Open Thread: What is the biggest question mark heading into the season?

For me, the biggest question mark remains front court depth. I have a large amount of faith in both Rob and Elias, as I think they compliment each other perfectly on the court. Rob will be the enforcer type, while Elias can use his off the charts athleticism to dominate the game offensively.

However, I remain worried about what we will see from Will, Andy, and Kelly. With Will, he can’t be on the court if he remains a liability on the offensive end of the court. I haven’t seen or heard anything that makes me think that he will be able to contribute on the offensive end of the floor. Andy remains a giant question mark, since the only time any of us have even seen him play in a competitive game was over a year ago. I was quite surprised by how little time he was in the exhibition game, and that made me think that perhaps he hasn’t developed the way that everyone hoped. That leaves Kelly Olynyk, who despite playing well in the exhibition game, is still not strong enough to compete against the elite teams on the Gonzaga schedule. This team needs one of these three guys to step up and be able to contribute in order for this team to make a deep push late in the season.

   It’s undeniable that we have a lot of talent and the pieces to assemble a very high caliber NCAA team. However, it has yet to be seen whether we can incorporate all of these pieces into a functioning and effective system in tough games. I remember two years ago when we had two great freshmen (Daye/Gray) and a number of other strong individuals. However, when it came time to play some stronger competition (like WSU), our game plan was to give the ball to one player and let him try to score. If that didn’t work, another player would try, and another, and another. It just seemed like the team was never able to work things out and engage in set plays and generate an effective and consistent offense.
   This year, with such a strong recruiting class and a solid returning backcourt, the greatest question in my mind is whether Meech can take the reigns and really utilize all the tools and strengths that we have. If he is able to call and set plays, distribute the ball and keep the defense guessing, I think we will be a very dangerous team offensively. A big part of that offense will have to come from the post area with Sacre/Foster/Polling. I know EDZ touched on that just before me, but if we can’t maintain a strong scoring threat down low with the back to the basket approach, winning games against talented teams will be very difficult. In my mind, Meech is the linchpin for the system and our success and productivity depends on how well he steps into his starting role, and how effectively he is able to bring this team together and incorporate all of the individual talent.

Whenever you lose as many players as Gonzaga did, it’s going to be hard to replace the offensive output. I think we have seen in the first exhibition and the scrimmage that the news guys have no issue with shooting the ball but I’m still worried about if we have enough scorers. Most of my reason for concern actually spawns with Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray. In the past, these two have been a partof a talented offensive team. This year they are front and center on a very young offensive team. This means that Matt and Steven will face every team’s best defender, they will be gameplanned against to stop, and they will have to play their best games night in, night out to continue to flourish. My concern is that Matt and Steven are so vital to this teams success that if they get shut down, or go on a cold streak, or even get hurt, who can pick up the slack. I know the new guys will be great over time but I’m not ready to ask them to score 15 or 20 points a game quite yet.

Especially with Michigan State on the horizon, you better believe that Izzo will be saying “win the back court battle, shut down bouldin, and we will win”. So many questions with this team and it remains to be seen if Rob Sacre can be a consistent offensive threat. If he can, then I will feel so much better about scoring but if he can’t, I think we are in trouble.

There are obviously a number of concerns…but a lot to be excited about.

I hope the guards can be consistent with scoring and delivering the ball for easy points in the paint. I just caught Villanova coach Jay Wright on the SVP radio show. He said he would rather go into the year with an experienced back court and young front court (sound familiar). His theory is that mature guards can make good decisions on getting the ball inside where an inexperienced big should be able to score. I hope the Zags can prove his theory correct.

Gray is the biggest question mark for me. The reason is if you give every player a floor and a ceiling his has the widest range. For example, take Rob. Rob’s floor is that he will struggle with injuries and chip in 4-6 points and 4-6 boards a game, when playing. Obvisously IMHO. Rob’s ceiling for this year is about 12-14 points a game and close to 10 boards. That isn’t the widest range. The thing is we know what we are going to get out of most players on this team.

Can you say the same for Steven? His floor is 6-8 points a game with no consistency. His ceiling is a 20-24 ppg average which frees up Boulin as well. All of this is just my opinion on what to expect from the different players. If Steven can perform like we all know he can on a consistant basis then we could have a darn good season where we truly reload and go into the NCAA’s as a 6 or 7 seed that no one wants to face. Which in my opinion a round of 32 appearance would constitute a great season.

There is no doubt he will every opportunity to be a 20+ a game type scorer for this team. However, the real question is whether or not he has the mentality to consistently attack and consistently put pressure on his defender. At this point in his career, Steven hasn’t shown the ability to do that. If he can, I actually think this team has a higher ceiling then the round of 32. However, if Steven doesn’t push up the aggressiveness, then i don’t see this team getting past the first round.

Coach Few has reloaded in the past, but never has he had so many new players at once. He has not been one to give many minutes to a new player – especially Freshmen. Other than Dickau and Stepp, I cannot recall new players receiving lots of playing time right from the get go – even JP Bautista, who was a stud the moment he stepped on the floor, was eased into playing minutes.

Bouldin is a great leader, but in clutch situations not every match up will favor Matt. Few has been a master at drawing up plays when he absolutely needs a bucket…what has the coaching staff drawn up and for whom!?

There are a lot of weapons in the arsenal – will the staff know which tool to use for the job?

This year is going to be a blast to watch!

I’m really not a believer in chemistry much with regards to on the field results in sports if only because teams that win ALWAYS have good chemistry (cause guys get along when they win) and teams that lose ALWAYS have chemistry issues (cause you get cranky when you lose). Guys can dislike each other and win (and visa versa). “Chemistry” is just a buzz word for lazy sports writers.

My bigger concern with Few. As much as Mark Few is rightfully praised, he’s an amazing recruiter and a wonderful “face of the university,” he’s not a stellar game coach. One of his major flaws is being unable to get the best lineups on the floor. If our team struggles in the post will he consider going Villanova style and go super small? Will a certain player get in his doghouse and get unnecessarily pulled often (filling in Micah’s vacant role).

Additionally will the team ever learn how to guard the 3 (a major flaw in every Zag team he’s coached)? Will players play up to their potential (something that didn’t happen the past 2 years, but should be easier to meet since we don’t know what to expect from the youngins)? Will he be able to win a game against a top flight coach (his record is so bad against them, but he’s got a chance with Izzo and Coach K)?

Great chemistry & offense at the post certainly are keys to 2010 success… but what about that defensive?
Few & staff must be working hard to make defense a priority again for the coming season?