Powered by Huff

Senior guard Deonte Huff does not care who the Vikings are playing. He wants the ball and he wants his team to score. And, most of all, Huff never wants Portland State to lose. The thought never even crosses his mind.

“Honestly, I don’t think we’re going to lose,” Huff said. “Our chemistry is great and we’re playing well. If everyone stays healthy, I don’t think we can really be stopped with our personnel and our focus right now.”

It is a bold statement, especially when the Vikings are 9-7 with just a two-game winning streak. But it is the kind of confidence a fan wants to hear from a team leader. And, as if anyone is still uncertain, Deonte Huff is the leader of this Vikings team.

Not only does Huff lead the Vikings statistically, averaging a team-high 12.1 points per game and six rebounds, but he is the motor behind the Viking machine. Huff’s energy and work ethic impact the flow of a game. Whether it’s through an improbable offensive rebound and put back deep in the paint, or a thunderous dunk off an alley-oop from junior guard Jeremiah Dominguez, Huff consistently delivers.

“Deonte brings energy to the table every night and always has a real positive attitude,” head coach Ken Bone said. “He always gives a great effort and finds ways to score and rebound.”

Finding ways to score and rebound comes naturally to Huff. The middle child of five boys, Huff’s game was shaped on the courts, playing against his older brothers and other bigger kids in the neighborhood.

“I always played with my older brothers. And since I was the youngest and smallest, they never passed to me,” Huff said. “So, to get the ball, I had to get steals and rebounds.”

Huff and the Vikings have been through a challenging schedule up to this point. They have played 10 of 16 games on the road and faced two Pacific-10 teams currently ranked in the top five in the nation.

In a 12-point loss at No. 4 Washington State in early December, Huff had arguably his best performance of the season, totaling 18 points, five rebounds and three assists to go with four steals. Playing better teams from bigger conferences has Huff feeling good as the Vikings get to the meat of the Big Sky schedule.

“Our preseason schedule really helped,” Huff said. “Even hanging with those teams for stretches at a time showed us what we can do. It’s like playing against your big brother. You get beat up, but you learn a lot.”

Sometimes the learning process takes time, as evidenced by the Vikings’ three-game slide to end 2007. But sometimes it takes only one game for all the pieces to come together at the same time. That’s when the collective light bulb flashes on. All of a sudden, players stop doubting where they need to be on the court and just get there. There is less confusion, more communication, and everybody plays hard.

The Vikings, powered by Huff and sophomore forward Kyle Coston, turned the lights on and blew out Sacramento State and Northern Arizona last weekend in grand fashion, raising their home record to 5-1.

“We’ve got the mind set right now that we need to win,” Huff said. “We’re growing as a team, trusting each other, sharing the ball and having more confidence in each other.”

Huff had a busy weekend stuffing the stat sheet. Versus Sacramento State, Huff had game-highs with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards, and responded with eight points, nine rebounds and a season-high six assists in the win over Northern Arizona.

Huff, who lives with senior forward J.R. Moore and sophomore forward Julius Thomas, leads the Vikings in rebounds, currently ranking eighth in the Big Sky in the category. He attributes his rebounding ability to timing and hard work.

“I’ve always been pretty good at knowing when the ball’s going to come off,” Huff said. “But I never let myself get boxed out. I take more pride in offensive boards ’cause you get extra possessions, and the team with more possessions usually wins the game.”

We’ll find out soon enough if Huff’s prediction for indefinite wins comes true, but with Huff on the floor supplying the energy, anything is possible.