaiah thomas. his first three point miss in the second half. thompson with the frustrated foul. his dad will be able to make that phone call and say, son, i had days like that at minuneson

and also in the nb bchlnba. you just have to throw them away. >> miles: i know mr. thompson and i don't know if he'll say that. i think he might be a little harder. >> steve: we all have those days. >> miles: that is true. but the game is not over by any means. the cougs are capable of getting on a run here. >> steve: klay thompson came in averaging 22 points per game and he has just five. scored 25 or more points seven times this season. great defense by washington. led by thomas. holiday.

missing. he'll try it again. >> miles: two attempts on his first trip up to the floor. want to get koprivica more involved as much as possible. >> steve: bad pass by isaiah. it will be washington state basketball. coach romar really feeds like isaiah will be the leader of this had team. he's a guy that loves it here and wants to stay. koprivica missing.

25 for quincy! >> miles: great look ahead. washington state defense is falling asleep. they're missing shots and they're letting it affect their defense. >> steve: klay thompson 1-12. isaiah. that's too easy. >> miles: cougars are worp don . they have their heads down. >> steve: ken bone calls a time-out. has to talk to his cougars. quincy pondexter with another double-double, 25 points, 11 rebounds, taking a perfect pass from isaiah thomas and throwing it down as washington has outscored washington state 34-10 in the second half. and it's time now for the winning touch from touch of gray.

isaiah thomas. >> miles: thomas doing a great job in the second half. going to the rim. he hit three straight threes at one point in this half. getting in an offensive flow. >> steve: it's that combo p pondexter and thomas so important. they average 37 points per game. you said they needed one more weapon and today they've gotten it from venoy overton off the bench. >> miles: he's done a great job getting those guys involved. no turnovers. leading this team with his energy and his excitement on the defensive end, also. >> steve: he doesn't back down from anybody. he and isaiah thomas played against each other in the state champion and he held isaiah to 51 point, but venoy won. >> miles: he'll show off that ripping anytime he gets.

>> steve: the seattle area rich with great basketball talent. motum. we've got a time-out, all huskies in the second half. 70-50.

>> i came in a young, immature kid, and throughout the years

i've a man coach romar teaches you how to become a man on and off the court. taking care of business by good to go class, getting this, being on time to everything or being a good teammate to your players on the team. he just taught me so many great things and lessons in life that i'm going to carry on forever. >> steve: quincy pondexter with another terrific game. and this is a guy really enjoying his time he university of washington. i know we were talking earlier about that, but when you see a guy who can like brandon roy not only develop his game, but develop his leadership. >> miles: he's what college basketball is all about. he's the guy who stayed four years. thought about the draft every year because he was highly touted out of high school. but how he talked about just the growth that he's had and becoming a true -- that's what

you do in these formative years from 18 to 22 or 23. it's not all about getting millions of dollars. it's about setting yourself for a great life. you're only going to play basketball for another many eight or nine years but then you have the rest of your life and the these experiences that he's had have helped him become a great person. >> steve: there are people surrounding him giving this information, a lot of it bad, and they wind up leaving school and not playing at the next level. >> miles: you have to find the right people that you trust and that you believe in and that will guide you down the right path. lou olson was a great mentor to many players that he's helped put in the nba and even in their life experience, even guys that didn't make it past college. >> steve: one of the all-time washington scoring list, there

is mr. pondexter needing just three more, he has a 26 point game, his career-high is 31. did that in the overtime loss at texas tech earlier this year. >> miles: pondexter played at and they didn't win the state championship. can you believe that? >> steve: that's hard to believe. who did they lose to? >> miles: there's the former arizona recruit in the state semifinals. >> steve: there's throw down by marcus capers. washington leading washington sta state. gaddy goes in easily and scores and that's another example of washington state not recognizing on defense. and ken bone talked to his players about that yesterday. he said this might be the

quietest team he has ever been around. he said we have to communicate on defense. tell your teammates where you are. 6:47 to play. 74-53. coming to from you seattle, washington, bank of america arena. and the washington state cougars led by four at halftime, but it's been all huskies in the second half. >> miles: things are coming too easy for the university of washington. it's just a lay-up drill out there. they're getting in the papts anytime they want. they have 32 points in the paint tonight, 18 of them in the second half. and they're just shooting wide open lay-ups. >> steve: washington when they win it's because of defense, not offense. even though they lead the league in scoring at 81 points per

game. but their defense paves the way for their offense and they limited washington state to a miserable 3-22 in the second half. >> miles: this question their defense leads off. being able to get in transition, use their quickness and speed to beat other teams back. >> steve: washington current will he leads the pac-10 in scoring, rebounding at 38 1/2 boards per game and they're trying to do so on the same season for the fourth time in six years. led the conference in both categories 2005, 2006

in the pac-10 conference. and a couple of guys who will be stars in that game tomorrow at 3:30 eastern, 12:30 pacific, randall the senior, a tremendous scorer, particularly from three point range. and derrick williams. how does he get it done? >> miles: derrick williams has been great all year. he needs to be recognized on the national level as one of the best freshman in the country. >> steve: he's been averaging

over 15 points per game. and california 6-2, they've won three in a row, they'll be at arizona tomorrow. but look at 4-4, looks like washington will move to 4-5 and washington state will also fall to 4-5 with the way the huskies are putting a blitz on the cougars in the second half today in seattle. it is all cougars today. and there is matthew bryan-amaning with the jump hook. it will thought go. pulling it down, reggie moore. stolen by thomas. they have sliced and diced the

cougar in the second half. and now moore kick it is out of bounds. in a game of cats and dogs, the huskies buttieing ars

>> steve: washington blowing out washington state in the second half. under four minutes to play. let look at our legs sus play book. washington doing a better job

against the zone. >> miles: quincy pondexter here in the right corner of the screen here, you have pondexter hiding behind the zone, no washington state player aware that is he there. he nets away, he does a good job using his basketball iq, sucks him in, now he has five guys looking at him, but nobody stops what he's doing and he'll finish that 90% of the time. >> steve: huskies have youts scor yoit scored the cougars in the paint 38-14. here's pondexter trying to take it in. spins back. and misses the shot. he has scored 56 points in 56 minutes played his last two games. thomas his second field goal. 2-13 and seven points for an all-pac-10 performer.

isaiah thomas doing a job on the much bigger jeremy green when they beat stanford and we're seeing thomas along with holiday doing a great job on klay thompson today. isaiah now on the side line and reggie moore picked up his fourth personal foul sending overton to the free-throw line. >> miles: he's really controlled the pace, pushed the tempo in the huskies favor. he's done a great job on reggie moore in the second half. >> steve: pondexter coming out with a 29, another double-double for a guy who is on the who to watch list. >> miles: from franklin high school and they have had some

very successful point guards out of that high school. former teammates of mine, jason perry, still in the nba. aaron brooks having a spectacular season with the rockets. >> steve: romar giving a lot of love to venoy as he comes out of the game. another steal. gaddy trying to give it back to his teammate and instead it goes right to a cougar. waupg state has had some big wins this year beating lsu in overtime, also beat arizona on the road. and beat usc on the road. this is what i love about lorenzo. young man, way to get it done in the second half. >> miles: you love to play for a coach like that that will fight and scrap in the trenches with his players. he lives and dies by those guys. his emotions on his sleeve.

>> steve: also not always concerned about wins and losses. it's about the growth of the individual. he has leadership program here, a real accountability on campus. >> miles: and that's the type of map you want leading your program, who is more concerned about young men just getting better as people. >> steve: and leading your program when mom and dad sent them to the university. pondexter said he made me a man. 88-61. hard to believe washington state led by four at halftime. capers. no. holiday closes it down. and last touched by justin holiday. >> miles: notice the difference in the cougars.

two guys on their shorts right now, all the husky players standing up still ready to play and fight. scattered showers look at the turn around. 40-36 at the half. klay thompson missing. he's now 2-14. gaddy on the floor. easy basket inside for the huskies. we're inside two minutes to play. as washington trying to push the record to 14-7 and 3-5. 4-5 this league play. they'll have washington next week against the arizona school. thompson run it is it down. >> miles: huskies still scrapping, getting their hands on balls, not giving up anything easy.

fighting all the way to the end. >> steve: thames. he had that great first half and continues a career-high performance. 15 points. >> miles: bright future for that young man. he has the youngest team in the country. >> steve: crowd roaring because it's brendan sherrer time, the walk-on waiting to get in the game. he wants some action. casto comes up with the loose ball. he is the human victory cigar and the crowd loves him. they were chanting his name. you can see brendan right at the scorer's table weighaiting to c into the game. and you'll hear the crowd roar when he steps on the floor. a 6'9" sophomore.

romar held an open tryout back on october 22nd and brendan made the team and here he comes. prepare dap has made his rifle. pac-10 hoops today presented by kfc. and lore rep sew loves him, he loves the effort he gives in practice. another walk-on just checked for the washington state huskies. john allen. >> steve: and ken ben likes his play. he said he'll get some more time. brendan sherrer. got it. brendan sherrer has scored! >> miles: that's great for that young man.

>> steve: these are the moments you love. cow to school to get apeducation. you try out, you walk on, and here is brendan is sherrer, shove more walk-on. >> m

6' 8, 8 1/2, can do it all. i mean when i say do it all and do it gracefully. i mean with the greatest of ease. >> benji will, so his game and personality were -- wilson, his game and personality were electric, a future star in the nba until one morning when everything changed. get an inside glimpse at the man the nfl mayors have chosen to lead them in -- players have chosen to lead them in the fighnewtive rgaient. 'll uce emar ith. >> t our stin >> and a truy th abou inws tvie'

hello and welcome to this edition of net impact. we've seen nfl commissioner roger goodell and nfl players association executive director demaris smith exchanging pleasantries through the media and have even been in front of congress as the two sides attempt a collective bargaining agreement and as they do so the atmosphere will get more tense. we know goodell he's within on the job three years now but who is this man that the players have chosen to be their voice in this turbulent time? here's comcast sportsnet's mid- atlantic's jill sorenson. >> for our last practice we could play head coach. >> yea! >> we do head coach. >> reporter: this is fun for demaris smith the executive director of the nfl players association by day and a coach for his 10-year-old son allen and his baseball team in silver

vince, maryland, by night. >> tag -- in silver springs, maryland, by night. >> tag him! >> reporter: the intensity and passion you see here is smith's day job as union smith named the successor to the late and edge legendary gene upshaw in march, the man everyone calls dean has not slowed down. >> i've been on the job six months. i've probably been on the road three and a half, four months solid. >> reporter: he was seen as an outsider to get the job with former players as the front runners. his background as a trial lawyer was far from the experience of an nfl player. >> i definitely think that's a positive that he was an outsider, you know, guy coming in, he doesn't have all the connections or, you know, any preconceived notions of what was happening before and, you know, can he come in and kind of look at things clearly. >> i'm very confident. i'm confident, that you know, he can get things done, whatever that may be. he's presented himself in such

a way and i think he's broken it down to the players in such a way that we can understand it. >> reporter: as much as he's an outsider d. is a d.c. insider having grown up a stone's throw from fedex field. >> you come out of the room in d.c. and get smacked and then you're injected with burgundy and gold. >> reporter: on his resume counsel to then deputy attorney general eric holder and he also served on president obama's transition team. >> business worldwide in some way, shape or form always touches washington. it's one heck of a sports town. so yeah, those are things that are inextricably tied to who i am. does it affect what i do? probably. but hopefully affects it for the better. >> reporter: with the possible lockout on the horizon demorris smith has made it a priority to visit each team to help them understand the process. >> this was in one of the file drawers in our office and it slowly but surely i'm going through every drawer, every cabinet. >> reporter: why? >> a great deal of our history

on what we have done internally to be a stronger union is there. the one thing i'm blessed about is gene was an incredible note taker. here on the back he'd clearly written out in longhand a speech that i don't know whether he gave or was going to give, but the most interesting part at the bottom is you see it in quotes, the nfl has always been willing to take a short loss for a long term gain. >> reporter: in the midst of negotiations or perhaps because of them d. and the union have made national headlines on a regular basis. >> as executive director, my no. 1 priority is to protect those who play and have played this game. to me it is probably a little bit of a combination of half negotiation, half trial lawyer. i mean both of those things are things that are in my dna for some way, shape or form. i think about my grandfather in the pulpit. there's probably a little bit

of that, too. as a result, i'm really not afraid of my question. i want guys to be actively involved. truth be told, i probably lean on them in a very hard way, but this is their union. it's not my union. it's their union. >> reporter: always in the line of fire demorris smith is used to the heat. >> i thought that was a -- 17-year-old ben benji wilson was a rising star, a young basketball phenom with a definite nba future. in fact, in 1984 wilson was the no. 1 ranked high school basketball player in the nation. he'd been described as a magic johnson with a jump shot and kevin garnett with a better handle of the ball and a better perimeter game. luke stuckmeyer of comcast sportsnet chicago shows us wilson's wizardry on the court. >> reporter: chicago may be a football town and baseball

crazy in summertime, but at its core in the city basketball is a way of life. we're not just talking about the m.j. glory days. we're talking about the kids who built their games here like isiah thomas on the west side and more recently dwayne wade and derrick rose on the south side, but 25 years ago somebody else owned these courts in chicago, a skinny silky kid with a smile named benji. >> and center for the wolverines a junior, 6' 7, no. 25 ben wilson. >> if you haven't seen him, you're in for a treat, 20 a game. >> i would go and i want to be successful and i do what it takes to be successful and that is when i go home i study and do my work and go to class. >> kind of corny stuff. >> well, it works. >> reporter: everything seemed to work for benjamin wilson, but especially basketball.

>> wilson two. >> reporter: born and raised on the city's south side, he was the middle of five brothers and it wasn't long before that orange rock was the fiber of his life. >> looked like bruce lee with two basketballs. he approached the basketball hoops. just unbelievable what he could do with that ball three fingers pawning the ball like this. >> reporter: and with ben and his ball around the wilson's neighbors were always up early. >> the neighbors used to be furious about being woke up in the morning because he was always dribbling the basketball and one of the next-door neighbors mr. robertson said benji was the alarm clock to get him up and go to work in the morning. >> reporter: by 16 wilson could still play like a point guard but now he soared like an eagle with his new 7' 3 wingspan. >> bankston drops it down to

wilson for a turnaround. >> we used to imitate ben when he shoots his jump shot. it was like he'll shoot it and then put his wrist back like this and run down the court but everybody used to emulate him in high school. that's how big he was in high school. >> reporter: and everybody wanted to be around him. benji's game and personality drew in friends and admirers from all over including the nba. >> ben wilson steps in, scores. >> 6' 8, 8 1/2, can do it all. i mean when i say do it all and do it gracefully. i mean with the greatest of ease. i mean and it looks so pretty when he was doing it. i mean it was smooth. it was silky. it was just you had to -- he had that camera that captured that moment.

i mean he was that type of player. >> wilson slide down the lane. >> reporter: as a junior he was a starter on a lineup full of seniors. benji was third team all state and the wolverines went 30-1 for the 2a state title. that put simeon on the map. >> i think he helped push simeon into a more global nationwide type school, basketball power. i remember our senior year, you know, we thought we were world beaters, we could go anywhere and play anybody any time. >> reporter: after winning the state championship in the spring of 1984 ben kept improving stunning scouts at the nike all american camp. he left as the first kid from illinois to ever be ranked as a no. 1 player in the entire country. >> he was clearly, clearly

benjamin wilson was the no. 1 player in the country. no one came close. >> reporter: ahead how benji wilson's life changed in less than a second. >> ben's thumb was rising and then at midday. >> reporter: a horrific crime on these streets in chicago is remembered 25 years later.