Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

It was a weird setup for Signing Day, but considering how weird the last couple of weeks have been for Jimmy Lake, it was just one more thing to work through.

The Washington Huskies, already down in Las Vegas getting ready for Saturday's Las Vegas Bowl against Boise State, had a signing day to take care of. And despite being named the new UW Head Coach on December 2nd, Lake and his staff were able to maintain all 23 prospects that had verbally committed to them during the recruiting process, including one that had originally signed with them in 2018 but took two years off to serve his Mormon mission (Jordan Lolohea).

With media scattered from Seattle to Vegas and all parts in-between, Lake took part in a conference call once all 23 players had been signed and their paperwork vetted through compliance.

Washington players Isaiah Stewart and Quade Green and UW Head Coach Mike Hopkins spoke to the media Tuesday night after the Huskies took care of Seattle University 81-59. Stewart finished the game with 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Green added 20 points.

It sounds simple enough, right? If you're a player, just cut down one less turnover a game. Well, if Mike Hopkins is running eight or nine players out a game in his rotation, that's nearly 10 less turnovers a game.

Sounds nice. But it's clearly much harder to do on the floor than it is in theory, but that's what a big part of this week has been focused on, getting those extra possessions, those extra shots up by not turning the ball over. Whether it's offensive fouls or traveling or whatever it might be, getting those extra possessions could have been the difference in beating a team like Gonzaga, for instance.

Hopkins and sophomore guard Jamal Bey talked to the media Monday ahead of Tuesday's game versus Seattle University, the last home game for the Huskies before Pac-12 play starts. After the game versus the Redhawks, UW will travel to Honolulu to take part in the Diamond Head Classic. The first game is against Ball State on Sunday.

In less than 48 hours, high school seniors from all over the country will be sending in their letters-of-intent to various schools and coaching staffs and Washington is expected to get at least 20 of those if not all 22 of their current commits.

Dawgman.com's Scott Eklund and Kim Grinolds recapped a busy weekend which included a full list of official visitors, a re-commitment from a player everyone was waiting on and a look ahead at what to expect this week.

Typically, most schools are locking down their commits and trying to steal one or two from other schools, however, under Chris Petersen, traditionally, the next couple of days have been an uneventful time for the Huskies since they prefer to lock up their class early and then maintain those commitments all the way until the holiday break.

This year is no different.

Sure, there have been a few wobbly players, but those were solidified in the two weeks after Chris Petersen's announced resignation and Jimmy Lake being named the head coach.

With this being the first full weekend of visitors, we were interested to find out how much Petersen would be involved in the visits and Lake would have to say to the players he was meeting with, many of whom are not defensive players.

Eklund and Grinolds also discussed defensive lineman Xavier Carlton who was set to visit the Huskies over the weekend, but instead decided to stay home.

Is there any chance he could hold off on signing his letter next week and still take a visit to Montlake?

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters - recapped an interesting day talking to the Washington players and coaches, getting their take on the news that Chris Petersen was going to step down and Jimmy Lake take over as UW's Head Coach, and also what to expect next week in terms of media availability for the players and coaches once they touch down in Las Vegas.

The coaches will be doing true double-duty, as they'll be practicing on Wednesday, but also taking care of the first day of the early signing period, so Grinolds and Fetters talked about that, as well as UW's newest commitment for the 2020 recruiting class, Jacobe Covington. Covington originally committed to Washington over the summer, only to back off that commitment to consider his options. That process having been completed, the defensive back from Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., re-committed to the Huskies over plenty of interest from schools across the country. Grinolds and Fetters talk about the timing of the announcement, and how it might have been used to help speed up the process for some uncommitted players still looking hard at the Huskies.

Since Grinolds and Fetters did talk to Jacob Eason, Levi Onwuzurike, and Elijah Molden, they also talked about the possibility those juniors could turn pro and if the three of them gave away any hints Saturday as to their future plans.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds and Chris Fetters - spoke to a couple of coaches and a few players Saturday before they head to the desert next week ahead of their Las Vegas Bowl game versus Boise State a week from now.

Junior Adams and Scott Huff gave their perspectives not just on Petersen's decision, but also the bowl game and how they'll also be playing against a team that they used to coach.

The media also talked to a couple of players on each side of the ball: quarterback Jacob Eason, center Nick Harris, defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, and defensive back Elijah Molden, and they gave us their personal reactions to the news, as well as how they things will get shaken up with Coach Lake at the helm and also what they're expecting from the team in the way of a reaction as they try and get a win in Chris Petersen's final game as a Husky.

And for those players like Eason, Onwuzurike, and Molden, they were also asked about whether or not they're thinking about turning pro. You need to listen to their reactions. 

The guys from Dawgman.com - Chris Fetters and Head of Hoops Aaron Beach - found some time on a busy Monday to get together and talk about Washington's 83-76 loss to Gonzaga and where that puts them in the non-conference schedule and how close they are to being where they need to be as they have four more games left in their non-conference schedule.

They break down aspects of the loss, what Washington did to stay in the game, what Gonzaga was able to do to keep the Huskies at bay in a difficult and hyped environment, and ultimately what the Bulldogs were able to do to pull away late.

How did the blend of zone and man defense work for the Huskies? Or didn't it work very well? What was Gonzaga able to do on offense to answer seemingly every time Washington tried to go on a run, spurred on by the raucous Sunday Hec Ed crowd?

And finally, Beach gives his thoughts on the season to date, how individual players are doing with their development, the rotation, and where the Huskies need to continue to grow as they play Seattle a week from Tuesday and then hit the road and play their final three non-conference games in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, starting with Ball State on Sunday, December 22nd.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - go deep into the weeds with the news that Washington will be playing Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, December 21st. The timing of the game offers up a lot of interesting storylines, including how the Huskies are going to be dealing with bowl game prep at the same time they are putting a bow on their 2020 recruiting class.

Will there be any issues, now that Chris Petersen has announced the UW staff will be in Vegas on Signing Day? How will it affect things for their final weekend of official visits, which starts this Friday?

The guys go into the mechanics of dealing with both, as well as their takes on the news that Trey Adams and Hunter Bryant will not be playing in the game. Bryant announced earlier that he will be turning pro, foregoing his final year of eligibility.

But what about some of the other players that are eligible to leave early? What about Jacob Eason? Salvon Ahmed? Jaxson Kirkland? Levi Onwuzurike? Keith Taylor? Elijah Molden? Cade Otton?

The guys break give their opinions on each of those players and whether or not they think they could turn pro after the bowl game.

Finally, they take a stroll into the complex question of Washington's future on offense. Is the Las Vegas Bowl a dress rehearsal for what UW fans could see next year on that side of the ball? Is it going to be the equivalent of an job interview for current offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan? Will it be enough to convince Jacob Eason to stay for 2020? Or has he already made up his mind about turning pro?

And finally, has the UW staff left hints on the recruiting trail that the offensive staff will come back intact in 2020? Or is it too early to tell? And, is it too early to gauge how involved new head coach Jimmy Lake will be in revamping the offense? Or, as a defensive mastermind, will he simply hand the keys over to the offensive staff and let them solve the problem?

The Dawgman guys go into all those meaty question, and more

Washington players Nahziah Carter and Isaiah Stewart, as well as UW Head Coach Mike Hopkins, reflect back on a hard-fought 83-76 loss to No. 9 Gonzaga Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The gym is going to be packed, the Dawg Pack is going to be in full voice, and these young pups aren't going to know what hit them. They've been in some big games and some big-time environments, but it's not going to be quite like what they will experience Sunday at 4 pm when the Huskies take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

The media spoke Friday with UW Head Coach Mike Hopkins and junior guard Nahziah Carter, who talked about last year's close shave with the Zags, the 'Gonzaga Way', Sunday's atmosphere, and how this will be another big test they can use as a gauge to determine not only how far they've come since the beginning of the season, but also how much work they need to put in to get where they want to be before the start of Pac-12 play.