Overton to give Dentmon a run for the point

I'm willing to bet Justin Dentmon is going to have a heck of a week as the Dawgs take on USC and UCLA.

It's not just that Dentmon has to answer critics that have been pinning much of Washington's downfall on him; it's that now he's got competition. Well, sort of.

Venoy Overton is staying put. The Franklin High School point guard originally made a verbal commitment to the pesky Trojans in September. Monday, the 6-footer said he'd had a change of heart, and now he's going to be a Husky.

Now, I, for one, know that what's wrong with these puppies is far more than inconsistency at the point, but Dentmon has every reason to worry about his job.

Overton led his team to the state 4A title last year, and most people spinning through Washington high school hoops' circles say the Quakers are a lock to repeat.

I'll go out on a limb and say they will. I've seen them play three times since last year, and the games have all been more exciting than watching the Dawgs crawl through this campaign.

Much of Franklin's success depends on Jason Kerr and his style of coaching [HTML_REMOVED] Oregon's Aaron Brooks and former Arizona athlete Jason Terry both learned under him. Much of it sprouts from the shoulders of super-sophomore Peyton Siva (wouldn't it be interesting if he too chose Washington in 2009?). Most of the success is due to consistency at the point.

Overton is averaging per-game nearly 22 points and six assists, and he averaged nearly 18 per-game last season.

He's fluid on both ends of the court, and his cup runneth over. While he's still just a kid, he's even more important to his team than Spencer Hawes was at Seattle Prep. Seems to me Hawes turned out fine. All signs point to Overton following in his footsteps [HTML_REMOVED] provided he keeps his grades up [HTML_REMOVED] which he has improved upon as of late.

Last week, I watched Overton lead his team to the 4A District title with a 22-point, six-rebound, five-assist and two-steal performance. While he was a man among boys, the performance was still impressive. Two minutes into the game Overton stretched for a steal and then dunked one-handed in traffic. It was an NBA play on a high school court.

To start the second quarter, Overton drained a 3-pointer from well beyond the line, and then he repeated the feat minutes later. In between the 3-pointers he made another steal and took it for an up-and-under that left the crowd at Juanita High School buzzing for minutes.

His play didn't leave the challenging Garfield coach speechless. Instead, Dan Finkley wouldn't shut up about him.

"Venoy Overton is the whole key to their whole offense," he said. "He can get into the lane and create and hit the jump shots. He's very gifted and athletic."

With Overton committed, as well as a verbal commitment for 2008 from Isaiah Thomas [HTML_REMOVED] the former Curtis point guard who's now playing in Connecticut, and who's even more exciting to watch than the original [HTML_REMOVED] what seems like a thorn in the Huskies' collective side now could turn into one of the strongest backcourts in the nation.

If play isn't enough to solidify a player's standing, Overton has one other thing going for him: his attitude. Just before the district finals he and Siva got tattoos to mark the occasion. What did Overton get? A basketball player on his right bicep with the words "Step up and get clowned" framing it.

What did you expect, a USC logo?

Reach columnist Sam Cameron at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.