Zach Collins to Play in NBPA Top 100 Camp, Eventful Summer

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Zach Collins is one of the skilled basketball players who have been invited to the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp, which will be held June 16-20 on the campus of the University of Virginia. The NBPA Top 100 Camp is an event hosted by the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association), where current and former NBA players coach and guide prospective basketball stars. Another 2016 prospect, 6'8" wing Brendan Bailey, has also been invited to the camp.

This has been a huge year for Zach Collins, who rose to #37 in Rivals' class of 2016 rankings after a strong junior year high school campaign. A couple weeks later, Rivals recruiting analyst thought Zach still looked a bit under-ranked. The 6'11" power forward/center from Las Vegas, NV accumulated more than 30 offers before narrowing his final college list to Cal, Gonzaga, New Mexico, San Diego State, and Utah, before he ultimately chose Gonzaga the day after the Zags were awarded a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, on their way to the Elite 8.

Collins has been been a part of three Nevada State Championships at Bishop Gorman High School. For years, Zach has been coming off the bench as one of the best 6th men in the country, patiently waiting and battling alongside two of the best big men in the country, 5-star 2015 prospects Chase Jeter (Duke commit) and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV commit). Despite coming off the bench, Collins averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds in his 2014-15 high school season.
Zach has been gaining a lot of notoriety in the Spring and Summer AAU basketball circuits. He teamed up with former 2016 Zag recruit Payton Pritchard to form a dominant inside-outside combination for the 17U Team Fast squad in the Adidas Uprising this Spring. Collins was one of the top rebounders and shot-blockers at those Adidas events. Here are some highlights from his strong showing at one of the Adidas evtns in April:

Collins then followed that up with an impressive performance alongside Jalek Felton, P.J. Washington, and Payton Pritchard in the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championships, where his team was tops among all other American squads and represented the USA in Hungary, where they only lost in overtime twice before falling to France in the Elite 8.

Most recently, Zach played in a tournament last weekend, where he dominated with an average of 21 points and 15 rebounds on his way to being named first team all-tournament. It's not too shabby that he had a high over 29 points in the tournament and in his low game, he still managed to drop 15 points.

There is still much more to come for Collins this summer. At the end of the month, Zach will participate in another high school tournament. From July 8-11, he will fly over to Atlanta, GA for the Adidas Uprising Gauntlet Finale for a 32-team bracketed tournament. He will then make his way to New York for the Adidas Uprising All-American Camp from July 15-17. Zach will then get a chance to play in his hometown (Las Vegas) for the Adidas Uprising Summer Championship from July 22-26. After that, Zach will make a trip over to Long Beach, CA for the Adidas Global Nations event from July 31-August 3.

Zach Collins is certainly having a very busy summer, but he has bit more in store before his expected arrival at Gonzaga in Fall 2016. After summer is over, Zach will gear up for his senior year at Bishop Gorman and will leave everything on the court to lead his school to a fifth straight state title. This time around, however, he will show off his skills in a starting role. Mid November will see another Gonzaga basketball season begin, and that is also when Zach Collins will have an opportunity to sign a letter of intent to play at Gonzaga.

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Vladimir Brodziansky Visits Campus gets Offered by Gonzaga

So, 247Sport's Jerry Meyer reported that we had a visitor this past weekend on GU's campus named Vladimir Brodziansky.  

Apparently, the coaching staff liked him so much they offered him a scholarship. If he accepts, he could play ball for the Bulldogs for three seasons, as he would be a Junior College transfer. He played for the top Basketball Academy in Europe, Canarias Basketball Academy, and Pratt Community College in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

At Pratt, Vladimir played as a Power Forward. He averaged approx. 15 pgg and 9 rebounds. He is anywhere from 6'9 to 6'11 depending on where you read about him. He's on the thin side, tipping in at about 205 pounds. A red-shirt year spent working with Travis Knight on technique, hitting the weights, getting stronger, and bulking up, would certainly be beneficial. 

With several open scholarships, along with losses the Zags will be facing next year that include current Bigs, Kyle Witljer and Przemek Karnowski, we will be somewhat short handed. He could forge himself a nice place on the team. 

We will keep you updated. Go Zags!

2015 Wing Dominic Green is on Gonzaga's Radar

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Dominic Green emerged as a high major prospect last summer, and just about as quickly as his big offers began to emerge, he made the decision to commit to Arizona State. Fast forward 8 months later, and now, one of the west coast's top shooters is available once again.

Dominic Green is a 6'7 small forward who is graduating from Hazen high school (Renton, WA) in 2015. Gonzaga, Washington, Washington State, and USC are among the first schools to reach out to Green. In the 2015 class, Scout rated him as a 4-star and the #77 overall prospect. Rivals, 24/7 Sports, and ESPN each rated him as a 3-star, but Rivals ranked him #144 and 24/7 ranked him #176.

As 4-Star Dominic Green is requesting his release from ASU, who has already reached out? http://t.co/pjxomRi3O3 pic.twitter.com/Ng3rqnqLPu

— Scout Recruiting (@scoutrecruiting) April 16, 2015

Before his commitment to Arizona State, he also reportedly acquired offers from Washington State, UTEP, Portland, Montana, and Portland State, with Marquette, Washington, Gonzaga, Oregon, Indiana, USC, Nevada, San Jose State, Boise State, and Idaho showing strong interest.

Gonzaga currently has 4 scholarships to fill for the 2015 season, and one of the most immediate needs is at small forward. 6'4 2015 wing Tyson Jolly was supposed to visit this weekend, but he commit to Cal a day after visiting. Dominic Green has a strong scoring touch just like Jolly. With Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell, and Byron Wesley gone, Gonzaga could use a big guard who can really strong it from deep. Green would fill that void.
Scouting report:

Strengths: Green is a lean wing-type with long arms and a frame that should fill out nicely at the next level. He is a prolific shooter off the catch and his release is smooth. He gets good lift on his shot and his release is quick. He knows how to come off a pin-down screen and slip the screen in a pick-and-pop. He gets out in the lanes in transition and has the ability to finish in traffic due to his length and knack to score. He shows a nice feel for the game due to his tendency to look for good shots and not force the issue. In addition, he has a nice demeanor for the game and never appears to get rattled. 

Weaknesses: Green is still raw in certain areas of the game. He needs to improve his ball skills, especially when being pressured. Physical defenders can give him issues and he needs to become a better ball handler while attacking pressure. In addition, showing a greater urgency at the defensive end--utilizing his length--will help his development. 

Bottom Line: Green is an exceptional shooter with size and a frame that should fill out nicely at the next level.

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Gonzaga 2015 Recruiting Watch

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Gonzaga has put itself in a precarious position. With the departures of Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell, and Byron Wesley due to exhausted eligibility, as well as Angel Nunez to transfer, Gonzaga has 4 scholarships to fill for the 2015-16 season, and that isn't even counting the possibility of Kyle Wiltjer and/or Przemek Karnowski leaving early. Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal, but it's now mid April and late signing period is now upon us. It wasn't as much of an issue that the Zags didn't sign a new player back in the early signing period in November, but now it's so late in the year and most of the top 2015 freshmen are off the board or have used up their five allotted official visits, but there are a couple for us to monitor. Luckily, at this time of the year, transfers are a plenty, and we know some of them who have Gonzaga on their shortlist.

Damion Lee, 6'6" SF, Senior in 2015-16

Player	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Damion Lee	27	38.1	6.3	14.4	.438	3.9	8.1	.479	2.4	6.3	.385	6.4	7.2	.887	6.1	2.3	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.2	21.4

I have narrowed my list down to these schools in alphabetical order: Arizona Gonzaga Louisville Marquette Maryland.

— Damion Lee (@DameX_0) April 12, 2015

Damion Lee is transferring out of Drexel and is eligible immediately for one remaining season. He was one of the top scorers last season and shot the ball at a high clip. He has narrowed his list to Gonzaga, Arizona, Louisville, Maryland, and Marquette. He has already scheduled visits to Arizona (April 17-19) and Louisville (April 19-21), and Gonzaga plans to make a trip out to see him on April 22. Gonzaga lost its whole starting backcourt and needs a high-level scorer to fill an immediate void.

Johnathan Williams III, 6'9" PF, Junior in 2016-17

Player	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Johnathan Williams	32	29.4	4.0	9.7	.412	3.3	7.7	.429	0.7	2.0	.344	3.2	5.2	.617	7.1	0.8	0.3	0.6	2.6	2.7	11.9

Missouri transfer 6'9 SF Johnathan Williams III (@iam_j3) visits Gonzaga on May 1st. 12ppg, 7rpg, junior in 2016-17 https://t.co/RZAmWYIv4k
— Exclusively Zags (@ZagsGuru) April 15, 2015

Johnathan Williams III was the top scorer and rebounder on a very poor Missouri squad. His percentages are quite poor across the board, but I'm impressed with what he was able to do while battling through a torn meniscus the whole season. He plans to visit Gonzaga (May 1-3), and Michigan State has also been mentioned as a possible destination. He plans to improve his ball skills, get stronger, and allow his knee to heal while sitting out the 2015-16 season. Gonzaga will lose Wiltjer and Karnowski to exhausted eligibility after the 2015-16 season (if they hopefully don't leave before then) and with Sabonis's high draft stock, he could leave early, too, so an experienced frontcourt presence could be needed in 2016-17.

Nigel Williams-Goss, 6'3" PG, Junior in 2016-17

Player	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Nigel Williams-Goss	30	36.8	6.2	14.0	.442	5.5	11.2	.490	0.7	2.9	.256	2.5	3.2	.763	4.7	5.9	1.1	0.2	2.8	1.9	15.6

Gonzaga reportedly among the top 6 for Washington transfer Nigel Williams-Goss @nigelpah. Averaged 15.6 pts, 5.9 ast https://t.co/Ds8W2639N7
— Exclusively Zags (@ZagsGuru) April 10, 2015

Nigel Williams-Goss led Washington in scoring and assists for the past 2 seasons. He plans to visit UNLV (April 18), Providence (April 25), Texas (May 1), and Georgetown (May 8).He will also have in-home visits with Georgetown (this week), Texas (April 20), and Providence (April 21). Michigan State, Gonzaga, LSU, and Ohio State are in contention for visits, as well. Gonzaga could use an experienced playmaker in 2016-17 as Dranginis and McClellan will exhaust their eligibility after next season.

Marcus Foster, 6'3" SG, Junior in 2016-17

Player	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Marcus Foster	29	27.8	4.0	10.3	.388	2.0	4.4	.442	2.0	5.9	.347	2.4	3.5	.703	2.3	1.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	1.9	12.5

Former Kansas State guard Marcus Foster will be taking an official visit to #Creighton this weekend. He's also considering Zaga, Cincy & LSU

— Bluejay Banter (@bluejaybanter) April 13, 2015

Marcus Foster led Kansas State in scoring the past 2 seasons, but he had a dip in production after a spectacular freshman season, and has had some personal issues which led to his removal from the starting lineup during conference play, a 3-game suspension, as well as a dismissal from the team. He plans to visit Crieghton (April 17-19), and other teams which have been mentioned in contention for his services are LSU, Gonzaga, and Cincinnati.

Federico Mussini, 6'1" PG, Freshman in 2015-16

Player	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
Federico Mussini	9	32.1	68	146	.466	41	83	.494	27	63	.429	40	47	.851	4.0	2.1	1.4	0.0	2.4	1.3	22.6

Federico Mussini is currently playing professional basketball for Italian squad Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia, but he is contemplating playing college ball. Reggio Emilia offered him a 5-year contract and Mussini plans to decide whether he will play in college or stay in Europe by the end of April. He took a visit to St. John's on April 12 after coming the states and playing in the Nike Hoop Summit. The other colleges in contention for him are Gonzaga, Davidson, and Virginia. He fits the mold of successful undersized Zags like Dan Dickau, Derek Raivio, and Kevin Pangos with a strong outside touch, scorer's mentality, and shares the ball quite well. The stats above are from his dominant performance in the 2014 U18 Fiba World Championships from last summer.

Jordan Murphy, 6'8" SF, Freshman in 2015-16

Gonzaga reportedly interested in 2015 VCU decommit 6'8 SF Jordan Murphy (@jordanmurphy24) https://t.co/fQXa8Hhoof
— Exclusively Zags (@ZagsGuru) April 9, 2015

Jordan Murphy was committed to VCU before a coaching change led him to reopen his recruitment. Gonzaga, UCLA, Miami, Oregon, Indiana, Minnesota, Rutgers, LSU, San Diego, and Bradley have been among the schools interested in his services, but Murphy only has 3 official visits left after using 2 on VCU and UNLV before his commitment. He has been ranked #113 by Rivals and #213 by 24/7 Sports. He averaged 23.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in his last high school season and is currently playing in the Adidas Gauntlet AAU circuit. Gonzaga is in need of a wing for the 2015-16 season. Scouting report:

Strengths: Murphy is a long and athletic forward that excels in transition where he is capable of rebounding and taking the ball coast to coast and finish above the rim or with either hand. He is also a good straight line slasher and his rim dribble jumpers and threes off the catch with needed time and space. Murphy can score and is a pretty good rebounder as well. Defensively Murphy is a capable of defending both wing positions and even some smaller power forwards.

Weaknesses: Murphy will need to continue to add strength and work on his ball handling when under intense pressure and to make his jumper a more consistent weapon behind the arc. We think he could be a more of a factor on the glass as well given his athletic ability. Overall consistency should be improved as well.

Bottom Line: Murphy is a mid major plus forward with great upside. He is an athletic and smooth scorer that is a multiple position defender as well that is loaded with potential.

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Gonzaga vs Duke for a trip to the Final 4

I have been walking on clouds all day. That win over UCLA was very, very, tasty. No only that, but it exorcised the 17 point come-from-behind loss to UCLA in the Sweet 16 way back in 2006. 

It also puts the Zags into the Elite 8 for only the second time, with the added bonus and possibility of getting some pay-back for an embarrassing loss to Duke that I have not been able to put behind me, yet.

Yes, on Sunday Gonzaga gets to play Duke for a chance to go to their first Final 4. Additionally, they get an opportunity to avenge that embarrassing beat-down suffered at the hands of Duke on a national stage on December 19th 2009, in Madison Square Garden.

At the time Gonzaga was ranked #15 nationally while Duke checked in at #7. Duke absolutely dominated, while holding Gonzaga to its lowest point total in 25 years, in a 76-41 blowout victory in the Aerospatiale Classic. I have hated Duke ever since.

This time around the Zags are a #2 seed while Duke is a #1 seed. Both have depth, talented bigs, potent offenses, solid defenses, and to be honest, seem pretty evenly matched. Gonzaga is the #1 team in the nation in field goal percentage, while Duke is #4. The Zags have a record of 35-2, winning 28 of their last 29 games, while Duke is 32-4, winning 18 of their last 20. Gonzaga scores 79.1 points per game, while Dukes scores 80.6. Gonzaga has a lot of experience, namely, a talented senior backcourt of Bell and Pangos. Duke is young, having a freshman trio of future NBA’ers in Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, and Justise Winslow.

But something’s gotta give. Perhaps it will come down to whoever can overcome the odd set-up of the venue, which has seemed to bother shooters. NRG Stadium is the home of the Houston Texans. It has been converted so as to resemble a basketball court, but there are no walls behind the baskets. Add in the black drop cloths at both ends and it seems to be screwing up player’s depth perception. 

Kyle Wiltjer doesn't think so saying “"We just missed shots," He added,” You either make them or you don't. We don't really blame it on the arena or anything like that." But, the Zags had their worst shooting night of the season, going a woeful 3-19 from deep (15.8%) and Duke only went 3-13 (23.1%) in their last game. Also, according to Ken Pomeroy, 30 teams playing 30 games at the venue since 2002 have shot just 32 percent from 3-point range. Need more proof? Butler shot 18.8% there in 2011 against Uconn in the title game, so this is not a fluke, It’s hard to shoot there.

Because no-one can shoot there, haha, it most likely will come down to youth vs experience and who has the better bigs. Whoever can control the paint and score inside will determine who advances. I favor Gonzaga’s experience over the more talented albeit youthful Duke players. Also, the Zags are more potent inside with their trio of Karnowski, Wiltjer and Sabonis. If Gonzaga’s bigs can stay out of foul trouble, they will wear down Okafor enough to get the win.

Presently, the Zags are 2.5 point underdogs, but I see an upset in this one. Gonzaga will surprise the Dookies with the 74-69 win and move on to their very first Final 4. The only thing left now is the waiting…and another sleepless night!

Gonzaga vs UCLA in the Sweet 16

It’s been a long time since anyone’s been able to write a pregame about Gonzaga playing in the Sweet 16. It certainly feels nice.

It’s also fitting that the opponent is UCLA too. Not only do the Zags get to play in the Sweet 16, they also get a chance to exact some revenge on the team that came from 17 down, pulling off a miracle, to knock them out of the dance the last time Gonzaga played the Bruins in the Sweet 16. The game I’m talking about is the game people remember where Adam Morrison was seen crying as he sat on the hardwood at the end of that nightmare.

Adam has long since graduated and is now with the team as an assistant. Certainly, he’d love to be a part of this team that has a chance to get some payback.

Gonzaga enters this game a #2 seed while UCLA is an #11 seed. Beating UCLA should be very doable as the Zags already whipped them in Pauley Pavilion with ease (87-74) earlier this season. This time around it will be on a neutral court, in Houston.

So, should there be any concern about winning this game and making it to the Elite 8? It’s said that beating a team twice in the same season is a difficult thing to do. Also, UCLA is hot. Well, that’s what I keep hearing. They've won six of their last seven games, but the Zags have won 27 of their last 28. They pounded BYU while winning the WCC Tourney Championship game, as well as running over Iowa to advance to this Sweet 16.  Somehow, I don’t think Zags anywhere should be too concerned.

That being said, This Bruin team has elite players with superior talent and athleticism. They have size, deep shooters, NBA prospects, and excellent rebounding. They are one of the top teams in the nation in scoring and one a very few teams that boast a starting line-up where all five score in double figures.

Coach Alford’s son, Bryce, is the point guard and he is an outstanding one. He scores 15.6 ppg, 5 assists, shoots .844 from the foul line, and a very respectable .392 from deep. He will be matched up with Kevin Pangos. Bryce has a couple inches on Pangos, who seems to struggle at times with big guards. Last time they faced each other Bryce went off for 23 points while Pangos had only 9.

But, Byron Wesley had a monster game going off for 20 points and 9 rebounds, while holding UCLA’s leading scorer Norman Powell (16.4) to 3/11 shooting. Gonzaga’s Gary Bell Jr. and Wesley will need to get up in his grill and slow him down.

UCLA’s outstanding pair of bigs, Kevon Looney and Toney Parker, ave. 23/16 points and rebounds per game between the pair. However, Gonzaga has a 1, 2, 3, punch with Karnowski, Wiltjer and Sabonis. The last time they faced off the Zag’s bigs outplayed UCLA's scoring a total of 44 points. Looney and Parker only managed to put up 19 total points. Kyle Wiltjer had a monster game leading all scorers with 24 points.

The lack of depth is a problem for the Bruins. They have a formidable starting five, but after that they fall off. They basically have no bench. Once again, Gonzaga needs to use that weakness to their advantage. Rotate players in and out to wear UCLA down. Also, get them in foul trouble. They basically have no-one on the bench that can out perform Gonzaga's starters, or for that matter, their bench. Additionally, UCLA has a tendency to get off to slow starts. They have had to climb out of half-time deficits to get wins on occasion. It would be nice if Gonzaga got off to a fast start, just like in their last meeting. Jump on them early and keep the pedal to the metal.

Many pundits are calling for an upset here, but I just don’t see it. The Zags have been to the Elite 8 once, a long time ago. With the way they are playing, their senior back-court, depth, trio of bigs, transfers who came here to win, I feel a return is imminent.

Gonzaga 83 UCLA 72