November 23, 2012

Gonzaga to Old Spice Classic Championship


After last night, there were doubts creeping into the back of the minds of many Zag fans. Im not going to lie and say that i didnt have some doubts about the game tonight versus Oklahoma. Those doubts were quickly put to rest. Kelly Olynyk came out and showed flashes of brilliance with his athleticism and ability to drive to the hole. Elias Harris had some flashbacks to his highlight reel filled freshman season. It was an overall great effort by the Bulldogs.

There were still some flaws, starting with cold shooting from the guard spot. Especially Kevin Pangos and David Stockton who were a combined 1-9 from three. The team shot 27% from outside and at times appeared to be heaving some shots that probably were rushed and unnecessary. The team defense was good, but not necessarily great, although Stockton ended up with 5 steals and 6 boards. Olynyk  had 8 Points and 8 Boards almost netting a double double. The real star of the game was Elias Harris, he really came alive in the 2nd half with 16 points, 18 overall. He was a veritable highlight real, flying through traffic playing above the rim. If he can consistently put that kind of effort together, the sky is the limit for this team, and for his prospects at playing in the NBA.

Team Leaders
Scoring: Elias Harris 18 Points
Rebounding: Kelly Olynyk 8 Boards
Passing: Pangos/Olynyk/Dranginis 2 Assists
Stealing: David Stockton 5 Steals
Blocking: Zilch

Great to see the offense clicking finally after that gut wrenching, slow paced, ugliness from a night ago. The Zags move on to play Davidson in the Championship on Sunday night at 7pm EST. Go Zags!

2 comments:

quidveritas said...

The big guys looked lost in this game. . . . except Harris.

KO's is playing defense at a level similar to Morrison. He is a real liability.

Excellent ball movement and execution in the second half.

Anonymous said...

The Zags are staying aggressive on defense, and the thing is..is that I can really see Stockton's progression from last season to this season. I think Pangos and Bell having such solid seasons last year, lit a fire under him in the off season, and he just plays with such a higher basketball IQ this season which is refreshing for Zags fans to see especially after he was nowhere to be found the last two seasons. GO ZAGS!!