RECAP: Lewis and Clark State @ Gonzaga

Gonzaga- 104

LC State- 57

   Redshirt Freshmen Kyle Dranginis

The night began with Harris and Bell on the bench and a surprise start for David Stockton.  It looks as though Mark Few decided to rest Harris and Bell, as they didn’t see any minutes tonight against an easily beatable team out of the NAIA. The story of the night, however, was most undoubtedly redshirt freshman Kyle Dranginis.  His 30 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and only 1 turnover was an instant ESPN headline.  It’s not too common that a player comes off the bench and puts up 30 in a college basketball game.  He definitely had a coming out party tonight and took every opportunity to display his offensive versatility.  Not only was he knocking down his much heralded 3 point shot (we can now officially call him 'Draino'), he also displayed his ability to take over the game.  He was finding his teammates and grabbing rebounds, but what I found most impressive was his ability to drive into the lane and finish with finesse with both his right and left hands.  He’s played with poise in big minutes his first six games, but his showing against LC-State allowed Gonzaga Fans to get a taste of Kyle’s true potential and the player he can be for Gonzaga.

Matchups against NAIU games may seem silly, but with a Gonzaga team that is this deep and talented, this is a type of game that is very valuable for a team to do some fine-tuning before facing more difficult challengers to come.  Although Kyle stole the headlines, there were many positives that were nice to see come out of this game.  For one, Kelly Olynyk was able to get his motor running in a type of game he missed out on earlier in the season against easier competition.  He had to jump right into the thick of things when he first appeared in the Old Spice Classic, so its nice to see him get big minutes and establish himself as the player he prepared to be when he opted to redshirt last year. 

Other players who got things rolling were Drew Barham and Przemek Karnowski.  Many in practice thought Drew might have the best 3-point shot on the team.  Drew has been forced to wear a protective facemask in every game this season after breaking his nose in practice.  The mask seemed to mess with his playing ability, as he came into the game tonight with only one made 3 point shot.  He got his offense going tonight by hitting 4 of 5 from the field. He nailed 3 of his 4 three point attempts and his release looked smooth.  Drew gaining some confidence can pay dividends down the stretch when we need to put in a specialty player to knock down some 3’s. 

Karnowski, on the other hand, has had multiple nights already where he scored 20+ points.  What I liked about his 16 points tonight was his display of passion and explosiveness.  He is starting to get comfortable in the paint and you can see it in the way he carves his way in and is hungry to score.  He even started to branch out tonight and made his first jump shot as a Zag.

The only negative coming out of this game is our continued struggle at the free throw line. Gonzaga shot 7-15 from the charity stripe tonight.  I see this as a major issue that Mark Few needs to address, if he isn’t already.  Gonzaga has 4 quality bigs that will cause mismatches all season.  Combine that with intelligent young guards who are increasing their ability to drive to the hoop every game, this is a team that will be taking many trips to the line.  If Gonzaga can fix this, they could be a scary team come March.