July 26, 2013

Zag Summer Scrimmages- Gaz's Take & Pics


We made it down to the Kennel and took in a couple of the Gonzaga Summer scrimmages. There were no sitings of past Zag stars that usually show up. No Adam Morrison, Jeremy Pargo, Ronny Turiaf, or Casey Calverys. A lot of the regulars were also M.I.A. so it made it a bit disappointing.

The Zag players that were there took the court after the summer youth camps ended at approx 9 p.m. About 300 or so campers, fans, and parents, all strolled over to watch just as camp ended. No refs, free throws, timeouts, or coaches. Just ten Zag players going at it pretty hard for over an hour.

Once again, Gary Bell Junior did not play (he sat out Friday night as well). He watched intently enough and looked anxious as he fidgeted and flipped a basketball back and forth in his hands. His injury is taking a long time to heal and I am beginning to get nervous. It's been quite a while since the Wichita State game where he initially injured his foot. He said it's getting better, but you have to ask yourself what is taking so long.

Anyways, back to the scrimmage. Players that were absent included: Pangos, Karnowski, Wiltjer, Barham, Nunoz, and Rem Bakamus. Surprisingly enough, Kelly Olynyk who is now with the NBA's Boston Celtics showed up.

It was Skins vs Shirts: Skins included- Olynyk, Stockton, Edwards, Dranginis, and our newest walk-on named Justin Triano. Shirts included- Bhaskar, Meikle, Dower, Coleman, and I believe a practice squad player playing the 2/3. I'll be putting up a lot of pictures so if you recognize him please let us know. *Editor's note:The "mystery player" at the scrimmages was Kenny Chandler, a 6'7 wing who won the Slam Dunk contest at Hoopfest two years ago, he was also runner-up last year.

They scrimmaged for about an hour and provided a lot of entertainment. Kelly Olynyk looked to be the best player on the floor. Too bad he is now with the Celtics. Near the end of practice he set up for a three from the wing. Instead of shooting the wide open shot he side stepped inside, blew by his defender, and took it to the rim throwing down a monster tomohawk jam that had the crowd roaring with approval. This was followed up immediately by Dower at the other end who threw down a thunderous jam of his own. A nice way to end the festivities for sure!

I was really impressed with Gerard Coleman, who is coming off a redshirt year. He was quick, had tight  handles, was able to put it on the floor and create his own shot, dished the rock, and finished in the paint. He had a sweet jumper to 15 feet and knocked down some threes as well. He is going to have a very nice year.

David Stockton looked like he'd been hitting the weights and his play was solid. His court vision is outstanding, and as usual, he knows how to hit the open man. Kyle Dranginis looked improved and more court savvy. Last year he looked lost at times, not so this year. He also looked like he'd been hitting the weights. Look for him to have a breakout year.

Sam Dower went up against Kelly Olynyk and fared quite well. He scored going to his right on three occasions and was money from anywhere inside the paint. He looked faster, stronger, and seemed to have an improved motor. I feel he can play big minutes in his senior year and will provide the experience and stability in the paint we need.

Meikle looked lost. He could definately use a redshirt year and he needs to bulk up. After that, he could be a nice addition to the depth chart. Not harshing on the guy...he simply needs some work, imo.

I paid a lot of attention to our newest 7 footer, Ryan Edwards. Partly because he is new, but mostly because we are not deep in the low post, having lost Olynyk and Harris. He defends pretty well but he could use a redshirt year to knock off the baby fat and develop. He reminds me of Karnowski in preseason last year. I see a lot of potential in him and could see him being a star in a couple years.

For a walk-on, the Dustin Triano kid was very polished and impressive. He was hitting practically every thing he threw up, and there were a lot of threes falling through in the mix. He was fast laterally, passed very well, and looked like a larger David Stockton. It is unreal to me that our team is so talented that he would be a walk-on. Amazing.

Ok, I'll stop blathering on and let you guys see what you really came for....the pictures. I took a lot of them. Hopefully, you can get a feel for how the players look, who is in shape, and who is not. Enjoy!

Follow along...Lots of pictures after the break!!



Edwards gets postition against Meikle:



 Dower taking it all in:

Edwards keeps track of Meikle:



Gary Bell can't go, still recovering from injury, this...is beginning to worry me:



 Bhaskar gets ready:


Edwards sets up outside the paint:




 Dranginis & Coleman get a breather:



 Triano rushing off pic:



 Let me in...I demand an interview with Few!



Coleman says we're #1. Wish I had asked who the other guy was...



Meikle and Edwards confer:



Players pair off:





 Our mystery player with the rock:



Triano gives Dower the hairy eye:





 Edwards pushes Bhaskar away...can he work himself into shape in time?





 Everybody sets up:


Newbies look for the ball:





 Dustin Triano...he's got the Zag hair:



KO looks ripped:             




No worries?




G'night Zag fans:                                                        


                                    

8 comments:

Gonzagapride said...

Thanks for the pics and story Gaz. A couple of thoughts and observations: Gary has an intense look about him that I think will pay off if he can play this year. Sprains sometimes take a lot longer to heal than breaks, so I am glad he is not pushing it. When he does get back on the floor I am anticipating a lot of hunger from him to have a really big year.

Edwards, despite not being in the best of shape seems to have a good feel for the game and where his opponent is. He has only been on campus a short time, so we will probably notice better conditioning by him after another couple of months. He may be able to give some quality minutes and time if he can catch on to the demands of Div. 1 fairly quickly.

From everything I have read and heard about Dustin, he intrigues me. It will be fun if we have another walk-on that can positively contribute.

I am also anxious to see Coleman in action once the season starts. There seems to be a lot of expectations for him and I hope he can deliver.

What a couple of up and down moments GU has had in the past month or so. Hopefully, with Wiltjer, Morrison and some positive signs with some recruits the loss of Harris and Olynyk may not be as potentially devastating as I once thought it might be.

What do you think about the 13-14 schedule? It seems there is a lot of negativity about it, but with Baylor, Syracuse, Oklahoma state, and Memphis all being pre-season top 25, (with Cal and Minnesota on the outside if we play either of them in Maui), it seems like a pretty good OOC to me.

Unknown said...

Hi Brianna!! Thanks for your thoughts...

I think our schedule is fine, not sure what all the concern is about. Yes, we do add two games with Pacific, which does nothing for me, but we have plenty of good OOC games to get us a high seed in the big Dance if we earn it.

Still hoping we can bring in a BIG, either via transfer or juco that can help down low. I'd preffer Edwards redshirt to tell you the truth.

I've had broken bones as well as sprains. And yes, once a sprain took a long time to heal, longer than one of my breaks. But, Bell does not have a sprain, it is a hairline fracture. It has not healed as of yet. We shall see, but I am getting very nervous about it. Losing our two frontcourt stars is going to be hard enough to overcome this season...I'd really not like to lose Bell as well.

I LOVE Morrison. But, does he have the personality to be a good coach? I have heard that he is, shall we say...different.

Here's to AMMO being an excellent but "different" kind of coach!

quidveritas said...

Thanks much for this post. IMO this kind of stuff is gold in the off season!

I agree with the above comment about Morrison. Not saying he won't be good but based on his performances in Europe and the recent past, I too question if he has the stuff to be a positive kind of guy in a coaching role. We shall see.

Gary Bell's situation is very concerning. Fractures generally heal in 8 to 12 weeks. If he has a non-union (tried to come back too soon?), this could be a big deal for a very long time.

Well there's this about it, we do not lack for guards this coming season. If GB needs to take a year off because of his injury, its a good year for him to do so.

Call_me_Coach said...

Is that not Angel Nunez?

Unknown said...

Hey Coach,

Check it out...here is a very recent picture of Nunez:
http://nbccollegebasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/angel-nunez.jpg

Definately not him. Hmmmmm.

Call_me_Coach said...

So he was missing too... any thoughts on his impact come December?

Unknown said...

You have outdone yourself Gazzer!! This Triano kid is the son of and NBA coach, and talented and driven! GOOD POTENTIAL

Unknown said...

It is difficult to project the impact of Nunoz because he just does not have a large enough D1 sample to judge.

My best guess is that because of his length, size, and athleticism, he will do very well at the 3 position. My feeling is that if he needs to play the 4 to shore up our frontcourt he will do fine with WCC type teams. It all depends on the matchups.

Going against some of the bigger teams he might struggle. Just does not have the size and strength to be banging around under the rim w/ Power Forwards.

IMO, we should feel very lucky to have landed this Louisville transfer who was so highly regarded coming out of high school.

Excited to see what he can bring when he becomes eligible.