FREE- Win $100.00- Predict WCC Tourney order of finish!

 

Ok, so here it is...

It's been awhile since we've had a FREE give-a-way promotion on Zagaholic and since I am feeling a wee bit benevolent tonight, I've come up with a great idea (well, the winner will think it was a great idea moreso than others).

With the regular season for the incredible Zags fast approaching and the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas looming, let's go with something like this:

The first person who correctly predicts the order of finish of the Men's WCC Tournament in Las Vegas will win $100.00. Number one will be the winner, number two second place, number three third place, and so on. How easy is that?

I will mail you via certified mail, a money order for 100 bucks! I will announce the winner, you will let me know where you would like your $100.00 mailed to at the end of the tournament.

You must enter your selections in comments, only one entry per person please. The contest starts as soon as first Tournament game begins, so all entries must be received in the comment section by then. 

Unfortunately, I cannot win, but here are my selections- See, I know I can't win so I can go nuts and really mess this up. Of course, I HAD to pick the Gaels last, cause, well....I hate 'em.

1. Gonzaga
2. LMU
3. San Diego
4. Pacific
5. Pepperdine
6. BYU
7. Portland
8. USF
9. Santa Clara
10. St. Mary's

GOOD LUCK everyone!!~

Zach Collins to Visit this weekend.

The Zags are set to host Zach Collins from the class of 2016 this weekend, February 28th through March 2nd. Zach, or "ZBo", is a high level 6-9 forward out of Prep Powerhouse Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV). While on campus, Zach will have a chance to watch a very exciting end of season matchup with BYU that holds meaning to both teams.

Zach has already visited California, San Diego St., New Mexico, and Utah, making this his 5th and final visit. Hes currently ranked #56 in the class of 2016 (Rivals.com) and is seen as one of the most polished big men on the west coast. Hopefully the staff and players can work some magic this weekend.

Some Tape on Zach:

FRIDAY the 13th- How have the Zags fared on this date?

Today is Friday the 13th, a day generally thought of as an unlucky one. As such, I wondered how the Gonzaga Bulldogs have fared playing games on this day and it led me to that answer, as well as some other interesting things. Read on for the odd and bizarre info!

To most people it is all rather silly, but to many it is very real. There were 13 people at The Last Supper, Hotels and Hospitals generally skip the 13th floor, Alfred Hitchcock was born on this day, President Edgar Hoover, and Napoleon were afraid of it, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt was afraid to travel on this day! 

If you are afflicted with the fear of Friday the 13th you are not alone. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina estimates that between 17 and 21 million people in the United States have a diagnosable phobia of Friday the 13th. The illness is more properly known as "friggatriskaidekaphobia." It’s pronounced "fri-gah-tri-sk-eye-de-kah-fo-bia." 

The word, a portmanteau, means a person is afraid of Friday the 13th. Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, and friggaphobia is the fear of Friday...If you put them together and you have friggatriskaidekaphobia. 

Now, I for one have never been afraid to walk under a ladder, break a glass window, or had any extra fear on this date, but I was curious about whether or not this rather dreary day is something ZAG fans should fear as it relates to our team. In other words, how has Gonzaga fared in games played on this ominous day? You will be surprised at what I found out.

Oddly enough, the Zags have never actually played a game ON a Friday the 13th. But, in their history, they have played exactly 13 games on the 13th! So, how did we do? This is what I learned:


The games-

1/13/2011 Pepperdine 92-75 WIN
2/13/2010 San Diego 82-65 WIN
11/13/2007 Idaho 80-41 WIN
1/13/2007 Santa Clara 77-69 WIN
2/13/2006 Portland 97-83 WIN
1/13/2005 LMU 76-65 WIN
12/13/2003 MIssouri 87-80 WIN (O.T.)
2/13/2003 St. Mary's 73-49 WIN
1/13/2001 St. Mary's 102-48 WIN
1/13/2000 USF 96-73 WIN 
12/13/1999 Wa Huskies 77-66 WIN
2/13/1999 San Diego 69-62 WIN
3/13/1999 Stanford 82-74 WIN

We are undefeated on this day. Gonzaga has played 13 games on this date and won all of them.

What does all this mean, exactly? I duhno....but I will say that apparently the 13th is a very, very, lucky day for ZAG Basketball!

GO ZAGS!!~ 

Gonzaga freshman Domantas Sabonis quick to adjust to college basketball | Gonzaga | The Seattle Times

Excellent article written by Bud Withers of the Seattle Times on Zags talented freshman, Domas Sabonis-

Gonzaga freshman Domantas Sabonis quick to adjust to college basketball | Gonzaga | The Seattle Times

Gonzaga University March Madness Hype 2014-2015

Welcomed Newcomer

Check out this outstanding article regarding how Byron Wesley fit right in at Gonzaga. Read about his recruitment and why he chose the Zags over other schools. Also, how Kyle Dranginis feels about the transfer, knowing it would cut into his minutes- Welcomed Newcomer:

Byron really has "fit right in", which is pretty amazing for a guy that is only coming for one year. It was quite a gamble. One that could have been very disruptive to team chemistry but it has not been so at all. He has fit into the starting line-up seamlessly, as if he's been in the system for years.

The one thing the Zags have lacked is a stable of wings. Wesley's addition has fixed this issue. So far he has proven to be a pivotal piece of this year's team and a huge "get" for the Zags. I will go so far as to call him the missing link and possibly the biggest reason the Zags are better than last year, and currently ranked #2 in the nation.

GO Zags!!~

Saturday Upset Update: Zags to be Week 13 AP #2? UPDATE: Zags are AP #2

Preface: Please forgive the brevity, lack of analysis, and lack of depth.  I'm writing from my iPhone a town away from home.

UPDATE: Zags to AP #2 (the coaches poll took the bail-out option described below)

1. Kentucky
2. Gonzaga
3. UVA
4. Duke
5. Wisconsin
...
10. Notre Dame

The Zags have a chance to slide into the number 2 spot, after a perfect storm that creates a frustrating decision to the AP voters.  Here's the set up:

Week 12 top 5 + 8

1. Kentucky
2. UVA
3. Gonzaga
4. Duke
5. Wisconsin
...
8. Notre Dame

Duke visited Notre Dame (8) Wednesday and lost.  But then the Blue Devils went to UVA, and their way back from a ways down to tie it up .  With under 2:00 in regulation, Duke drained ice-cold, back-to-back three to close it out for the win (Tyus Jones ruthlessly burried the last one guarded, from 25' deep).  UVA is no longer undefeated.

Duke is supposed to fall (although slightly being a close ranking and playing away) for it's loss against Notre Dame, but before the rankings have a chance to react, they went and beat 1 of only 2 undefeated teams in the country, on its home court.  That also means UVA is supposed to fall, but to give Gonzaga the number 2 spot?

Possibilities:

1. Zags to 2, Duke to 3, UVA to 4 or lower, but that let's the Zags coast up the polls.
2. Zags stay at 3, Duke jumps to 2, but that lets Duke jump following a loss at Notre Dame.
3. The bail-out option - the top 4 doesn't change, but that lets UVA remain at 2 without punishment for its first loss on the season.

We'll find out in the next few hours, but if the Zags get the #2 spot, the CBB world will be screaming bloody overrated.  If that happens, I'll be posting about the importance of consistency against any competition difficult or easy.

Number 4 is King of the 3 in 64-46 Win over Pilots

After Coach Mark Few (wisely) made us all wait a game, Kevin Pangos hit his 289th three point shot as a Zag, breaking Blake Stepp's record.  But it doesn't end there.  He still has to finish the conference season, conference tournament, and (presumably) the big dance to blow his lead open.  He's on track to finish his college career summiting 4,600 career minutes (assuming we don't get out of the round of 32), and that's plenty of time to take a strangle hold on his record.

What's most impressive though, is he did all this as a true floor general, meaning his scoring efficiency didn't come at the cost of thoughtful shot selection (think Matt Carlino and his wild stat lines in the WCC and the Big East), or assists.  He is the 5th all-time Zag assists leader.  You read correctly, the Zags record holder for threes is also the Zags 5th all-time leader in assists.  With such an accomplishment by such a great Zag, it deserves some sort of recognition, so I'm adding the term "ZagSplashed" to the Zagaholic dictionary, which was born with the ZagSlam honor.

So with his 289th dagger, ZAGSPLASHED: Portland.

Sabonis' Anger Management

Domantas Sabonis came out just as hard as in past games, but seemed to channel his anger toward getting into the lane on offense and jamming the lane on defense.  As Jack Nicholson put it, he unflustered his game.  I have to admit, the referees were tragically bad at letting contact go in the post.  Portland's size didn't equate to defensive skill so their bigs didn't know anything else but contact.  The Zags bigs all got hacked on offense repeatedly, and there were countless loose-ball fouls (commonly called "over the backs") anytime our bigs got boards.  But through all that, Sabonis kept playing hard, even earning an and-1.

Sabonis, channeling his anger.

Two positives, first that Sabonis is still hot-headed, but only with the ball in his hand or crashing the boards, and two, we can expect much better referees come tournament time. 

Wiltjer's Defense

Kyle Wiltjer continued to play inspired offense posting 11, 3, 2, 1, but his defense continues to lag. He has the hight and IQ to be damaging in the post on both sides of the ball, but simply hasn't put any meat on his frame (something rather Kelly Olynyk did on his redshirt season).  He had no blocks and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes.  His lack of Sabonis-esque physicality is a true opportunity cost, especially because his offensive footwork already has him in the top 25 of the Wooden Award Watch.

ZAGSLAPPED: Root Sports

Root Sports inspired yet a third addition to the Zagaholic dictionary.  If you were one of the thousands who made of point of tuning in to watch Kevin Pangos set the all time school record for three pointers in an otherwise foregone conclusion of a game, you were instead forced to watch the end of a Clemson at Wake Forrest game in an empty arena.  As if that wasn't bad enough, Root Sports showed no urgency switching over to the live game, opting to show numerous angles of the same underwhelming replay before finally relenting (I watched live updates on my phone selfishly hoping Pangos wouldn't take the three, then it come up on my screen while Root Sports was busy not showing the game).

It was too late.  Pangos had already ZagSplashed Portland with the record setter.  The only way you could have seen it live is if you had one of 6,200 seats at the Kennel (or if you were watching on the WCC's online stream).  So Root Sports has earned the first ZagSlapped honors by failing one of it's strongest demographics out of an historic moment.

Called Out: ESPNU's Corey Alexander, A Celebration of the Zag Floor General

In defending Stanford point guard Chasson Randle for being a shoot-first point guard, ESPNU announcer, and former UVA point guard Cory Alexander said:

"The role of the pass-first point guard is dead."

If you're a true basketball connoisseur, you know this is a bone-headed statement.  The idea of a shoot-first point guard strains logic.  A shoot-first point guard is a shooting guard, and so there would just be two shooting guards in your line-up, with one designated with the arbitrary task of bringing the ball past mid court.  With two shoot guards, and nobody to help the bigs run plays, one team becomes two, and there's no chemistry. 

Alexander was covering the Stanford @ U Dub game with Kanoa Leahey.  It was U Dub's first game without the NCAA's number 1 shot blocker Robert Upshaw (4.4/game), a guy who until now had more blocks than any other PAC12 team combined.  Alexander's only redemption was late in the second half when he said "[b]y the way, get the Sonics back to Seattle."  The glaring irony of that statement was that the Sonics were successful largely because they had point guard Gary Payton racking up assists feeding power forward Shawn Kemp and bad-hair specialist Detlef Schrempf.

Coach George Karl looks on, after telling

Schrempf to get rid of the flat top.

 

What does this have to do with the Zags????

 

Kevin Pangos is the quintessential pass-first point guard, and any true Zagaholic will defend that definition of the position.  Pangos fuels the Zags high-IQ offense with one of D1's best assist/turnover ratios (does anyone have exact figures and rank?  If so, please comment).

The Success of a "Floor General" over a "Combo Guard"

 

Not only that, Coach Mark Few teaches a pass-first point guard offense.

 

Exhibit A:  When David Stockton was a senior off the bench, Coach Few would pull Gary Bell Jr. within a few minutes of the tip, move Pangos to the 2, and put Stockton at the 1.  Pangos would set back picks and knock down threes, and Stockton would thread passes inside and rotate along the baseline.  Starter or not, that lineup constituted the majority of the minutes.  Pangos' points average before conference play this season tanked exactly because Coach Few didn't have Stockton to turn to, and he had Pangos passing.  It only turned at BYU December 27th when Przemek Karnowski got gassed working the post in the second half, and Coach few gave firing orders to Pangos and Bell Jr to stretch the defense.

Pangos, Stockton, and Angel Nunez celebrate the

2014 WCC Tournament quarterfinals.

 

Exhibit B:  Coach Few makes sure his guys know their roles.  It's always fun when a player steps out of their role and does something positive.  Karnowski drained an NBA-range three on an in-bounds mistakenly thinking the shot clock was lean when there was really 15 seconds left.  But that doesn't mean Coach Few is going to start running high screens or kick outs for the big man. 

 

Coach Few's point guard philosophy is no different.  Coach Few publically reprimanded Stockton after Stockton blocked Anson Winder's lay-up in the WCC tournament championship game.

 

5'11" Stockton blocks Winder's lay-up. 



 

With Stockton sitting at his side for the post-game press conference after a convincing win to take the conference title and tournament auto-bid, Coach Few said:

 

"I don't think we need to be encouraging him out in the media.  We like

 our 5'6" guys to strip guys and to take charges."*

 

The Pass-First Point Guard is Not Dead

 

Not only is it alive, it's the second critical component of the best way to win titles (the first being a coach who has the team's respect).  Rarely has there been a successful team that doesn't have a heady floor general selflessly catalyzing the team's offense by rewarding good on and off ball movement with open looks and buckets.  It's the difference between a chemistriless, Kyrie Irving losing to the Utah Jazz without recording a single assist, and a Tony Parker-led Spurs team who left shoe deals and sex appeal at the door to systematically lock down on the league, winning the 2014 finals 4-1.

 

There's a reason Alexander is talking into a mic and not playing.  He should recognize that and stick to calling games, not his opinions.  To the Delon Wrights, Melo Trimbles, and TJ McConnells ignore the noise of selfish basketball, listen to your coaches, and we'll continue jealously marveling at your careers.

 

*Stockton is listed as 5'11".  He's not.  I'm 5'11" and I met him at the old bookstore before the COG was knocked down.  I had a few inches on him.  But as Sam Dower Jr. pointed out, Coach Few's 5'6" assessment was definitely unfair.

Kevin Pangos Hair Tweets

Enjoy this funny vid w/ Pangos responding to tweets about his hair. He has grown it out and it's longer than it has been in his first 3 seasons. Hey, if he likes it, great. If it helps him play better, I'm REALLY all for it!

Oh, and he set the record at Gonzaga tonight for all time three pointers made in a career, as far as I'm concerned, he's earned the right to wear a wig if he wants, lol!