Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Jernard Jarreau's key stretch
By Joe Kaiser
Washington's Jernard Jarreau was recently inserted into the rotation, as Percy Allen of the Seattle Times pointed out on Monday, and the next stretch of games could serve as an early look at what type of career he'll have as a Husky.
The lanky 6-foot-10, 220-pounder out of Louisiana began the season as a starter, but eventually was replaced with Desmond Simmons. Before Saturday's win over Oregon State, Jarreau hadn't played more than 18 minutes or scored more than 4 points since Dec. 2, a span of 18 games.
But with the Huskies looking like a big longshot to make the NCAA tournament this season, this is the chance for coach Lorenzo Romar to give some of his young players like Jarreau and fellow redshirt freshman Andrew Andrews a long look. Against OSU, Jarreau came through with 8 points and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes in what was his best statistical performance of the season.
Look for Jarreau to continue to get extended minutes, whether off the bench or in a starter's role, for the rest of the regular season and into the Pac-12 schedule. That's a minimum of six games that the young big man will have to show what he can do, which could potentially help determine how big of a role he has in UW's frontcourt next season which is projected to include Simmons, Shawn Kemp Jr., senior San Francisco transfer Perris Blackwell and potentially blue chip freshman Aaron Gordon. If Jarreau doesn't play well, he'll more than likely head into next season as a reserve, but a strong finish could increase the chances of him starting ahead of Simmons and Kemp in 2013-14.
