Everyone Has A Role, Even The Newcomers
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Robert Upshaw leaned back in a seat a few rows up in Alaska Airlines Arena. With his long legs splayed out in front of him, the 7-footer explained the key connection that will be a pivotal part of the Washington men’s basketball team’s success this season.
“Everybody has a role,” Upshaw said. “Nigel (Williams-Goss) has a role. ’Drew (Andrew Andrews) has a role. Mike (Anderson), Darin (Johnson) and so forth. I feel like I fit perfectly right in the middle with what I can do. I’m one of those guys that I gel with my teammates.”
The Huskies open the season with an exhibition game against Saint Martin’s on Thursday, facing plenty of external questions surrounding this year’s team. Internally, though, the players in the program like the look of a group that is mixing in new talent with proven pieces.
Upshaw and Quevyn Winters are two of the program’s unfamiliar faces and, while they continue to adjust, they feel like they fit.
“They’re just good people and me and Rob, we’re doing a good job of working hard and I think the players are seeing that,” said Winters, a 6-foot-5 guard. “My teammates and coaches are doing a good job of helping me out with everything, so I can do a better job of asserting myself.”
Upshaw provides a presence in the post, while Winters’ deft touch from outside will help fill the three-point shooting void left by the graduation of C.J. Wilcox, who is now in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I knew they were losing some shooters from last year and I knew I could bring some shooting to this team, so that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come,” said Winters, who spent last season at Indian Hills Community College. “I have the ability to make three-point shots. I think I will be able to help this team with that.”
Upshaw said the Huskies have “put everything on the line,” so they can find success this season. After a redshirt year, he admitted he wasn’t sure how things would go when practices started.
But, with each passing practice, he is getting in shape and believes he is “doing things a lot better than I’ve ever done them before.”
Winters, Upshaw and the rest of the Huskies are making the transition easier by focusing on the little things.
“Everybody has bought in 100 percent,” Upshaw said. “Everybody is just so committed to what we’re doing as a team. The small things make it possible for us to win games. As long as we keep buying into that, we’ll be really good.”
Winters might be new, but he sees strong camaraderie among this year’s team.
“Just being here from the summer to now, it’s strong,” he said. “A lot of guys like each other. I don’t see a lot of guys being off in groups. Everyone is pretty much together.”