"Saints will open season vs. Huskies" -- Aug. 4, 2006

By Caleb Breakey
The Olympian

The Saint Martin's University basketball team will face the Washington Huskies for the first time Nov. 3 in an exhibition game at Bank of America Arena in Seattle.

Bob Grisham, Saint Martin's athletics director, said the Saints would benefit from the Huskies' tough competition and the big crowd at what will be the opening game for both teams.

Saints head basketball coach Keith Cooper agrees.

"It give our kids a great experience, how they stack up against the guys who got recruited ahead of them," Cooper said. "It helps a lot more to play good teams, to see what you need to work on."
The Huskies host two games against Final Four teams this season, UCLA and LSU. Nineteen of the Huskies' 30 regular-season games will be played at Bank of America Arena, where they posted a 17-2 record in 2006.

The Saints, who played against Division I schools Montana State and Montana last season, will face Oregon State University on Nov. 5 in their second game this season.

The Huskies most likely will be the Saints' toughest competition this year, but Cooper wishes otherwise.

"I hope not," he said. "Because if we play somebody better, then we've gone a hell of a long way in the district tournament."

Grisham said games against the Huskies and other Division I teams leave lower-division players wondering what could have been.

"Kids have that underlining thought," he said. " 'I could have been a Division I guy.' "

While Cooper said his team is competitive, he added that the Saints are intelligent and realistic with their goals. Above all, the game against the Huskies gives the Saints Division I experience and future comfort when they play high-caliber teams.

"The talent that they play against is something they can come back to," Cooper said. "We've played against Spencer Hawes, we've played against Jon Brockman.

"There shouldn't be any way we lose that night. We're going to win by having the opportunity to play a good team, play in a good atmosphere and see what the big time is all about. The fact that we may lose on the scoreboard may be the only loss that we have all night."