Gonzaga Notes

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:

dholcombe wrote:So if you can get a #1 ranking while playing in the WCC...why move?

The "Seven," who will call their new conference the "Big East" (yes, they're keeping it), are very close to getting Butler and Xavier to move when they start next season. Saint Louis, Creighton, and Dayton are close to joining the year after. That makes 12 teams. Gonzaga is staying put.

But man, the new Big East is going to be loaded.

I'm not sure St. Louis, Creighton, and Dayton are "close" to moving....there's still concern that Omaha (Creighton) is "too far west," but yes, that will be helluva fun conference to watch.

So GU won at BYU last night, in a hard fought game. Literally. If you recall the Pilot's game in Provo, one of our guys (Oskars?) took a very hard foul from the back-up BYU big man, a DE from their football team. He also put a big hit on Olynyk last night, and a BYU cartoonist captured the moment.



Found on the GUBoards, , originally from the CougarBoard.

Ha-ha, good one!

I don't know if it was because I much prefer GU over BYU in any sporting endeavor, but it seemed the Kaufusi foul met every definition of a Flagrant 2, and automatic ejection; as it was he was called for a Flagrant 1.
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Mark Few mentioned how he totally trusted the refs in this game to actually call a foul when GU was fouling intentionally instead of letting BYU take a 3-point shot....instead of letting play continue without the refs making a call, and alluded to the fact he doesn't actually trust some refs who work the games in the Marriott Center to make that call.

As it turned out, the decision to foul was the absolutely correct one, as the BYU player buried the 3 just after the call was made.

Ya, it is hard to say that foul was the same severity of a foul as a clip with an elbow by a player clearing the ball with a defender's head stuck in his chest. I was thinking an ejection was in order.

Well, they did it.....GU is ranked #1 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll.

Congratulations! Now the pressure really starts!

Will they win the WCC Tournament?
Will they be the #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament?
How deep into the NCAA Tournament can they go?

Will anything less than a Final Four be too tough for GU fans to handle?

Congratulations to the Zags... they have had a tremendous season, and IMO deserve the #1 ranking. (Do I think they are the best team in the country? No... but that is not what that rank is about). This version of the Zags is entertaining to watch (and there is no Adam Morrison-esque player to dislike).

First-place votes: Gonzaga 51, Indiana 7, Duke 5, Georgetown 2. I figured Gonzaga would be #1 but I didn't think they would be such a decisive #1.

Looking at schedules, Gonzaga will have one game before next rankings come out (against Santa Clara if the tourney seedings hold) while Indiana has #14 Ohio State (home) and #7 Michigan (away). If Indiana wins both (thus dealing Michigan its first home loss of the season in the process) you'd have to think the Hoosiers will take a LOT of votes back from Gonzaga next week.

The important thing is that Gonzaga would have to lose a game to not get a 1 seed.

Congrats to them.

PilotNut wrote:Congratulations to the Zags... they have had a tremendous season, and IMO deserve the #1 ranking. (Do I think they are the best team in the country? No... but that is not what that rank is about). This version of the Zags is entertaining to watch (and there is no Adam Morrison-esque player to dislike).

My internal conflict is that I despise Gonzaga, yet -

1) Pretty easy to agree with PilotNut, they are a fantastic and entertaining team to watch.
2) They have two outstanding Canadians...we really don't get those too often, and it is very nice to see Olynyk and Pangos playing well.
3) As stated, good recognition for WCC to have the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

So yeah. There's some reasons to like Gonzaga...but I'm still not cheering for them

I don't think Gonzaga will get better than a #2 seed for the NCAA tournament.

dholcombe wrote:I don't think Gonzaga will get better than a #2 seed for the NCAA tournament.

Yea, I think you may be correct. I agree with PN and others that GU is NOT the best team in the nation, but they are #1 in the polls.

I think their RPI is around #9, and with all things being equal (when has that ever happened?) they could even be a #3 seed. I've watched a lot of basketball this season, and think that Duke, Miami, Louisville, Kansas, and Indiana could be better....

We'll just have to wait until "Selection Sunday" on St. Patrick's Day (3/17) to find out. I'm pretty sure the luck of the Irish will prevail, and Notre Dame will get IN....but there will be a number of good teams left out due to the conference "automatics."

PilotNut wrote:This version of the Zags is entertaining to watch (and there is no Adam Morrison-esque player to dislike).

Annoying isn't it? There's usually always at least one player that we love to hate at GU, but this year's version is made up of doggone good hard working blue collar guys. You'd think we'd at least dislike KO, but besides being really, really good, he's showing he's a good guy and a great teammate too.....darn!

Now, if we were talking about BYU........

Don't get carried away.

I hate Stockton, for all the obvious reasons.

If GU gets a #1 seed, they'll probably play in Salt Lake. I'm sure the BYU fans will support them.

Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog?

After six years as an assistant to Mark Few at Gonzaga, Ray Giacoletti is finally getting another chance as a head coach…..this time for the Drake University Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Giacoletti came to Gonzaga with 10 total years of head coaching experience including a three-year tenure as the head coach at the University of Utah where he led the Utes to a 29-6 record in his first season to tie for the third-most wins in program history and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to taking the reins at Utah, he served as the head coach at Eastern Washington University where he went 69-50 in four seasons, the best mark of any coach in the school's NCAA Division I history. He guided the Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004, as well as the Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

I don't read the GU board, but I imagine if it's anything like PilotNation, there will be any number of contributors who are highly qualified to replace Giacoletti on Few's staff....

CBSSports has already come out with the top 25 teams for next season….and it ranks Gonzaga #17, even if they are without 7-0 Kelly Olynyk....who has yet to announce his decision.

Reason: GU picks up two very good transfers and two athletic and big freshmen, including a 7-1, 300 pound post to FILL in when 7-1, 310 pound Przemek Karnowski or 6-9 Sam Dower is not playing.

The freshmen are 7-1, 300-pound Ryan Edwards out of Glacier High in Kalispell, Mont., and 6-8, 200-pound forward Lucas Meikle from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma.

A transfer that will be in the starting lineup from day one is Gerard Coleman from Providence. Coleman, a 6-4 guard from Boston was a double figure scorer for two seasons in the Big East.

The other transfer is 6'7 wing Angel Nunez coming from Louisville….a guy who can shoot it from the perimeter and is extremely athletic.

It looks like GU will continue to dominate the WCC for the foreseeable future, and based upon the players inbound to other WCC schools; they won’t have a lot of competition except maybe BYU.

Mark Few withdraws as coach of USA's U-19 team….

Hmm, I’d thought he’d made that decision some time ago, but it’s just now getting reported:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2013-05-13/mark-few-gonzaga-fiba-u19-world-championship

Phew, San Diego State has landed Tulane transfer Josh Davis.

Davis, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who averaged 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds last season, will be eligible to play this season for the Aztecs.

Why is this info on the Gonzaga page, you ask.....because there was quite a lobbying job going on in Spokane to get Davis to come there to be an instant fill-in for Elias Harris.

Davis visited The Ohio State and Gonzaga before committing to SDSU.

DoubleDipper wrote:Why is this info on the Gonzaga page, you ask.....because there was quite a lobbying job going on in Spokane to get Davis to come there to be an instant fill-in for Elias Harris.

Is Sam Dower really that bad of an option for them at PF?

DeanMurdoch wrote:Is Sam Dower really that bad of an option for them at PF?

Well, GU considers Sam a C, not a PF. He would probably be a "stud" at PF most anywhere else in the WCC, but for some reason he's never been a favorite of the Zag fans.....I don't know what the coaches think of his playing ability....but they've been trying to land a PF besides the 6-8 200 lbs incoming freshman at that position. They also have a 7-0 300 lbs freshman center coming in to help 7-1 305 lbs Karnowski (and Sam, I guess)……jeez, spread the wealth a little, will you?

6-10 combo forward Domantas Sabonis, Arvydas' son, is being heavily recruited by Gonzaga. He’s currently in the 2015 class, playing for Unicaja Malaga in Spain, but might reclassify to 2014 so he can get to the US and start preparing for the NBA.

Born in Portland, Sabonis is considered a high-major prospect by most scouts.

The sky is falling over on the GU board with Davis going to SDSU. As it stands for them -

PF - Meikle
C - Karnowski, Dower, Edwards

They might look a little thin in the front court (Meikle and Edwards will both be freshman) but they've got those great guards coming back and I'm sure Few will land another big or two this summer.

Gonzaga will still be good but next year might just be BYU's year.

DeanMurdoch wrote:The sky is falling over on the GU board with Davis going to SDSU. As it stands for them -

PF - Meikle
C - Karnowski, Dower, Edwards

They might look a little thin in the front court (Meikle and Edwards will both be freshman) but they've got those great guards coming back and I'm sure Few will land another big or two this summer.

Gonzaga will still be good but next year might just be BYU's year.

Interesting…GU just made an offer to class of 2013 Dominic Woodson out of Round Rock, Texas. It’s interesting because Dominic is a 4-star 6-10 295 center…..and GU already has two 7-footers…a sophomore and an incoming freshman.

I’m thinking Coach Few is seeing a move to PF for the 4-star.

21 D1 schools in the state of Texas and this 4-star 6-10 centre isn't considering any of them? Strange.

I'd guess it will be tough for Woodson to turn down Memphis or Rhode Island with their intriguing new coach Hurley.

DeanMurdoch wrote:21 D1 schools in the state of Texas and this 4-star 6-10 centre isn't considering any of them? Strange.

Not sure, but I think he'd only be a centre if he ended up in Canada or the UK....

Although, Spokane is darned close.