Abdul Gaddy doesn’t remember when exactly he first held a basketball, but he knows it was his grandmother who first put one in his hands when he was young.

Since then, the stand-out freshman recruit from Bellarmine Prep has impressed at every level, and now, it will be UW head coach Lorenzo Romar who will be putting the ball — and the game — in Gaddy’s hands, as he begins his college career with the Huskies.

“We watched him play many, many times, and in any situation, he just had the poise about him and just that way about him that he’s just always in control,” Romar said. “It doesn’t matter where Abdul Gaddy plays; he’s going to be able to run a team and bring a calm to the storm. That’s what he does.”

And that’s what he’ll be doing as the 2009-2010 basketball season begins with an exhibition game against Central Washington tonight.

It’s not just that Romar is confident in Gaddy’s abilities. He’s adamant that Gaddy will be able to be a leader in a five-man line-up that will mostly be filled with players older than he is.

And, while Gaddy won’t start tomorrow, Romar said he still considers the freshman guard as filling a starter’s role — along with Venoy Overton and Isaiah Thomas, the two guys who will start at the guard spots.

“In high school, I had to learn how to be a leader,” Gaddy said. “When I first got here, [Romar] had a long talk with me: ‘Even though you’re only 17 years old and you’re out on the court with the 20-year-olds and the 22-year-olds, you’ve got to keep your leadership qualities.’”

Leadership qualities that involve making passes to the right people in the right places and situations, but also being able to keep the team calm in pressing situations.

That will be key for the freshman, as he tries to balance among key scorers like sophomore Thomas and senior Quincy Pondexter while managing games against some of the best competitors in the Pac-10.

That might be a lot to ask of any senior, let alone a freshman.

But senior Pondexter believes Gaddy is the right man to lead the Huskies on the court this season, as they try to repeat as Pac-10 champions and make the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

“Playing with [Gaddy] in the summertime and now early in the year, I figured out [about Gaddy’s leadership abilities],” Pondexter said. “Because when I was playing with him, the thing that he would say to everyone was, ‘I’m a point guard. Get open; I’ll find you.’ And not many people have that attitude, so for him to take it upon himself to do that is just a great asset to have.”

Huskies to maintain quickness on court

How Gaddy and the rest of the Huskies work together on the court will be part of what Romar will look for against Central tonight.

Part of Romar’s strategy in the past — including in last year’s team — has been to run the ball up and down the court with sometimes relentless speed. And this year is no different, with the exception of a new face here or there.

“We try to play fast every year,” Romar said. “This team happens to be quicker [than in the past], so there’s potential to be out more in transition.”

Quick might even be an understatement for the Huskies, whose backcourt features the team’s leading scorer last year in Thomas and one of the better on-ball defenders in the conference in Overton.

The rest of the team isn’t bad either.

Often called the “X-Factor” in determining whether the Huskies do well, Pondexter is expected to take on a bigger role as a major playmaker and rebounder.

The 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman Tyreese Breshers should make up for some of the boards that might be lost with the departure of Jon Brockman. And returners like Darnell Gant, Elston Turner, Justin Holiday and Matthew Bryan-Amaning should get good chunks of minutes in Romar’s system.

In fact, Romar expects everyone to play in tonight’s game, except for Holiday, who has just recently started practicing after suffering from the flu.

It will be a chance for Romar to see how everyone blends together in an up-and-down, run-and-gun type of game.

Pondexter, though, believes that just because the Huskies will be quick doesn’t mean they can’t maintain composure and take their time this season when necessary.

“It’s going to be as expected,” Pondexter said. “We’re going to be smarter than the average up-and-down team. We’re going to have times when we come down and set up a lot of offense to get a good shot. So it’s not going to be chaotic basketball.”

Reach Opinion Editor Allen Wagner at sports@dailyuw.com.