Hiatus

Hello devoted readers! I want to apologize for a lack of content. I started this blog over three years ago with the intention of making it the best Gonzaga Mens Basketball blog on the Internet. During my time blogging I've had over 30,000 hits and more importantly I had a lot of fun. I want to thank the readers of this blog for their support. Now for the bad news...I'm going to have to go on an indefinite hiatus. I'm a full time dad of two toddlers ages 2, and 1. Im also a full time culinary arts student. In the future I would love to come back to this blog on a more full-time basis, however at this time it's simply not feasible. Now I do not want to leave anyone high and dry, my friends over at Slipper Still Fits can supply you with all the zag news you need, a matter of fact I will go out on a very sturdy limb and say they have the best bulldogs blog on the internet. Please dont take this as a goodbye, but more of a see you later! Good luck, and as always GO ZAGS!!!!!

Gonzaga 90 S. Oregon 58

It was just an exhibition game, but Gonzaga looked like a team that is ready to roll this season. Mark Few emphasized that Turovers were the biggest issue as the Zags committed 12 in the first half, but as advertised the frontcourt was simply great (all without help from Sophomore phenom Elias Harris who sat out with what was described as a "Badly Bruised Shoulder" but should be ready for the Season opener against Southern next Friday) Sam Dower offered 17 Points while Robert Sacre and Kelly Olynyk combined for 23 Points and 19 Boards. Lots of encouraging signs going into this season...The Biggest thing i noticed was depth...Mark Few has prided himself in having one of the deepest rotations in College Basketball for the last few years, and this team is no different.

2010 Season Preview

The Season officially Tips off tonight in the Kennel with the Zags slated to take on the Southern Oregon University Raiders in an Exhibition matchup at 9 PM Eastern on FSN. The Biggest Questions heading into this game are the following:

1. Can Stephen Gray solidify himself as the leader and make this backcourt shine?
2. Can Robert Sacre take his physical talents and transform into the first round NBA talent we have all seen flashes of?
3. Can Elias Harris improve on his phenomenal freshman season and become one of the best wing players in the country?
4. Can the Zags replace Matt Bouldins savvy leadership this season?
5. Can the Zags finally get over that hump and get back at least to the Sweet 16 this season?

I expect these questions and more to be answered as the season progresses, but at least we will get a chance to see the Zags in action for the first time this season. Im expecting them to win the West Coast Conference and make the NCAA Tournament, after that we will not know for sure until we can see them play some of the toughest Non Conference Schedule in all of college basketball this season.

Its Official BYU joins the WCC in 2011...

Well folks...its official, BYU has joined the WCC in all Sports but Football starting in 2011. Great News! The expectation is that the WCC will now have a 16 game true round robin conference season with the WCC Tournament now being pushed to start on mondays to avoid a sunday game for BYU who does not play on sundays...More news to come as we have it...

WCC to Expand to 10 Teams for 2011?

BYU is potentially being courted by the WCC for Basketball! Maybe this is where the WCC also adds the University of Seattle...Stay Tuned!

UPDATE:

Recently the University of Hawaii expressed interest in going independant in football and bringing their non football sports to the WCC...so maybe we have BYU and Hawaii joining the WCC in 2011 or 2012...

Conference Realignment

Much has been made in recent days about conference realignment. As with most Gonzaga fans, i find myself riveted at the thought of change, change for the better that is. I have spent the last couple weeks watching and reading all the rumors of how this will shake up college sports as we know it. Here are the current specifics we know:

The PAC-10 has invited 6 teams from the BIG 12 to join their conference. At this time, only 1 team has accepted their invitation, the Colorado Buffaloes. PAC-10 commissioner Larry Scott met with Oklahoma President David Boren and athletic director Joe Castiglione today and we now expect Oklahoma's board of Regents will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the potential move west. The University of Texas is also expected to meet with Scott tomorrow, and will have its own meeting on Tuesday. I would say its likely both schools will formally accept invitations to join the PAC-10 sometime toward the middle of next week. With both schools leaving the BIG 12, its only a matter of time until Texas Tech, and Oklahoma St. follow. The final invitation to the PAC-10 is Texas A&M, however its believed both the SEC and Texas A&M are more interested in each other. If Texas A&M were to move to the SEC, it is likely they would go after the University of Missouri as well.

This would leave the following schools in the sure to collapse BIG 12, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, and Baylor. If this happens its likely the Mountain West will invite Kansas and Kansas State to join their already bolstered rotation which now includes Boise State. This should be enough to push them into Auto BCS bid territory for football.

So where does this leave Gonzaga? Where should it leave the Zags? In my opinion, i have always thought it would be a good thing to move conferences to greener pastures, however with the recent events, i would say its unlikely they would get a bid to the PAC-10 or the Mountain West anytime soon. Both conferences are more interested in College Football and its Mega Millions payoff. If you were to ask me today, my opinion has changed, we need to stay in the WCC with the rest of our traditional rivals and in a couple years extend an invite to the Seattle University as well as maybe Idaho or Pacific. The reason i say this is that we are not in a football conference, we do not have aspirations to compete in football at all, and at this time i would say we would do better to continue our run in the WCC. The league is improving every season and the coaching is slowly starting to get better, it would be foolish to chase bigger dreams and end up alienating our closest competitors all for what would be maybe another 5 million a year in revenue sharing.

No lets stay put, lets continue our winning ways and lets aspire to be the Atlantic 10 conference of the west. In all things, LETS GO ZAGS!

NCAA Madness

First off, i want to apologize for the long hiatus. I was recently offered a new job and it has eaten away at my available time. So in the last month a lot has happened in the world of college basketball. Gonzaga lost to Saint Mary's in the conference championship, the Zags won their first round match up with Florida State, and then lost...badly...to Syracuse in the 2nd round. This made me mad to begin with because i really felt that had Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray showed up and hit a few threes this would have been a completely different result. But last night was the last straw. We got to see Butler, who i would consider to be the Gonzaga of the East, take down Syracuse using a game plan that i thought we would use, but didn't. That hurts...

In Other news, usually i would say that i could not root for Saint Mary's as they are our biggest rival (Outside UW of course) but as a fellow WCC member, i can not lie, i was cheering them on in their win over Villanova, and i will continue to cheer them on for as long as they last in the NCAA tourney. With Baylor up next, I wonder what their Final Four Odds would be? While Cinderella teams have shown the ability to reach the highest pedestal in college sports, Ala George Mason, in recent years, i think Saint Mary's has taken a step above Cinderella and moved into the national spotlight. Patty Mills surely helped them with his dynamic talent, and now Omar Samhan has become a beast in the low post. It pains me to say it, but with the current setup Saint Mary's has a great chance at the Final Four.

Looking ahead to the future, Gonzaga has a lot going for them. While the loss of Matt Bouldin cannot and should not be taken lightly, Steven Gray is in line to step up and become the senior leader. This team also boasts the return of what i would say is the best young front court in all of college Basketball in Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. Then you have the young supporting cast of Grant Gibbs, Kelly Olynyk, Manny Arop, and Bol Kong. This team really is built for the future and i have to applaud Mark Few for his vision on the recruiting trail, not many coaches can create such a hodge-podge of talent and turn it into a team. You have to remember that this team had 9 freshmen to start the year and a couple sophomores. This was by no means a veteran team. With the loss of Austin Daye, Josh Heytvelt, Micah Downs and Jeremy Pargo a year ago, i really don't think even the most die hard fan could have seen this team having this much success this soon. As always i am looking forward to the next season with high hopes and maybe even higher expectations. LETS GO ZAGS!

Game Recap: CSUB @ Gonzaga

Scouting Report: Cal State Bakersfield

Cal State Bakersfield
W-L: 7-21
RPI: 286
SOS: 220
Best Wins:
(201) Montana St. W, 71-61

Best Losses:
(31) Utah St. L, 68-51

Team Leaders:
Points: Trent Blakley 15.0
Assists: Stephon Carter 3.0
Rebounds: Santwon Latunde 7.9

Best Player:

Trent Blakley SF 6-4 220 SR
Blakely is a great scorer, getting over 20 points 8 times this year.

My Take:
Great tune up game before the WCC Tourney. i expect a blowout on Senior Night. This will be Will Foster and Matt Bouldin's last games at the Kennel. We will miss you both.

Final Score: Gonzaga 95 CSU Bakersfield 60

Game Recap: San Francisco @ Gonzaga