Change may be coming for Huskies

SEATTLE – The Washington Huskies are doing so poorly that coach Lorenzo Romar is thinking about shaking up his starting lineup.

In Washington’s first 21 games, Romar has gone – except for one game when Justin Dentmon didn’t start because he was late for practice – with a starting five of forwards Bobby Jones, Jamaal Williams and Jon Brockman and guards Brandon Roy and Dentmon.

Jones, Williams and Roy are seniors, while Brockman and Dentmon are freshmen.

On the heels of last weekend’s third consecutive Pac-10 loss for the No. 21 Huskies, Romar said Tuesday that he’s considering going with a different starting five at home on Thursday night against USC.

He said only Roy, the team’s top scorer at 18.9 points per game, and the 6-foot-7 Brockman, its top rebounder at 7.5 per game, were guaranteed to retain their starting jobs. Roy had 21 points and nine rebounds in Washington’s 77-64 defeat by Washington State last Saturday in Pullman.

Romar could decide to use sophomore guard Ryan Appleby and senior forward Mike Jensen as starters. Both have been playing key roles off the bench.

“When you lose three straight games, you try to find answers to halt it,” Romar said at his weekly news conference. “I think we are in a position where we are not a lock by any stretch.”

Romar was talking about the NCAA Tournament, which was considered a lock by Huskies’ fans after the team’s 11-0 start that included a 99-95 victory at home against No. 5 Gonzaga and its preseason All-America forward, Adam Morrison.

The Huskies are 16-5, including 5-5 in the Pac-10.

Williams, a transfer from New Mexico, agreed with his coach.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “If we lose these next eight games, we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to be right here disappointed at the end of the year.”

On Dec. 26, the Huskies were ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. They dropped five spots this week after their second loss to the Cougars this season.

The fourth-year Washington coach said he hasn’t made up his mind about who will start with Roy and Brockman against the Trojans. The Huskies will face UCLA at home on Saturday.

They beat both USC and UCLA on the road in January.

“I’m not exactly sure what will happen Thursday,” he said. “I’m not totally sure and I probably won’t know until Thursday. I’m just trying to figure everything out right now.”

Roy said a starting lineup shakeup might be good.

“I think any change right now can be good for us,” he said.

Washington lost Nate Robinson, now of the New York Knicks, along with Will Conroy and Tre Simmons from its 29-victory team of last season, a team that was a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State coach Dick Bennett said those losses are the reason why Washington is struggling this season.

“You have to recognize that they’ve got a lot of young kids out there,” Bennett said. “They’re playing freshmen and they lost great players. People don’t realize the number of great players they lost. I think probably they’re a good team, but they’re not the same team as they were last year.”