Marcus Tsohonis Can Change a 20 — Here are 5 Examples

The University of Washington basketball team hosts Stanford on Thursday night.

Senior point guard Quade Green likely will be recovered from his illness that kept him out against Washington State.

The question is this: what happens to Marcus Tsohonis?

Does Husky coach Mike Hopkins return him to the bench or find a spot for him in the starting lineup?

The feeling here is Tsohonis should be rewarded, not seated because of some kind of senior loyalty pledge.

Tsohonis is unconventional but ultra confident in approach.

He's arguably been the most uplifting player in a lost season (4-16 overall, 3-12 Pac-12).

He's hung in there even after being held out of three games on a coach's whim.

Tsohonis largely has been responsible for two of the Huskies' four victories.

He has the highest-scoring game (29) by a Husky this season

He hit a last-second game-winner against the Cougars.

Tsohonis and Green have combined for 12 of the Huskies' 14 games of players scoring 20 points or better, with Green doing it seven times.

Why not play these guys together?

Maybe use senior forward Hameir Wright off the bench and go with four guards and the hot hand.

Or make Green come off the bench.

Tsohonis started nine games last season when Green was academically ineligible.

It makes no sense at all to continue to use him as an afterthought, especially with all of the Huskies' slow starts.

When looking at his best point performances, here's Tsohonis' starting five, in order of occurrence:

1) Stanford, 24 points

After sitting out the game before against Arizona, Tsohonis drew his first start of the season against the Cardinal, replacing Green, who did something unexplained that forced him to give up his starting spot for a game. In a 91-75 loss, Tsohonis scored a career-high and team-high 24 points, hitting 8 of 21 shots in 33 minutes of time. Green, for that matter, still played 35 minutes and chipped in 15 points.

2) Colorado, 27 points

In the Huskies' best win of the season, Tsohonis came off the bench and dropped a new career-high 27 points on the Buffaloes in 26 minutes of an 84-80 victory. He was pinpoint from the field, hitting 9 of 13 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and all 5 of his free throws. With Green blanketed and limited to 9 shots, and fellow guard Erik Stevenson in foul trouble and ultimately lost on fouls, Tsohonis had to step up and he did.

3) Oregon State, 22 points

In a 91-71 defeat, Tsohonis was the lone bright spot, coming off the bench for a team-high 22 points in 24 minutes. He connected on 8 of 13 shots, including 2 of 4 behind the arc, and all 4 of his foul shots. Green had maybe his worst game of the season, scoring just 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting while blanked by the Beavers and playing 30 minutes.

4) UCLA, 22 points

Tsohonis had his game face on in a tightly played match-up with the Bruins last Saturday and he scored 22 points again. He came off the bench and played 23 minutes of the 64-61 setback. He drained 7 of 15 shots, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and sank 2 of 3 free throws. Of the starting guards, Green had 14 points, Jamal Bey 5 and Stevenson 5 before he fouled out.

5) WSU, 29 points

Tsohonis, pressed into starting duty because Green was sick and unable to play, provided the most points since Isaiah Stewart dropped 29 on Arizona in last year's Pac-12 tournament. In getting his career high, he played his most minutes in a game, 38, and was efficient with his shot-making, hitting on 13 of 20, including all 3 from 3-point range. He also came up with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Best of all, he took the ball on the game's final possession, got into the lane and let fly with a runner that went in with 2.4 seconds left and provided a 65-63 victory.

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