Pangos, Bell, 2014-'15 Zags Forever Elite

35-3.

The best season in Gonzaga Basketball history.  The last time the Zags played for a Final Four in 1999, they tipped off the game at 28-6, and lost to then-number-one seed UConn.

The Starters huddle before getting the 35th win in the 2015 Sweet 16.

Ever since the Duke game, people have been telling me "[s]orry to hear about your Zags."  Sorry for what?  Didn't we just prove to be among the best 8 teams out of 351 division 1 programs?  It appears the Zags' accomplishments since the 1999 Elite 8 team have become so routine, they've become part of the landscape.  Our Zags have spoiled us, but we shouldn't become jaded.  So here's a reminder of
what the Zags accomplished this year:

1. 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Appearance
2. 2015 WCC Tournament Title
3. 2015 WCC Regular Season Title
4. Some regular season NIT title
5. 12-1 non-conference record
6. 3-1 against three different PAC12 teams, handing UCLA it's only loss at Pauley

Cleaning crews wiping away the tears of Bruins fans across Westwood

after the mid-major Zags strolled through for an easy win.

7. Longest active home-winning streak (dating back to December 8th, 2012 vs. then-number 13 Illinois)
8. 10-3 against 2015 NCAA tournament teams (10-2 if we don't account for whatever the disaster was on senior night, a game for which we have two other head-to-head results to speculate upon.  Further, does losing a play-in for a spot in the round of 64 really make you a "tournament team?"  I wouldn't exactly hang a "2015 NCAA Tournament Appearance" banner in the Mariott Center on that performance).

Remi hulks hard watching the Zags play UCLA in Houston.

It's comfy supporting a winning team.  Maybe a little too comfy, so comfy that when we lose to a higher-seeded team led by arguably the greatest division 1 coach ever in a battle for the south region final four spot, some of us have the nerve to be disappointed for our seniors.

Reality check.  The vast majority of our greatest college basketball heroes end their division 1 careers with a loss.

1. Michael Jordan (Yes, his Airness himself, lost to Indiana in the Sweet 16 just before declaring for the 1984 draft)

What a loser.

2. Blake Griffin

And then there's this one-trick loser.

3. Marcus Smart (He never made it past the round of 32.  Your very own Zags spoiled Smart's decision to put off the draft another year in hopes of helping his team make a tournament run.  Admirable, but still 0-2 against the Zags.)

The "I'm about to be the starting

Celtics point guard," loser pose.

4. Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard (Three of Michigan's Fab 5 who got to the title game twice, but never closed out.  Thanks, Christian Laettner.  Jalen Rose still hates Laettner... seriously.).

Loser Family Reunion

5. Tim Duncan

This loser has anger management issues.

6. Patrick Ewing

Posterizing Kentucky before the term "posterize"

was coined is a quintiscential loser move.

8. Larry Bird

The loser pump-fake.

9. John Stockton

The "dropping dimes on Pepperdine before we

knew they sucked" loser.

7. 2014-'15 Kentucky Wildcats Scholarship Freshmen and Sophomores.

Losing is a Harrison family tradition.

Ending college careers on a loss is an inevitable reality when an insatiable group of 68 teams bet their perfectly respectable seasons on the chance to prove themselves the ultimate team.  There's going to be 67 "losers," every single time.

Coach Mark Few lead the Zags through a treacherous but spectacularly consistent season; an explosive start that sent a #22 SMU team packing out of the AP, a narrow overtime loss at McKale, an equally narrow win in regulation at St. Mary's, a galvanizing of the BYU/Gonzaga rivalry, and a fattening-up of our title resume.  After all those ups and downs though, the end of the season at the hands of Duke's lights-out team should leave us at an up.  The Zags gave everything they had to take the school to its second Elite 8.  If it's good enough for them, it should be good enough for the fans.

The Real Tragedy

The tragedy isn't that the seniors never made the Final 4.  The real tragedy is that Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. now move from unpaid student athletes fueled by a mix of work ethic, talent, good coaching, and  Zombie Nation (is that still happening or are they doing something else now?), to the realm of professional basketball obscurity.  This is a world where money reigns, ESPN dedicates hours of its news cycle decoding Lebron's tweets, players shamefully disrespect coaches, and locker room chemistry spills out into a media chumming pool.

304,000 people liked Lebron's "my struggle is real" picture. In other news,

Brian Windhorst praised Lebron's brilliant court vision, and his
natural ability to hide his phone is mirror selfies.

The result of all of this noise is coaches can't guide their programs.  Money and fame makes rosters think they know better than coach, and that's as useful as Kanye preaching the vices of money dubbed over slow-motion booty shakes.  The transition between Division I and the NBA is where basketball dies and heroball spawns.  Heroball doesn't roll off a high pick, it doesn't search the low post for an open look, it doesn't helpside D off a mismatch screen.  In other words, heroball doesn't need a point guard.  The equity of a pass-first floor general is underrealized.  Where does that leave veteran workhorses like the Pangoses and TJ McConnells?  At best, they would be grateful to convert a career of devastating heroics into a career as a subpar role player.  At worst, they'll end up clawing their way through the D league in hopes that the skills they crafted (no pun intended) can get them a paycheck and another shot at an NBA roster.  College never stopped turning out true point guards, the pros just stopped taking them.  Go boldly, Kevin and Gary.  It's a beautiful game and we hope you find a team that can put your hard work to use.

Forever man-crushing on that work ethic, and
the mane that devastates opponents and hearts.

The Misfits

The 2014-'15 Zags team added some misfits who bought into the structure of veteran leadership, and it was spectacularly successful.  We got a glimpse of what Eric McClellan's life might have been like under Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings when he violently ripped into his freshman guard Wade Baldwin IV for trash talking.  Whatever chemistry was in the locker room, McClellan wasn't responding well, and found himself dismissed from a brand name division I program for "violating school policy."  Seemingly helping him clean up academic problems, Gonzaga gave McClellan the purpose to not only commit to Mark Few's system, but also to become part of the family.  Advantage Zags for getting a long, explosive, heady guard, and a pass-first, play-maker with a great smile.

McClellan in Few's System, the Zag Family.

Byron Wesley utilized the NCAA's 5th year transfer rule to join the Zags family.  This meant sacrificing being a star PAC-12 player for buying into Coach Few's rotation.  Although we only had him for one season, he was a key piece to this year's Elite 8 run.  His freethrow shooting in crunch time aside, both team and player likely helped the other get to the Elite 8.

We're Still the Best

Gonzaga Basketball is the consensus class of mid-major basketball.  The Zags are so respected, that the Wichita State Shockers exist because of their round of 32 win over the Zags in the 2013 tournament.  The Zags are so good, that the tournament committee considered our overtime loss at McKale a good win for PAC-12 powerhouse Arizona.  The Zags are so good, that UCLA coach Steve Alford said the road to west coast domination is through Gonzaga.  The Zags are so good that Nike selected the Zags as one of ten teams to model its 2013 Hyperelite uniforms.  We're that good, we're that sexy, and programs are born from beating us. 

Nike supplied the Zags with the same uniforms

as its sponsored programs in the SEC, ACC.

Appreciate the 8

So while we're on the subject of losers, here are our greatest losers.

Zags celebrate March 27th after defeating the UCLA Bruins 72-64

for the second time in the season, to advance to the Elite 8.

Gary and Kevin leave us with our second Elite 8 as a parting gift.  What's another Elite 8 banner worth? Gonzaga Basketball still recruits its best players because of the first Elite 8 sixteen years ago.  A second one gives Coach Few and foreign recruiting specialist Tommy Lloyd recruiting jolt it didn't need.  Thanks Gary and Kevin.

Kevin Pangos played through turf toe, instilled work-ethic, broke efficiency records for assists/turnover ratios and three-pointers made, and was the absolute role model for dedication and coachability.  He logged 4,706 career minutes in a Zags uniform.

Gary Bell, Jr. worked through hand and wrist injuries, rumors that he was transferring, and literally ran himself into fullbody cramps getting the Zags to win.  He was our defensive go-to, shutting down the likes of Marcus Smart in the 2014 round of 64 win over Oklahoma State.

Bell enjoys a smile and fist-pump as the Zags closed out

over BYU to avenge their senior night home loss

and to win the WCC tournament title.

To Byron; thanks for leaving it all on the court for 38 games with guys that have been together for years.  To Gary and Kevin; with everything left to give, and no eligibility left to give it, thanks for all the spectacular memories* and the second Elite 8, and good luck with your careers.  To everyone who is remorseful for the Zags' loss in the Elite 8; there are 60 other teams that need your sympathy more than us.

We have another banner to hang.

*On a personal note, Pangos and Bell were the starting guard line-up when I got to Gonzaga, so thanks for giving me the impetus to become a die hard Zag.

Please follow me on twitter: @Zagaholicdotcom.