Reliving a Husky Saturday Victory Through the Lens of Lin
They don't have a big man who can regularly create shots and score. Their 3-point attempts collectively sometimes don't go in at all. They haven't filled up more than half the arena capacity yet as the pandemic keeps wary fans at home.
Yet through 15 games, members of this University of Washington basketball team genuinely seem to like each other, which wasn't always the case last year as the Huskies struggled mightily through a 5-21 season — the second worst in school history —and then a bulk of the roster left.
Nate Roberts and Daejon Davis interact with UW fans as they leave the floor.
Skylar Lin Visuals
In a unique rebuilding approach, the UW went out and coaxed four Seattle-Tacoma basketball friends to return home from big-time schools scattered throughout the country such as Arizona, Stanford, TCU and West Virginia and play together.
It's a method that's worked for these Huskies, no matter what their record is, because clearly through their body language they appear to be enjoying themselves and each other's company on the floor.
Jamal Bey (5) and Daejon Davis (11) corner a Stanford player.
Skylar Lin Visuals
While this 8-7 team might finish no better than a break-even bunch at season's end, these players have rallied around the close-knit team dynamic they've built together this winter.
They continually hug each other, congratulate each other, look for one another with the basketball once the ball gets tossed up.
The new guys have bonded with the old guys, with newcomer guard Terrell Brown, the league's leading scorer, noticeably trying to get the ball to holdover guard Jamal Bey, who got loose for 17 first-half points in Saturday's 67-64 victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Coach Mike Hopkins and forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. share a sideline moment.
Skylar Lin Visuals
They all seem to have grasped the concept of Mike Hopkins' 2-3 zone to the point they're stealing the ball at accelerated rates again, for the first time since the Spiderman-like Matisse Thybulle ran the front edge of it.
Photographer Skylar Lin, a North Seattle Community College student, is becoming a regular presence inside the pavilion on game night in Montlake, for both the UW men's and women's teams.
It is his intent to continually capture the goodwill being shared among these Husky teammates.
Sometimes Lin is shooting downward from the rafters. On other occasions, he's practically in the huddle with everyone else, aiming his lens at different feel-good moments.
Daejon Davis played against Stanford after playing for the Cardinal.
Skylar Lin Visuals
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