Game Recap: Gonzaga dominates Northwest Nazarene in Exhibition

It has been a long 7 months waiting for this highly anticipated Zags basketball season.  With all the early pre-season polls and hype, how can one not be extremely excited for the start of the season?  With the loss of Sacre, Spangler, Moenninghoff, Carter and Keita, and the only addition being a highly touted international big and a walk-on, I was really wondering if this is our year as many are predicting.  Although I have extreme confidence in our core returnees of Bell, Pangos, Harris and Dower, I had question marks about Edi and how Dranginis, Barham, and Stocks would fit into this rotation.  I learned soon enough how truly special this team has the potential to be.

Even though the game got off to a slow start for both teams with Gonzaga leading by 7 after the 10-minute mark, that didn’t last long, for as the players’ comfort grew, so did the score.  Midway through the first half, the Bulldogs took charge and manhandled the smaller Northwest Nazarene Team with a 19-0 scoring run to cruise to a 93-45 victory.

Gonzaga put 11 different uniforms into the game Saturday night, and 6 players pulled out double-digit points. 

-       Przemek Karnowski (17 points)

-       Elias Harris (12 points)

-       Gary Bell Jr (11 points)

-       Guy Landri Edi (10 points)

-       Kevin Pangos (10 points)

-       Mike Hart (10 points)

The Newcomers:

I was anxious to see how the newcomers to the Zags squad would perform in front of the raucous atmosphere of the Kennel Club.  Przemek Karnowksi was a highlight of the night.  He had a slow start, missing a few bunnies that probably should have gone in, but within minutes he found his groove and showed what a dominating force he could be (yes, it was against a DII school).  The 305 pounder has an intimidation factor, and yet I was impressed most with his athleticism and footwork.  He seemed to have a nose for the ball and made a real effort at blocking shots.  He finished the night with 17 points and 8 rebounds in just 17 minutes of play. 

Kyle Dranginis also had a much-anticipated break-out game and it is clear he really has that shooter’s touch.  He scored 9 points and pulled down 5 rebounds, and also contributed with one steal and one block.  I am anxious to see if Dranginis can be our secret weapon, coming off the bench and being our spot up shooter when needed. Kyle also showed some leadership potential to lead the team when he is on the floor.

Drew Barham was solid as well.  Coming from Conference USA and a tough Memphis squad, he was able to learn our system and show his shooting ability.  Although he only made one 3 point shot out of 6 attempts, he has a nice looking shot.  Once he earns more playing time, I would expect to see more of those shots dropping.  I think both Barham and Dranginis will give us desired minutes off the bench this year as spot shooters.

Walk-On Rem Bakamus had the crowd cheering when he entered the floor, and managed to score his first Zag point off a free-throw.  It would have gone really wild in the Kennel if his three-point shot had fallen.

The Vets:

As important as the newcomers are to the Gonzaga basketball program, the veterans really need to step up with a strong showing – and that they did. 

Harris played limited minutes as he is coming off a groin injury, but was impressive on the floor.  He scored 12 points.  He ran the floor well, attacked the basket with his familiar stutter step and crashed the board for rebounds.  Two weeks rest between games should help him fully recover from his injury and be the beast that we are coming to expect of him.  It didn’t appear that he has lost a step from the dominating second half of the season last year.  If this holds, he will become that “go to” player we need.

Pangos and Bell were on point as usual, showing the same composure and poise that made the duo so great last year.  They ran the floor with leadership and confidence and really set the tone.  Bell, in particular continued to look good on the defensive end and his shot was money from the three point line.  Both were able to create space, drive the lane and their form looked spot on.  I think Bell was underappreciated by the national writers and analysts last year, and was forever in Pangos’ shadow.  I don’t expect that to be the case for too long this year.  Bell is the complete package, and when he and Pangos get further into the season and their rhythm really starts to mesh, we really will have one of the best backcourts in the nation.

Guy Landry Edi finally had the game that everyone expected to see last year.  He had a better grasp of the Zags offense and was consistent throughout the game.  He scored 10 points and had eight rebounds.  He was aggressive and created his own shot, was able to read the plays and had a quietly consistent game.  It is always fun to read the box score and realize how well a player does when you weren’t expecting the results, but Edi’s numbers weren’t surprising.  He was all over the floor in full command, both offensively and defensively, and we finally had the chance to see the potential of a solid wing player for us this year.

Stockton subbed in for various rotations in the game, and his highlight of the night was a behind the back pass to Kevin Pangos for a lay-in.  Watching in real-time, you could see Stockton eyeing the path of Pangos the whole way down the court and he timed his pass perfectly.  Watching in replays, it was even more fun to see.  Stockton knew where Pangos was the entire time and the experience of playing with each other made this work perfectly.

Mike Hart is always fun to watch.  He has a real knack for the game both offensively and defensively, despite the many naysayers wondering why he even gets playing time.  Maybe it was the fact that the game was comfortably in hand that he felt he could shoot the ball some without the terror of possibly missing and creating the opportunity for the opposing team to make points off his shots.  However, his shots were falling.  If he can come into the games; play with his trademark hustle; have confidence to shoot and score some points; he will continue to be fun to watch this year.  He truly does change the atmosphere when he is in the game.  Overall, he had a solid performance, continuing to do the work on the defensive end and pulling down a team-high 9 rebounds.

The lone sore spot in my eyes, had to be Sam Dower.  He looked lost on the court, seemed to struggle (similarly to last year) on the defensive end and never really got in the groove.  In my opinion, he was doing a decent job of tracking the ball when he was on the defensive end, but he continuously lost his man.  He fouled out with 11 minutes remaining in the game because of this, always having to react in desperation to try and stop the opposing player.  Additionally, he only attempted two field goals, which is out of character and my expectations for him this year.  Hopefully this game was exactly what he needed to identify his areas that need work, and will give him the opportunity and motivation to leave it all on the floor.  We will need him to stop Brandon Davies and other bigs once we hit conference play.  With added height from Karnowski and Olynyk, Dower needs to step up to secure minutes on the floor. 

Speaking of Olynyk – he was in street clothes Saturday night and is suspended for three games (until November 21^st) for a student code of conduct violation.  He will miss the West Virginia University game, but will be allowed back in time for the Old Spice Classic tournament.

Thoughts

Overall, I was impressed with the teams’ effort Saturday night.  They dominated throughout the game and never let up, a trait that past teams have struggled with, getting complacent with the score.  The newcomers impressed, especially Karnowski, and the vets were right where they needed to be.  We will see how the Zags fare against D1 competition on November 9^th against Southern Utah at home.