UW Men's Basketball | Hawes' return is on schedule

After he was forced to watch Washington's practice Monday from the sideline, Spencer Hawes spent about 15 minutes working with coach Lorenzo Romar on his hook shot.

"It's convenient right now because I kind of jump off my other leg and don't have to worry about jumping off my right one," said Hawes, the highly touted freshman center out of Seattle Prep.

But the days of making concessions to the arthroscopic surgery he had on Oct. 11 to remove a loose particle in his right knee are nearing an end.

Romar said Monday that Hawes will be able to resume all normal basketball activity on Nov. 1.

That's essentially the timetable laid out the day the surgery was announced, but Hawes said it was still comforting to hear.

"For [the doctors] to say it looks good, you are right on schedule, I kind of knew it but it's good to reaffirm it," he said.

Hawes has spent practices since then trying "to soak it all in like a sponge since I can't be out there," he said.

But he has gradually increased his activity. He will be able to begin running in a pool today and will start jogging later this week in an effort to get his conditioning back to the level it was before the surgery.

"I'm going to try to crash course it as much as I can," he said.

Hawes thinks he should be just about back to normal by the time the Huskies play their regular-season opener on Nov. 12 against Pepperdine.

"I don't want to say there won't be points where it won't ache a little bit or be sore," he said. "But overall, it should be pretty much completely healed by then."

Dentmon eyes prize

There has been speculation guard Justin Dentmon would consider leaving after this season to pursue professional opportunities, and he didn't deny it Monday.

"If the opportunity comes, then maybe," he said. "Right now, I'm just thinking about getting this team back to the Sweet 16. But if the opportunity comes, then maybe, because my family's finances are not that strong, so that would be a reason."

Note

• Romar said G Joel Smith, who had surgery last month after suffering a foot stress fracture, should be back "a week and a half after Spencer."

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Read his blogs on Washington football and basketball at www.seattletimes.com/huskies.