Takeaways
1. Dower has Decided to Rebound
Coming into the season one of the major question marks of the 14 ranked Bulldogs is how were they going to replace the 18.6 rpg that they lost in Elias Harris, Kelly Olynyk, and Mike Hart (the top three rebounders in 2012-2013). Dower came into this game with a career high of only 10 and was averaging only 2.7rpg. Tonight he attacked the rim hard and seemed focused on securing the ball.
2. Karnowski Foul Trouble Could be Troubling
This year will go down as the year of the college referee. The refs have been instructed to clean up the game (AKA blow your whistle at the slightest contact no matter if it effects the game). Karnowski picked up two quick, silly fouls and Gonzaga was forced to play Barham and even Dranginis at the PF position. This issue will be solved a bit after Edwards recovers from his tonsil surgery, but the Polish Hammer needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble.
3. Gerard Coleman Likes to Drive to the Hoop
While this isn't new news, it is fun to watch. Coleman has an incredibly quick first step that he used time and time again to get to the hoop. Once he gets a bit more comfortable in the system and learns to drive at the right time not just when he want to (all the time), he is going to add that missing piece to the Zags offensive game. This may be an area where all those whistles are going to help us immensely.
4. Barham has Decided to Become Hart 2.0
Picture this: A Mike Hart who can score. It is a beautiful thing. Barham came in and played the undersized 4 position just like Hart, and started flying around creating chances. Barham gathered 3 offensive rebounds and impacted many plays in ways that just do not show up in the stats, and then when they left him open he hit shots. Barham finished with 9 points on 3-7 shooting.
5. Guard University Controlled the Ball
Gonzaga's strength this year is supposed to be their experienced back court, and up to this point, I haven't mentioned a single guard. Gonzaga turned the ball over only 8 times, a feat bested in only 3 games all of last year. If Gonzaga can continue to hold on to the ball and make smart decisions, they have a chance to be a Special team this year.
3 comments:
Dower was a beast tonight.
Frankly, he always has been a beast (just didn't get enough minutes) but a guy like him will benefit in a big way from the new rules changes. I would not be at all surprised to see him put up 20+ points in half of our games.
Coleman is an interesting player but will have to develop a shot if he is going to reach his potential. Then again, he could have been sandbagging in this game -- no need to show your good stuff too early. It wasn't like we needed him to score a lot.
Stocks looks really good.
How about that steal made by Pangos! Literally scraped a bounce pass off the floor!
Bell and Barham shot about 75% from the 3 point line. Wowzer!
Gotta feel for Karnowski, you could literally feel his frustration with the new rules. I have long maintained the hardest thing for a big to learn at the D-1 level is how to play defense and stay in the game.
Speaking of the new rules, I don't like what I'm seeing. Maybe this will get better as players adjust. I sure hope so. Otherwise, we will see a lot more minutes from the guys on the bench.
I've always been waiting with Dower, and have never really jumped on that band wagon, i thought he had potential but didn't have the fire. Needed to see him transform his game, get a left hand, get some fire. I saw that tonight.
Coleman def needs to work on that shot, rumor has it he has been focusing on that quite a bit.
This is the season of the refs for sure.
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