Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Lorenzo Romar says there’s a little ‘Magic’ in Tony Wroten

spt-111009-tony-wroten

Mike Miller

How can Washington replace All-Pac-10 guard Isaiah Thomas? With a little Magic.

Incoming freshman Tony Wroten is big, savvy guard who thrives with the ball in his hands, whether it’s creating for teammates or creating his own shot. In fact, he’s a little too good at times.

If one of Wroten’s new Husky teammates aren’t ready for the ball, they might miss an easy scoring opportunity. As coach Lorenzo Romar told the Seattle Times, his guys simply aren’t used to that kind of skill:

“Our guys are still learning how to adjust to catching his passes because he’s the type of passes that passes you the ball when you don’t know you’re open,” Romar told the paper.

That’s where Magic comes in. Yes, with a capital letter, as in Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

From the paper:

On what player comes to mind when looking at Wroten: “Magic Johnson. ... I’m not going to tell you right now he’s going to be a 14-year NBA all-star and first five of the all-time greatest player (and) he is Magic Johnson. I’m not going to tell you that. He has the potential of be a great basketball player. I just know that he has that size to where he can look over the defense. Magic was 6-9 and Tony is right at 6-5. ... Sometimes guys see things, but they see it a second late. He sees things right as they are developing and he delivers the ball on the spot. And he can do that while going full speed. And those are things that Magic was able to do.”

Romar – to his credit – isn’t calling Wroten the “next Magic” or even a future superstar. But it’s clear he thinks Wroten is capable of big things because he’s capable of making plays other simply don’t see. Those guys are rare. Magic was exceedingly rare, Wroten’s ceiling is clearly higher than most.

And if Wroten elevates the Huskies the same way Magic elevated his teams, hey, then Romar can really enjoy those passes.

Related stories:

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.