Steven Gray - Marriage?!?

According to Matt Bouldin's twitter feed last week (conversation between Bouldin & Pargo shown below), Steven Gray has either gotten engaged or married!  Congrats Steven, we wish you the best!

Jay Bilas Raves About Zags

In a new post via his blog on ESPN.com, Jay Bilas has finally got all chummy with the Zags. I do not recall a time when he was so excited about GU's prospects for the upcoming year. Here is what he had to say:

"It seems as if Mark Few's Zags are in this position often. Gonzaga has won in the West Coast Conference like UCLA did in the John Wooden era, yet it has not been able to crack the Elite Eight barrier since 1999. Gonzaga has been good enough but has always seemed to come up against the toughest draws and seeds, not to mention a couple of tough game locations.

This year, I like Few's crew and the Zags' chances to be special. Young guards Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell and David Stockton are gamers, and Pangos and Bell each hit more than 50 3-point field goals last season. Elias Harris is the best player, rebounder and scorer, and he had a really nice performance at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas. Lefty Sam Dower has improved every year, and bigs Kelly Olynyk and Przemek Karnowski provide size and skill. Remember, this team pounded West Virginia and played Ohio State tough in the NCAA tournament with a young backcourt last season."

I know that analysts opinions have nothing to do with our tournament success,  but its always nice to hear positive write ups regarding the upcoming season and it certainly adds to the late summer fever most of us are feeling as we wait on pins and needles for the upcoming year. It doesnt hurt that Jay is well respected for his impartial analysis of most teams (except maybe the Dookies). When hes not posting insightful college basketball wisdom hes usually entertaining his followers on twitter by reciting lines from songs by rappers like "Young Jeezy", you should definitely follow the man who follows no one on Twitter. As always, GO ZAGS!

Recruit Profile: Dominique Collier

According to NY2LASports.com, the Zags are showing interest in 2014 Guard Dominique Collier out of Denver. He is a 6-2, 150 Point Guard who has played with the KC Run GMC program during the grassroots travel season. He has also received interest from most of the major programs in the country including UNC, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA, Florida St., Georgetown, Virginia, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin. At this point the staff has not offered Dominique, but with cursory interest from most of the big schools in the nation it is good to see the staff at least doing the legwork on this recruit.

Robert Sacre in Purple and Gold

By the way, he is not wearing a number because Dwight Howard took his chosen #12 when he joined the lakeshow. He has selected #6 going forward.

ESPN's 50 of 50 Series (Gonzaga ranked 31)

In a fun off-season series, ESPN has ranked the 50 most successful College Basketball Programs over the Past 50 years.  Gonzaga comes in tied at 31.

When ranked by decade, Gonzaga's dominance over the past 10+ years becomes more apparent:

Rank by the decade
1962-69: 8 (T-78th)
1970-79: -4 (T-257th)
1980-89: 4 (T-139th)
1990-99: 44 (T-44th)
2000-present: 180 (T-7th)(Tied with UConn)

They also took the time to rank the best players and teams from each of the 50 programs. Gonzaga is listed below:

50 in 50 starting five (1962-present)
G – John Stockton (1980-84)
G – Dan Dickau (2000-02)
F – Adam Morrison (2003-06)
F – Ronny Turiaf (2001-05)
C – Casey Calvary (1997-2001)

Top options off the bench
Blake Stepp (2000-04)
Matt Bouldin (2006-10)
Cory Violette (2000-04)

50 in 50 coach: Mark Few (1999-present)

Best teams (1962-present)
1998-99 (28-7, NCAA Elite Eight)
2003-04 (28-3, NCAA second round)
2005-06 (29-4, NCAA Sweet 16)

See the full article here

Go Zags!

Elias Harris Shines at LeBron Skills Camp

Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.com had nothing but good things to say about our own, Elias Harris after his recent visit to the LeBron James Skills Camp, here is his excerpt from the article:

"Elias Harris, 6-7, senior, Gonzaga It's a backhanded compliment, but Harris will be one of the best seniors in college basketball. Although projections of him being a lottery selection after a fast start in his freshman year were premature, he has a chance to lead the Zags deep into the NCAA tournament this season.

It's not totally accurate to call Harris a tweener. I'd describe him more as a jack-of-all-trades because while he is undersized, he's a physical presence around the rim and averaged almost nine rebounds a game last year. Yet his perimeter skills have improved throughout his career. In fact, he is currently a 41 percent career 3-point shooter.

Harris carried himself like a veteran at the camp -- he is 23 years old -- and from that standpoint he was impressive. He played hard, challenged the rim and didn't mind trying to dunk on people with his athleticism. He may have impressed NBA scouts, but he proved to be one of the better players here."

Things like this get me very excited for the new season, cant wait to see Elias come out and have a great senior season!

2014 Recruiting Update: Reid Travis

“To Be or Not to be?  That is the question.” Or in this case, we have an elite athlete’s twist on the age-old Shakespeare dilemma: to play Division 1 Football or Basketball in their collegiate career.  Reid Travis is currently wrestling with this decision.

2014 recruit Reid Travis has garnered much attention on the recruiting circuit, in both basketball and football.  Hailing from DeLaSalle, Minnesota, Travis is used to being a star athlete, whether it be playing power forward on the basketball court, or as quarterback on the gridiron.  He currently holds scholarship offers for both sports (listed below):

2013 Schedule

Jerry Krause has posted on basketballtravelers.com looking for some scheduling partners for 2013. There are several series ending this year and the staff is trying to put together some new guarantee games starting next year. Here is what Jerry posted:

"Gonzaga is looking for multiple guarantee games at home for 2013-2014. Many dates available, including the opening game on November 8 2013. Please contact Brian Michaelson..."

It would seem they are planning on opening the season on November 8th as well. It will be interesting to see who they are able to get set up for the schedule going forward, we will keep you posted as we learn more about the 2013 Schedule. Go Zags!

Goodluck Re-Classifies for 2014

Word has just come across that Goodluck Okonoboh has reclassified to 2014 and will attend Wilbraham & Monson Academy, according to his AAU coach Vinny Pastore. As previously stated by this site, we feel he is a long shot to attend GU, but with Gerard Coleman here there is always a chance. Perhaps the staff can parlay this move into a better chance to get Goodluck on board with the program. There is also a good chance that he could improve a lot and get even more attention by next summer. We will keep you posted as we learn more about Goodlucks recruitment. GO ZAGS!

Recruiting Weakness?

As with any program with the success Gonzaga has had, there are Mark Few supporters, haters, and those who just want to have some fun at his expense (like the twitter account @NotMarkFew). Coach Few has come under fire from those who believe he cannot adjust his coaching plan in game, he needs to calm down his substitutions to allow players to get into a “groove," or that he simply gets “out-coached” in big games. But no coach can please everyone all the time. Although Gonzaga has announced that Tommy Lloyd is the coach-in-waiting, giving Gonzaga fans a glimpse of the future, rest assured it is not the near future. 49-year-old Few has shown no signs of retiring or slowing down. This year he even accepted an assistant coaching job with the under-18 team.

So what can fans expect from Coach Few during the remainder of his time at the helm? More of the same? How can Coach Few improve? All of these questions and more Gonzaga fans ask on a daily basis, but none are as important for the future as “Can Few adjust to the 21st Century?”