Recap: Utah @ Gonzaga

Final Score: Gonzaga 61 Utah 59





Matt Bouldin is starting to turn the corner. Over the last two games Bouldin has averaged 23.5 points and carried this inconsistent zags squad. This all with his bum calf and ankle. Josh Heytvelt added a season high 16 points and is slowly starting to work his way back to the form that he showed last year. Jeremy Pargo continued his inconsistent play scoring 7 points and no assists. Austin Daye had one of those weird nights not attempting a shot but ending up with 5 boards. When all was said and done, the zags looked good, bad, and ugly. This is another one of those games where it seems like they are still trying to find themselves. I wonder if that feeling will ever end this year. At least we got out with a W. Look forward to saturday against Georgia at home. That game will be a better barometer of what this team is capable of. Hopefully we can make it January 26th against Memphis without another loss to better heighten the Top 25 billing and try to walk out with an upset of the best team in the country. I will have a Georgia Scouting report in a couple days. Sorry there was not one for Utah, been pretty busy with the holidays. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

Weekly Top 32

Weekly top 32 Rankings

1. Memphis 11-0 (1)
2. North Carolina 13-0 (4)
3. Kansas 13-0 (7)
4. Washington St. 12-0 (38)
5. UCLA 12-1 (54)
6. Texas A&M 12-1 (13)
7. Michigan St. 12-1 (10)
8. Duke 10-1 (18)
9. Indiana 11-1 (45)
10. Tennessee 12-1 (6)

11. Georgetown 9-1 (60)
12. Pittsburgh 11-1 (8)
13. Marquette 10-1 (42)
14. Vanderbilt 12-0 (5)
15. Texas 11-2 (20)
16. Butler 12-1 (12)
17. Villanova 10-1 (30)
18. Stanford 11-1 (31)
19. Clemson 11-1 (41)
20. Arizona 9-3 (2)

21. St. Mary's 12-1 (3)
22. Dayton 11-1 (9)
23. Rhode Island 13-1 (15)
24. UMass 10-2 (21)
25. Miami (FL.) 12-1 (46)
26. Minnesota 10-1 (49)
27. Mississippi 12-0 (11)
28. West Virginia 10-2 (43)
29. Wisconsin 10-2 (16)
30. Baylor 10-1 (40)
31. Oklahoma 10-3 (24)
32. New Mexico 12-2 (85)

Recap: Tennessee Vs. Gonzaga

Final Score: Tennessee 82 Gonzaga 72



Ok. I know what your thinking...Gonzaga lost another one. Well, honestly im happy. This game was important for one big reason, continuity. The zags continued to improve, they played their hearts out. They didnt beat themselves, if anything they kept in it with a team who was playing very well. Tennessee was relentless, forcing turnover after turnover and out hustling the hobbled zags. When all was said and done, the zags didnt lose, they won at getting Heytvelt those passion minutes and introducing new offensive sets to a team who has looked atrocious on the offensive end all year. Matt Bouldin had 21 points and really set the pace for this bulldogs squad, Josh Heytvelt had some thunderous blocks and dunks. The man who seemed invisible at times against Oklahoma, was simply amazing. Heytvelt is still winded at times, but he demanded the ball and took a lot of attention off the perimeter allowing Austin Daye, David Pendergraft, Steven Gray, and Matt Bouldin to get some nice looks at the basket. One dismal note, Pargo continued his inconsistent play, at times he has looked like a genius(28 points at Oklahoma) and times has played like he did tonight. With the zags firing on all cylinders i think they will be a tough opponent for any team in the country. I honestly think this was the only game all season that a team has outplayed the zags. Wazzu, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech were games where we didnt play to our potential and beat ourselves with bad plays and stupid mistakes. At times the zags disappeared tonight, but i think with so many players just now making it back, that is to be expected. I expect that the whole Zags team will be back to 100% and firing on all cylinders by the Memphis game on january 26th. I expect to be 15-4 by then and back in the top 25 with solid wins over Utah and Georgia. I think we should all be satisfied with the progress that was made tonight. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

Zag Draft Status

Links to the ESPN Draft status for all Zags considered draft material:

P.S. also keep in mind this is projections if they come out this year, things completely change for 09 projections.

Matt Bouldin

Bouldin is projected late 2nd to undrafted

Austin Daye

Daye is projected late 1st to early 2nd

Josh Heytvelt

Heytvelt is projected Late 1st to early 2nd

Micah Downs

Downs is projected Late 2nd to undrafted

Jeremy Pargo

Pargo is projected late 2nd to undrafted

NBA Draft update

Top 5

1. Michael Beasley PF 6-9 235 Kansas St.
2. Derrick Rose PG 6-4 195 Memphis
3. DeAndre Jordan C 7-0 250 Texas A&M
4. Nicolas Batum SG 6-8 210 France
5. Eric Gordan SG 6-4 220 Indiana

Northwest Players

25. Josh Heytvelt PF 6-11 250 Gonzaga
27. Kyle Weaver SG 6-5 202 Washington St.
50. Derrick Low PG 6-1 187 Washington St.

Recent Conversation in the world of Gonzaga

Excerpt from recent post on the best Gonzaga forum GUboards.cm

the funny thing is...

NBA potential and college ability have nothing to do with eachother. Derek Raivio was never a serious candidate for the NBA...for one he is way to light, for two he would not be able to keep up with the amazingly more athletic NBA points. He wasnt even a true point man, hes more of a combo guard, which hurts his standing that much more. so for anyone who thought he was more than a fringe second round pick, they were ludicris. Now Heytvelt has been haled as a poor mans Brandin Wright with a Jumper. Brandin went in the lottery last year. Does anyone remember when heytvelt killed UNC last year? that was when heytvelt was getting a lot of attention. If things had not gone so poorly for him to finish the season, i dont think he would be here right now, he would have been a 1st rounder in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. Im not going to say hes ever going to generate that kinda hype again, but he is still a VERY talented athletic power forward prospect and still garners a lot of attention even now. Scouts are what matter, if you know any scouts or have insider accounts then you might get in on what scouts have to say every now and then.

Also in regards to athletisicm and size:

This is not your moms Gonzaga Bulldogs. Mark Few is bringing increasingly better recruiting classes every year. what this means is guys like Austin Daye, dont have to stick around with the zags because he already has generated hype in high school and has done enough and shown enough potential right now to have a chance to go pro and get picked in the lottery. He is not like David Pendergraft, or even Corey Violette. Those guys did not and will never have a chance to make it in the NBA, too slow, too undersized for their position, not nearly close to the athleticism as their NBA counterparts. Gonzaga has won games based off guts and determination before, now they actually compete with teams like UNC, UCONN, UT, Memphis, ect. Im not saying i know more than anyone here, cuz i dont, but i have had the luck to be relocated in the college basketball mecca (Kentucky) and i see top flight teams in person all the time, i used to be naive when it came to basketball, "...oh yeah my friend might make the NBA" i would say. I am positive there are at least 2 definite NBA'ers on the zags roster in Heytvelt and Daye, but Bouldin, Pargo, Sacre, Gray, ect. those guys will be a wait and see thing, and honestly Sacre and Gray, im not sold they are even future Gonzaga starters let alone NBAers. Bouldin and Pargo definitely have a realistic chance to make a run at the draft. so yeah this may be a useless post, but seriously, there is more NBA talent on Gonzaga than EVER before.

Scouting Report: Tennessee

W-L: 11-1
RPI: 10
Current Rankings
Coaches: 12
ESPN Power 16: 12
AP: 11

Leading Statistics:

Points: Chris Lofton 14.8 (Sr.)
Rebounds: Brian Williams 5.6 (Fr.)
Assists: J.P. Prince 3.3

Top 3 Players:

Chris Lofton, Sr., 6-2 200,
Lofton came back unexpecedly to UT this year. He was dominant at times as a Junior, but has disappeared at times as a senior. I think this may be due to not needing to do as much with so many options emerging in Knoxville. I expect Lofton to be a factor, but not as big a factor as he was last year.

JaJuan Smith, Sr., 6-2 195,
Another Senior Leader whose scoring is down, albeit not as drastically as Lofton. He helps make UT have one of the best backcourts in the nation, a definite advantage over the zags.

Tyler Smith, So., 6-7 215,
Mr. Smith has emerged as a sophomore to show he may be the Vols best all around player. He is 4th on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and tied for first in assists.

My Prediction:

I believe this game could be difficult for the Zags. The Vols are 2-1 against top 50 teams this year and have a lot of experience in the backcourt, something that could hinder pargo and bouldin from taking over. If Josh Heytvelt can show improvement from the game against Oklahoma, he may be able to give us a viable threat down low, which will help us open our offense up. I believe heytvelt will show improvement, but very little. I expect a close game with the Vols winning a squeaker. Final Score 72-69 Tennessee. Please do not lynch me, but i really am scared about Heytvelt. I feel we have a better chance to make a run at beating Memphis in Late january due to a more cohesive offense, right now our Offense has been atrocious of late.

Current Zags draft chances

This is an excerpt from a post i left on GUboards.com... "I happen to be a pretty big NBA draft buff, i make my own mock drafts every year. With the current Zags roster, there happen to be 4 to 7 future NBA players. Now these are in varying drafts from next year thru 2011(last year of eligability for current freshman). Im not saying you should take my opinion and run with it, but i do have a lot of experience with Mock Drafting. So here goes..."

Eligability is in parenthesis:

Micah Downs (2008, 2009)
If he declared pro now, he would not be taken in the 2008 NBA draft. He is too raw, although he does show flashes at times of a future NBA player. If he stays until he is a senior and continues to improve at the same rate, i think he is a fringe 2nd rounder, probably in the last 10 picks of the draft or undrafted.

Matt Bouldin (2008, 2009, 2010)
If Matt declared pro this year he would be a late 2nd rounder. If he declared in 2009 he would be an early 2nd rounder, i think the most likely result with Matt is 2010 when he is a senior, i think he would be a late 1st rounder at his current improvement rate, although he could go as high as top 15 or as low as undrafted depending on his work ethic. He happens to have the most inconsistent scouting reports among all non freshman zags.

Austin Daye (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Daye is the surest bet to make the NBA, with his potential and his height (Similar to a Rashard Lewis) He would be a late first rounder if he went out in 2008, top 10 if he leaves in 2009, and may or may not improve that stock any later. His biggest draw is potential. That decreases with every passing year he sits on the Zags roster, he may reach his potential while here(similar to Adam Morrison, or Brandon Roy with Washington) or he may never reach it in college or the pros. I think he has a 50-50 chance of leaving after this year, and a 75% chance of leaving next year.

Josh Heytvelt (2008, 2009)
Almost as sure a first rounder as Daye. If he left this year he would be a fringe 1st rounder, proabably late 20s. That is assuming he can get back to the form he showed before his drug charges. If he stays and continues at the that level for the rest of this year and into next he will be anywhere from a top 15 pick in 2009 to a early second rounder.

Jeremy Pargo (2008, 2009)
Pargo is an enigma. He at times looks like a lottery pick, but others shows some big weaknesses (His Jumper). I think if he continues to preform on the level he did versus Oklahoma he could leave this year and be a first rounder. More likely he will stay thru next year and if he improves at all will be a fringe first rounder or early second rounder.

Steven Gray (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
At this point there is not nearly enough information on Gray to think he would ever be an NBA player. The most likely time he would declare depending on his ability to show improvement would be 2010 or 2011. I would not project him in any draft yet, too early to tell.


Robert Sacre (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Pretty much the same as Gray, although i think he is more likely to be drafted due to his NBA ready body. If he can improve on his athleticism in the paint and he offensive ability inside i think he has a chance to be a future NBA player, although it will be a couple years until he is at the level to generate that type of interest, maybe 2010 or 2011. I think he is definately the heir to Heytvelts throne as the Zags best post player, we will see how things work out.

Of course you dont have to agree, that is the fun of projecting the draft, but i honestly think there are 4 locks for NBAers on the roster, with room for as many as 7.

Weekly Top 32 Rankings

Hello All,

This week i decided to do something a little different, instead of the normal 32 and extra 8 receiving attention, im just doing the top 32. This week definately shook the rankings up considerably and it rustled up the RPI.

Weekly top 32 Rankings

1. Memphis 10-0 (3)
2. North Carolina 11-0 (7)
3. Kansas 12-0 (5)
4. Washington St. 11-0 (30)
5. Pittsburgh 11-0 (8)
6. UCLA 11-1 (41)
7. Texas 11-1 (13)
8. Duke 10-1 (19)
9. Texas A&M 11-1 (4)
10. Indiana 10-1 (44)

11. Michigan St. 11-1 (9)
12. Georgetown 8-1 (74)
13. Marquette 9-1 (37)
14. Tennessee 11-1 (10)
15. Vanderbilt 11-0 (6)
16. Butler 11-1 (16)
17. Miami (FL.) 12-0 (23)
18. Arizona 9-2 (1)
19. Villanova 9-1 (22)
20. Clemson 10-1 (57)

21. Stanford 10-1 (35)
22. BYU 10-2 (95)
23. St. Mary's 10-1 (2)
24. West Virginia 10-1 (39)
25. Gonzaga 9-3 (40)
26. Rhode Island 11-1 (12)
27. Dayton 10-1 (17)
28. UMass 9-2 (20)
29. Creighton 9-1 (27)
30. Minnesota 8-1 (31)
31. Mississippi 11-0 (11)
32. Baylor 9-1 (28)

Recruiting Update

Verdell Jones III visited Minnesota in Mid November supplementing the visit Tubby Smith made to Champaign back in september. He also made a visit to Lexington, KY back in Mid October to see Midnight Madness and the LSU-UK football game. His grandfather is a pastor at a church in Paris, KY. When asked which schools were still on his list he spouted off "Minnesota, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Marquette, Georgia Tech, New Mexico State, Kansas, Indiana, Illinois and Texas." To me this means that Gonzaga may be out of the picture for the 6-5 guards services. With Grant Gibbs and Demetri Goodson incoming at the guard spots, im not too concerned about landing Verdell Jones. With all that said, it appears the zags have concluded recruiting for the 2008 season with 3 top 150 recruits.

Recap: Gonzaga @ Oklahoma

Final Score: Oklahoma 72 Gonzaga 68

Normally seeing a game like this would upset me, but im not upset. Jeremy Pargo was amzazing, he had 28 points on 11-14 shooting before starting to force it at the end of the game finishing 0-4. The zags flashed far superior talent to the sooners for the majority of the game. Lapses in offensive awareness, passing, and ballhandling led to this loss. Josh Heytvelt was back and played 15 mins with 5 points and 1 board. On one play, towards the end of the first half, he flashed his past potential. He looked slow footed and lost for the majority of the game. Blake Griffin for Oklahoma was very good, he might be one of the most athletic big men in the country, he was good for 15 points and 14 boards. Longar Longar moved around the court with ease and showed he can step out and hit a jumper from time to time. I think Oklahoma is a good young team, but they should not have won this game, the zags beat themselves. This has almost been the story of the season so far, time and time again i see the zags beat themselves. I think once Heytvelt gets his feet wet and gets reacquainted with the offense pargo wont have to feel like he has to do everything. This in turn will give the zags a legitimate low post threat which will open up outside looks for guys like Micah Downs and Steven Gray. The season is young, and the zags deserve all the credit in the world for going on the road to a hostile arena and almost pulling out a game on a night when they seemed a little off. I honestly dont care if we win out or beat big teams like memphis or tennessee, as long as we are ready when the tourney comes round. With true road games and tough non conference tests the zags prove that they really will go anywhere and play any team on any night. And with that, in the words of the zags student section, LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

Top Team in the state of Washington

My cousin, who goes to Wazzu, argued the other day that his team had taken over the states top team ranking. I disagree, even though wazzu has beat the zags for the last two seasons. For one, the zags recruit better. For two the zags were without their best player. And finally, without Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low, the cougars would be in the bottom 150 of the RPI.
Now i know some of you are thinking that all this is circumstantial, but seriously last season Gonzaga had the #40 recruiting class in the nation, the cougars were not even in the top 80 per this site. Even this year on an off year for Gonzaga recruiting, the zags have a far superior class to the cougars who can only seem to bring in 3 star recruiting classes. Now the argument can be made that the Washington Huskies out recruit the Zags every year, but the huskies were #48 last year, and the track record of zags recruits who are not necessarily on the national radar(Adam Morrison, Josh Heytvelt, Derek Raivio, Blake Stepp, J.P. Batista, ect.) out weighs most Husky recruiting classes.
Josh Heytvelt. Mr. Heytvelt is, when healthy, the most athletic and versatile player the zags have ever had. Last season he outplayed Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright on the way to a Zag upset. Then came mushroom-gate and the broken ankle to start the year off this year. When he finally gets healthy he will be a force to reckon with and the zags will have a far superior offense with the post game opened up. He would have ate up Aron Baynes and the close defensive battle would have been a little more one sided in the zags favor.
Finally Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low are the only decent players the Cougars have, everyone else is decent at best. Without the two stars who will be gone next year to the NBA, the cougars have no scrappy defensive player or talented playmaker in the offense. I think another 7 year winning streak will follow for the zags.
Now Washington State fans, dont read into this that i think the cougars are bad, i honestly think they will challenge for a final 4 berth this year. I just think the zags have more talent.

Scouting Report: Oklahoma

Led by their frontcourt stars Longar Longar, and freshman Blake Griffin. The just had a decent win over Arkansas, but a loss to Stephen F. Austin kinda makes you wonder how consistent this squad is. Also losses to Memphis and USC, which can be expected, all the rest of their wins are over pushover schools like Morehead st., Alcorn St., ect. Omar Leary and Tony Crocker lead a backcourt that has some good shooting ability, both are over 45% from 3 point range, but both are inconsistent at best. Gonzaga definately has a noticable advantage on the perimeter with bigger and better guards...that being said, if Heytvelt is back tomorrow night the zags will be able to handle Longar and Griffin. If Heytvelt is back you can expect the zags to walk away with a 10 point win, without him, this one could get close with a slight risk of upset. MY prediction, heytvelt back in limited minues, zags by 5 77-72.

Recap: Northern Colorado at Gonzaga

Final Score: Gonzaga 77 Northern Colorado 57

Well this ends the easy part of our non conference schedule(Future Games against Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Georgia, Memphis, ect.). Some injury news, Matt Bouldin missed the game due to an ankle injury, dont worry he should be back in time for Oklahoma. Steven Gray got his first action as a Zag and at times played very well, finishing with 12 points. Micah Downs and Austin Daye continued to develop into top wings. Hopefully Josh Heytvelt will have a chance to be back for the oklahoma game as it would be a big boost to our offense. Gonzaga came out very cold missing their first 6 baskets on their way to an 8 point deficit, in all it took the first ten minutes of the first half to claim their first lead. Once the zags had a lead in their hands they never looked back, up 13 at the half. In the second half they continued to dominate finishing with a 20 point win. High scorer in the game for the zags was Austin Daye with 18 points. Micah Downs finished with 17 and was 5-10 from three point range.

A little Bracketology news, Joe Lunardi has the zags as a 5th seed in the West Regional facing off with Virginia.

Also ESPN has a highlight of rival Saint Mary's Star Patrick Mills here.

Look out for the scouting report for the Oklahoma game tomorrow.

Weekly top 32 Rankings

It was a slow week with players taking their Finals. Some teams that usually matter have been horrible this season(See Kentucky), and some have been very good(See Texas). The RPI is starting to finally shape up, with a lot of the bigger schools moving into the top 50. This is my opinion, do not read into this that it is the ultimate ranking. The teams Current RPI ranking is in Parenthesis.

1. North Carolina 9-0 (7)
2. Memphis 8-0 (4)
3. Texas 10-0 (6)
4. Washington St. 9-0 (9)
5. Kansas 10-0 (18)
6. Duke 9-0 (10)
7. Georgetown 8-0 (89)
8. UCLA 9-1 (33)
9. Indiana 9-1 (34)
10. Pittsburgh 10-0 (23)

11. Texas A&M 9-1 (5)
12. Michigan St. 9-1 (16)
13. Marquette 7-1 (25)
14. Tennessee 9-1 (32)
15. Gonzaga 8-2 (24)
16. Clemson 8-0 (42)
17. Butler 9-1 (19)
18. Vanderbilt 10-0 (3)
19. Miami (FL.) 9-0 (1)
20. Arizona 7-2 (13)

21. BYU 9-2 (107)
22. Villanova 8-1 (35)
23. Xavier 7-1 (11)
24. Stanford 8-1 (56)
25. Oregon 8-2 (38)
26. St. Mary's 7-1 (2)
27. West Virginia 8-1 (22)
28. Rhode Island 10-1 (17)
29. Dayton 8-1 (20)
30. UMass 8-2 (15)
31. Creighton 6-1 (39)
32. Arkansas 8-2 (26)

Others Receiving Attention:
USC 6-3 (50), Minnesota 7-1 (29), UNLV 6-2 (21), Baylor 6-1 (37), Mississippi 8-0 (31), Kent St. 8-2 (52), Wisconsin 8-2 (53), Florida St. 9-3 (40)

Weekly Top 32 Rankings

Things are finally starting to shape up a little in the world of college basketball. Some teams are hurt by injuries, or inconsistent play. The top ten has seen a Jump from Texas, and a fall in Louisville now at 22. This is my opinion, do not read into this that it is the definative ranking. The Current RPI ranking is in Parenthesis.

1. North Carolina 8-0 (21)
2. Memphis 7-0 (6)
3. Texas 9-0 (5)
4. Georgetown 7-0 (84)
5. Washington St. 9-0 (18)
6. Kansas 9-0 (31)
7. Duke 9-0 (17)
8. UCLA 8-1 (20)
9. Indiana 8-1 (24)
10. Pittsburgh 9-0 (45)
11. Marquette 6-1 (13)
12. Michigan St. (14)
13. Tennessee 8-1 (70)
14. Clemson 8-0 (34)
15. Gonzaga 8-2 (23)
16. Texas A&M 8-1 (9)

17. Butler 8-1 (29)
18. Oregon 7-1 (7)
19. Xavier 7-1 (3)
20. Vanderbilt 9-0 (4)
21. St. Mary's 7-0 (1)
22. Louisville 5-2 (40)
23. Miami (FL.) 8-0 (2)
24. Villanova 7-1 (46)
25. Arizona 6-2 (22)
26. BYU 7-2 (87)
27. Stanford 8-1 (49)
28. Arkansas 7-1 (10)
29. West Virginia 7-1 (38)
30. Rhode Island 10-1 (19)
31. Dayton 7-1 (8)
32. Valparaiso 8-1 (50)

Others Receiving Attention:
Kent St., Wisconsin, Virginia, Creighton, Baylor, Notre Dame, Florida St., Western Kentucky

Recap: CS Northridge @ Gonzaga

Final Score: Gonzaga 85 CS Northridge 59

Now i know what your thinking. "Cal State Northridge? Who the heck is Cal State Northridge?" Well they are one of the better teams in the Big West Conference this year. This was more of a cool down game before the Zags hop back into the grueling Non Conference schedule. The zags came out with the idea to prove its offense can and will score, tying their season high with 85 points. Then used the new found stingy defense to hold its opponent to its lowest scoring night of the year at 59. Micah Downs continued his coming out party, scoring a season high 19 points, 1 shy of his career high 20 from last year. Matt Bouldin bounced back with 18 points after being embarrassed by wazzu and held to 0 points on 0-9 shooting. Even Abdullahi Kuso got in on the action getting a season high 11 rebounds. When all was said and done the zags got a much needed breather win under their belts.

changes to the Zagaholic Website

If you have not yet been to the zagaholic website click here. I've made some big updates today, the recruiting page now has pics of each recruit as well as some of the recruits that the zags are going after for 2009. Also there are videos up of recruits on the front page and some news postings up for the zags. Come check it out, also GU and Cal State northridge tomorrow night.

Scouting Reports: CS Northridge and N. Colorado

Note: Due to the low magnitude of the next two games, i decided to do a scouting report for both teams in one post.

The Matadors are led by seniors Jonathan Heard and Calvin Chitwood, both of whom have played very well this year. They also have an excellent Low post player in center Tremaine Townsend. The matadors have played well against every team they've played this year and currently stand at 6-1. Their only loss came at the hands of Duquesne who is playing very well in the A-10 this year. My Prediction: Gonzaga 92 CS Northridge 76.

The Bears are a fiesty team in the Big Sky conference. To put it in perspective, Gonzaga beat Montana by 23 earlier this year, and they are considered one of the best teams in their division. The bears are led by Jabril Banks and Sean Taibi. Banks is a stout JC transfer who has shown an excellent shooting touch this year shooting at almost 65%. Taibi is the resident senior leader who is very inconsistent. My Prediction: Gonzaga 95 N Colorado 67.

So basically get ready for a few weeks of really nothing serious, but be aware Oklahoma and Tennessee loom ahead, hopefully we'll be seeing Heytvelt and Gray suit up for both games.

Recap: Wazzu at Gonzaga

Final Score: Wazzu 51 Zags 47

I feel for the Baltimore Ravens. I mean i really feel for how they were snubbed. It's bad enough to lose by your own fault; but losing because of the Refs? Just Ridiculous. By the same token, i feel for my own team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. We not only had an invading army of crimson colored ninja defenders, but had to deal with the zebras too. I mean we got slashed, hacked, punched, and kicked, you name it and it was probably being done to Austin Daye or Matt Bouldin. Even Pargo, who despite his amazing talent and acrobatic heroics, could not save the day. This will go down as a dark day for the Zags, even though they outplayed the cougs in the 2nd half. I mean no offense (really they have no offense) to the cougars, but even with the amazing D they play, the zags were still in it until the very end. The turning point in the game was when the zags down by 2 points and having stopped the cougs for two straight full ticks of the clock, the refs claimed pargo touched the ball on its way out of bounds, it was surreal. Of course on the in bounds pass having done as much as they could, the zags melted allowing the caped crusader Mr. Weaver to get his tip in. You have to hand it to the bulldogs, this was quite the fight. No one gave up, no one crumbled to the floor in tears, no one argued with the final score. Mark few did it best by just walking to Tony Bennett and shaking the giddy young coaches hand. I think even though this is a loss, its a good loss, it shows character and solid development. Only once this year have i seen the zags give up before the game ended and that was against Texas Tech. Imagine what will happen when our best player(Josh Heytvelt) gets back? Imagine how much tougher and athletic we will get. Even Steven Gray, who Mark Few claims is the best shooter, will provide a big boost. This team is growing, its coming together and making strides to be the best in the west. Andy Katz kept raving about how when we get both injured players back, the zags will be a lock for the top ten. I think a lock for the top 5, maybe even a final 4. Lets Go Zags! Lets Go!

Robert Sacre

Now this is a Dunk!





And i dont think Mr. Calhoun was very pleased with the results...





Lets Go Zags! Lets GO!

TIME TO WHOOP UP ON THEM COUGS!!

New Zagaholic Home Site

With all the recent attention this Blog has had, i decided to make a temporary zagaholic home site. If you would like to check it out, this is the link.

Weekly Top 32

RK Team PVS
1. Memphis 1
2. North Carolina 3
3. Georgetown 4
4. Kansas 5
5. Texas 7
6. Washington St. 6
7. Duke 9
8. UCLA 2
9. Louisville 11
10. Pittsburgh 10

11. Indiana 12
12. Butler 14
13. Gonzaga 18
14. Marquette 13
15. Michigan St. 15
16. Tennessee 17
17. Clemson 16
18. Texas A&M 8
19. Oregon 19
20. Xavier 26

21. Vanderbilt 28
22. Saint Mary's 25
23. Miami (FL) UR
24. Arizona UR
25. BYU 27
26. Stanford UR
27. USC 21
28. Arkansas UR
29. Wisconsin 24
30. West Virginia UR
31. Virginia UR
32. Davidson UR

Others Receiving Attention:

UConn, California, Crieghton, NC State, Kansas St., Arizona, St., S. Illinois

This week in College Basketball

Recruiting News:

As far as recruting goes Gonzaga is still heavily recruiting Verdell Jones, rivals.com has a new article showcasing his potential here. And i quote, "Illinois point guard Verdell Jones continues to lie under the radar. The long and lanky prospect has a good feel for the game, good height and clearly has potential." Personally i think he could end up being as influential as Jeremy Pargo if he signs on at GU.

Another Recruit that Zags coaches are making a trek to view is Patrick McCollum from Mt. Tahoma High in Tacoma, WA, here is his Rivals profile.

P.S. Two big upsets tonight, Texas A&M lost to Arizona, and UCLA lost to Texas.

Stay tuned for my Top 32 Rankings Update tomorrow.

Scouting Report: Washington State

The cougars game at Baylor was ugly to say the least. There was only one portion of the game where the cougars dominated, and that was the opening 3 minutes when the jumped to a 7-0 lead. Baylor would go on to lead by as much as 14 and fought hard to keep the struggling cougars at bay. When all was said and done the Bears let a win slip through their fingers and allowed Wazzu to keep their perfect record intact. The cougars are led by Robbie Cowgill, Kyle Weaver, and Derrick Low. They are loaded at the guard positions and Cowgill can really play the game from the 4 or 5 spot; he dropped 18 points and has been averaging 65% from the field so far this year. I think if you take cowgill out of it early on, and keep him under control you can then concentrate on their streaky guards and handle the weak offense that they try to throw at you. Defenseively this may be one of the toughest teams the zags have come across this year, specifically Kyle Weaver. My Prediction Gonzaga wins 65-57, and it may not be pretty.

Recap: Gonzaga @ UConn

Final Score: 85-82

I am almost speechless. This game was so huge, so big in the scale of the Zags season. Matt Bouldin was literally breathtaking, Jeremy Pargo was almost perfect, Robert Sacre and Micah Downs flashed potential i have not seen before. When all was said and done, Gonzaga walked away with a 2 win east coast road swing, Amazing! Honestly, with the recent struggles of our offense and the plethora of silly mistakes and turnovers, i almost felt that UConn would walk out with an upset. Pargo would have none of that, demoralizing A.J. Price with 4 big threes; many times it appeared that price was "challenging" Pargo to hit the big three with his recent struggles at the long range shot. Bouldin appeared at times to be a wizard with the rock, dishing it out, weaving thru triple stacked defenders and swooshing big mid range jumpers. I think the turning point in the game with only a couple minutes on the clock was how the zags seemed to continue to attack Hasheem Thabeet and take the Gentle Giant out of his element and force him into careless foul situations. Big Win, Bigger confidence booster, look out Wazzu, this isnt the depleted young roster of last year that seemed to disappear with the game on the line. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

P.S. Andy Katz had an article showcasing the Zags tough Road trip here.