Mid-Major Madness says last season's top 100 rated freshmen were very good on the defensive side of their game. This was not the case offensively speaking. According to these stats, Gonzaga's Gary Bell did not fare as well offensively. Supposedly, Bell was outpaced by Kevin Pangos and did not live up to expectations.
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Im not surprised by this, Pangos played a much bigger role in the offense than GBJ did...Pangos while not quite the athlete or defender of GBJ was also effective defensively playing the passing lanes snd creating turnovers...Pangos impressed in his freshman year while GBJ was very quiet at times...
I am a bit curious about the stats though.
Sure, Pangos had better overall numbers but he too disappeared at times {see: on the road}.
I wonder how the stats would have looked if Bell was runnning the point, his true position?
Two very good players doing what the team asks of them. It may be that Pangos at the point will take us farther in the end based on our personel but, I don't want to give to much credit to these stats because if Bell was playing QB things might be different.
Will we ever know? Not unless they switch positions, lol.
Bell is not a true PG. His ball handling was very sketchy at times, especially early and he looks to drive and make plays for himself more often then looking for the open man like Pangos tends to do. This is NOT a dis on GBJ in any way, as I think he is the most talented player on the team. However, the fact that Pangos exploded onto the scene in such an incredible display against WSU, and kept it up throughout the year, I feel like it hit GBJ psychologically, and it forced him to take a backseat to Pangos, thus making his stats seem deflated compared to what they easily could have been. I expect Bell to put on a little weight this off season, and work on his ball handling so that he can drive the lane more effectively. THe one thing that the Zags lacked last season imo was that no one could make their own shot.
You could be right but Bell played the point in high school.
He also, came to Gonzaga expecting, and being told that Few would put the ball in his hands. His Twitter and Facebook said he was the future PG for the Zags, In his mind he should be playing that position.
I feel his athleticism and being a little taller might be reason to at least try him at the point. I absolutely love Pangos, as well as Bell. It may be that they could be interchangable?
That would really be something to be able to switch based on opponents. It won't happen of course...but it would at least give us a look see as to if Bell's handles really are suspect.
I have also heard the argument that Pangos would be better at the 2 because he is less athletic and could focus more on getting set for threes.
As I said before, Bell is, in my opinion, the better player in nearly every aspect. However, I feel that once he gains strength and confidence, as well as better ball handling skills, that he will be able to drive the lane much better, freeing up space for Pangos threes much better then Pangos being a spot up shooting guard. However, As Bell refines his skills a little bit more, the triple guard lineup that Few showed he loved last year (With Bell, Pangos and then either Stockton or Carter) would be much more dangerous with Bell, Pangos and Dranginis.
Remember, last season many people were able to hold Bell in check by putting pressure on him outside the three point line, which forced a TON of unnecessary turnovers, that is the reason I feel sketched out about running Bell at point.
I see Bell becoming a much larger part of the offense this year, which will not only free up Pangos, but will make the Zags a stronger road team next year, where they struggled greatly this last season.
As far as I am concerned, they both were Freshman who contributed a huge amount to the overall success of the team last year. Pangos did score more and appear to have more of an impact, however he also took a larger percentage of the team shots, accounting for nearly a quarter of all taken. With that, he struggled to shoot well on the road but continued to hoist up shots. Simply put, this hurt GU, at times significantly.
From what I could see, Bell took a bit of time to adjust to the M Few system but once that happened, he did a great job of letting the game come to him. In addition, I do not think that GBJ received the "green light" from the staff until much later in the year.
Here are some very key stats:
FG% GBJ 49.9% KP 43.1%
3pt FG% GBJ 47.7% KP 40.1%
EFG% GBJ 60.6 KP 55.5
GBJ was the more productive shooter when he did shoot the ball.
Also, You must keep in mind that GBJ is a PG not a shooting guard. Also, despite what ppl may say about Rob, was GU's best defender. Lastly, Mark few ran KP at the SG position very often in an effort to get him more looks so GBJ had to take what the D gave him in those situations. If you recall, it was the emergence of GBJ and his ability that really kept GU in the game with Ohio St as the game wound down....just wish he could have stayed in. :)
One thing I think ppl fail to realize is that this year GU will have a kid in KD that can play all three positions. He is 6'5" and will be able to match up with taller PG's like say Delly from SMC. He has a great handle and will be able to create mismatches at that position as well as slide to the 2 or 3 and be the recipient of some wide open looks as a result of GBJ or KP's ability to attack attention.
***ability to attract attention.
All great points from everybody.
The convo started out Pangos & Bell but yeah, when you throw in Draino we are set up much better than last year in the back court. Hopefully, we see dividends with Draino coming off his red shirt and he proves to be a good fit within the offense.
I too have the highest hopes for Draino at the 1/2, but I admit I tended to be more focused on his abilitles at the wing, which were a concern to me. A tad smallish, and needs to bulk up for starters.
Just for the sake of this convo Pangos at the 1, Bell at the 2 and using Draino inerchangebly at the 1/2 works great for me.
It's just that I will always wonder if Bell would have been better running point than Pangos.
Based on lateral quicknes, athleticism, size, strenght, handles, and outright speed I feel Bell is superior than Pangos for the position. I'd give Pangos the edge in that he is a better pure shooter and perhaps being a coaches son gives him the edge in the intangible of leadership.
It is going to be awesome seeing how the lineup plays out....can't wait!
Agreed! Next season will be awesome. I too have high hopes for KD, but at the same time it is important we don't over hype him. Yes, he is 6'5" and can play all three positions and reportedly has a big shot, and yes he has had a year to practice with the Zags. But at the same time, he is still an unproven talent, same as Karnowski. It will be incredible to see them on the court with an already very solid Gonzaga Squad. Also, it depends a lot on how Stockton comes off a season in which he struggled quite heavily through most of conference play. If he can come back and play with the ability and confidence we saw early in last season, as well as his freshmen season, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a 3 guard line up with Stockton at the point, KP and GBJ roaming around the 3 point line looking to spot up or slash. That is a style that Few showed interest in running last season, but wasn't really able to all the time as most of Stockton's minutes came while KP was in foul trouble, and Carter was not the offensive threat that GBJ and Pangos are together.
Also, another thing I was thinking about was the fact that we have transitioned from having a defensive big man in the middle, to having 2 score first bigs (Dower and Karnowski). Although Sacre was our best defender, emotional leader, and the voice of the Bulldogs, teams did't have to be overly worried about him stepping out and knocking down jumpers too often, which really clogged up the lane. With KO, Dower, and Karnowski (reportedly) all able to shoot jumpers from a decent range, or even moderately from 3 pt range, it forces defenders out of the lane which Few can use to create some more space in the middle which not only allow GBJ and Pangos to get more slashing opportunities in addition to the 3pt jumper they both love, but will also allow Harris to do the same thing. Super excited to see how next years team plays out!
My point in bringing up KD is that he will be in the rotation and that will change things for KP and GBJ and the back court in General. I am not interested in Hype either but my take on KD is based on his skill set, which is a very high level. IMO his one issue is ability to take contact and still hit his shot, though I have heard he has put on a good amount of heft during his time at GU so this may be better now. His best assets, are the ones that will bring success at the D-1 level. Great handle and excellent first step. Understanding of how to use his length to get past and shoot over defenders. Moves his feet very well and understands a very fundamental rule of D, make the player go where you want him to go and then cut him off. High level shooter with a very consistent motion, with the ability to square his shoulders to the rim 99% of the time.
back to the topic at hand :) KP has a much better handle than GBJ, and is more suited to being the facilitator PG, something needed in the M. Few flex-motion based sets. In addition, with KP and Dower,KO, PK,running the pick and pop, you have three big men that can hit the jumper and this will force defenders to step out, allowing the pass to GBJ, Landry, Harris or KD as they attack the opened lanes. GBJ is much more suited for this type of attack just as the kick out, pop for 3 by KP on the switch is better suited for his type of game.
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