Nice Video on "The Rise of Gonzaga Basketball"

Catching Up With Sam Dower

Ryan McNeill of HoopAddicts.com recently caught up with former Gonzaga star Sam Dower and had a chance to interview him. him. He sent me this video/link of his interview. Thanks Ryan!!

It's somewhat doubtful that Sam will be drafted, but hopefully he will impress enough in his workouts to get an invite to an NBA camp and work his way into a roster spot with a team. We'll definitely be pulling for him.

2014 NBA Finals: How the Spurs Became the NBA’s Gonzaga - Lost Lettermen

I love this anology- 2014 NBA Finals: How the Spurs Became the NBA’s Gonzaga - Lost Lettermen

Let's Talk About Windows

If you are a fan of a mid-major basketball team, you have to accept the fact that you will probably never see your team win a championship. So, in a sense, you are accepting the fact that your team, the one you spend an inordinate amount of time cheering for and obsessing over, is destined to fail in some fashion at the end of the season. This is kind of a relief, actually, because that knowledge always exists in the back of our minds, so we can take joy in other accomplishments (beating the hell out of the University of Washington, for example, or making the tournament a bunch). We’ll never be Beyonce, but maybe if everything falls into place, for one magical year, we can be Nicki Minaj. Lorde? Whatever, you get it.

Elite schools reload and compete for titles. Mid-majors have down stretches (that can last, oh I don’t know, a decade or two) and eventually piece together an interesting roster. We are spoiled in that Gonzaga consistently attracts high level recruits (bolstered by our international pipelines), so we end up having these “interesting” teams more often than most. By “interesting,” I mean that they are good enough to play deep into the tournament and compete with/beat schools outside of the top 6. I’d say they generally happen every 2-4 years. Starting with the Morrison run, these are the teams I’m talking about:

Byron Wesley: Final Piece Of Gonzaga's Puzzle?

It comes as no big surprise that USC transfer Byron Wesley has officially decided to commit to Gonzaga. All signs pointed to him signing, but now it is official. Not sure if he is the "final piece of a puzzle" or not, but he is an upgrade at the wing position and a very talented offensive player. He has size and length which will also help the Zags on D. This newest acquisition puts the Zags squarely in the top 10 lists in a lot of peoples minds before the season even gets here. We'll be following his progress this summer at Gonzaga and let you know how he is assimilating into Coach Few's system. Watch the video from Campus Insiders below...GO ZAGS!

Transfer Bryon Wesley Closing in on a Decision: Zags in Top 3

Byron Wesley was a prized recruit coming out of High-School. A two time MVP at Etiwanda in California, he was ranked #1 in the State by Cali Sports and graded a very respective 91 on ESPN.

In college he landed at USC and improved every year. His junior season he ave 17.4 ppg, 6.4 rebounds & 2.3 assists, while draining 47.6% from the field and hitting 72% from the free-throw line. Byron even tossed in a couple of 31 point games for fun (see: WSU & Northern Arizona). At 6'5 215 lbs, he is a slasher who can create and finish at the rim with both hands while going right or left. He has a solid mid-range game and strong upper body. Defensively, he is very active with excellent D out to the perimeter.

But things were not all roses at USC. He had previously been suspended twice for violation of team rules. Additionally, his team finished his junior year 11-21, going a woeful 2-16 in conference. Also, the 2014/15 campaign, although adding some exceptional young talent (UNLV transfer Katin Reinhardt & Jordan McLaughlin), looked to be more of the same. Rebuilding while losing. He wanted out and he wanted to go out with a bang.

Given this, when the coveted guard decided to transfer from USC to play his senior year elsewhere, the phone was ringing off the hook. Teams lined up for a look at this skilled veteran. Dozens of early inquiries were whittled down to approx. 8 teams, which were subsequently cut to 5, and now to a final three: Gonzaga, Pitt & Oklahoma State.

NFL Draft approaches for Former Zag Demetri Goodson

Interesting update on former Zag Demetri "Meech" Goodson, his father, and prospects for the upcoming N.F.L. draft: HERE Meech transferred from GU to play basketball at Baylor where he was quite successful, but we'll always remember him for hitting the game winner in the NCAA Tournament vs Western Kentucky on a buzzer-beater to advance Gonzaga to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2009 NCAA basketball tournament. Best of luck to Meech in the draft. We will be pulling for his name to be called.

The Identity of Gonzaga's Mascot Spike Revealed

Who is that person wearing the Spike gear? Now you know:

http://www.gonzagabulletin.com/sports/article_45f9cdf4-cb70-11e3-a3d2-001a4bcf6878.html

Drew Barham YouTube Senior Season Highlights

Dayton loss. Depth issue or Out-coached?

Plain and simple, Archie Miller out-coached Mark Few last night.

You might think it was an issue caused by the lack of our front court depth, and although that certainly hurt us on the defensive boards, some of our best defense played last night was when we played 5 guards towards the end of the game.  They were able to pick up on all of the ball screens and motions that Dayton was setting and get some huge stops that lets us climb back into the game.

Our problem? Mark Few simply didn't rotate enough players into a game where the refs were calling the most ridiculous fouls, both ways.  Gonzaga only accumulated three more fouls than Dayton, and many of these were called in the last few minutes when trying to stop the clock.  Archie Miller made the right decision by bringing six players off the bench.  Playing 11 players to Gonzaga's 8 allowed his team to spread out the fouls the refs were undoubtedly going to call on both teams, and prevent his starters from fouling out down the stretch.  Gonzaga, on the other hand, had to play down the stretch without three starters in Dower, Karnowksi, and Pangos. 

I'm not sure why Few didn't substitute Luke Meikle in to at least absorb some of our foul trouble.  He is 6'8, and although inexperienced and not ready to play in a close game against a quality team such as Dayton, he should have been used.  We already burned his option to redshirt and we don't have any bigs in our recruiting class next year.  At least give the guy some minutes for his 5 extra fouls to give, and who knows, maybe he would surprise us.  Also, giving him some early season experience could help us later this season if we run into a similar situation, which we will if we only play two bigs. I'm sure Dayton didn't put much prep into scouting him either.

I'm am now very excited and somewhat anxious to get Angel Nunez back once he is finished with sitting out ten games due to transfer from Louisville.  At 6'8 and highly recruited out of high school, he will definitely become our X factor in games like last night. 

I always believe good teams need to lose to get better, so hopefully this will help Gonzaga mature early on.  I am pretty bummed that we now won't have a chance to play top 25 opponents Baylor or Syracuse in the Maui Invitational as we won't see many ranked opponents this year. Hopefully, losing in the first round of this tournament will motivate the Zags to go further come March.  

Lets get over the loss, try to enjoy the rest of the tourny, and GO ZAGS!