Postgame Reaction: Gonzaga falls to Michigan State; Leaves huge impression on nation
by Zach Bell on Nov 17, 2009 7:58 PM PST
28 comments
I struggled to write a headline for this post because I feel like, although it was a loss, there is so much to be proud of if you are a Gonzaga fan. While I don't believe in emotional wins, Gonzaga provided a look into the future tonight against Michigan State that has to make every Bulldog fan ecstatic about this team's prospects.
The Zags fell tonight 75-71 against the second-ranked Spartans of Michigan State in East Lansing after establishing themselves early on in the first half. In fact, Gonzaga jumped out to a double digit lead at multiple points in the first half and carried a lead all the way until the three-minute mark of the second half. The outstanding veteran play of Michigan State's dynamic trio of Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Raymar Morgan proved to be too much for the young Gonzaga team. Durrell Summers gave the Spartans the lead 68-67 and the Spartans proceeded to go on a mini run which did Gonzaga in. Raymar Morgan and Kalin Lucas added buckets to make it a five point margin and by that time, the Breslin Center was rocking. Gonzaga gave a great effort in the closing minutes as Steven Gray had two looks at a three-pointer with 25 seconds left but missed both. The man who gave the Spartans the lead, Durrell Summers, iced it by hitting two free throws in the closing seconds to give Michigan State the slim four point win.
As I said in the intro, this post is a bit hard to write. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. I think Gonzaga was the better team tonight. They looked worlds better than the #2 team in the nation for a good balance of the night but just didn't have enough veteran brass at the end to drive the final nail in the coffin. I'm not at all upset with this team. The young guys were absolutely sensational. Elias Harris will be a freshman All-American, G.J. Vilarino has garnered Mark Few's trust early on, and Kelly Olynyk might be the hardest worker on the floor. The veterans were in and out all game. Robert Sacre turned in the most outstanding performance of the returners with 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray were...okay. Like we said at the outset of the game, they had to play their best for Gonzaga to win and Michigan State's vets outplayed Gonzaga's.
If I was to look at these stats and not see a score, I would have told you Gonzaga would have gotten smoked. Check these out:
--- Gonzaga shot 35% from the floor, MSU shot 44%
--- Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray were 8-29 from the floor.
--- Frontcourt starters outscored the backcourt starters 34-28.
Yeah these stats are not what we thought coming into the game but damn...Gonzaga can play with the best in the nation and not play their best game. That is very, very good news for such a young team.
I must also give special recognition to some of the bench guys tonight. Will Foster played enormous off the bench. In 12 minutes, Will came into the game and not only was serviceable but looked like he belonged. He made some good rebounds, came up with some big tipped shots and was generally in the right place at the right time. I have confidence in him now that he can be a valuable big on this team. Speaking of valuable contributor, Kelly Olynyk played 19 minutes tonight, the most of any bench player and was very good. You are always going to get Kelly's best effort and he is a very heady player. He played the passing lanes very well, made some big rebounds, and shot 2-4 from the floor. His hustle leads to some fouls which was obvious tonight as he fouled out but he really gutted it out tonight. Lastly, G.J. Vilarino. Talk about looking like a vet. G.J. played 13 minutes all in key moments and ran the offense well. He hit one shot from the floor and had a nice steal. What won't show up is that he played great defense as he spelled Meech. No doubt he is a big time player!
I realize I jumped around quite a bit but I'm just extremely excited about the future of this team. The next game is against IPFW and I expect them to be very confident heading into that game. There may be a slight emotional letdown but I expect the Gonzaga community to really rally these kids as they were the better team for 37 minutes of the game.
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Postgame thoughts
Every Gonzaga fan knows why Coach Few was smiling ear to ear after the game: Gonzaga scared the hell out of the number two team in the country and two of its best players didn’t even play all that well. Bouldin will have better games, Gray’s shot will start falling, and the new guys will improve. Gonzaga came into the game with the backcourt as its strength, and by the end of the game, Steve Lavin was praising Gonzaga’s frontline as one of the best in all of college basketball. It’s an exciting time to be a Zag fan, indeed.
The thing that I loved most about this team in this game is the edge, the scrappiness, and the sheer effort and hustle. This is how Gonzaga became Gonzaga. The Gonzaga teams over the years have taken it to the best teams in the country, and it’s great to see that the tradition continues.
It’s also great to see the team playing well on the defensive end. One of my knocks on Few over the years has been his teams’ struggles on defense. And while there were some collapses during the game, I think this team will be a fine defensive team over the course of the year.
Here are my thoughts on some of the individual performances:
Robert Sacre – I would say I told you so, but, unfortunately, I didn’t. Nevertheless, I always expected good things from this guy and it’s great to see that he’s performing: a very efficient 17 pts. I expect him to be a big time contributor the rest of the season.
Elias Harris – There was a lot of hype around this guy. I bought the hype. The hype is legit. This guy is big time. He brings it on both ends. And what’s up with that range? Yes, he got rejected at the rim a couple of times, but I love the fact that he takes it to the hole hard rather than settling for layups and those soft "dunks" that his countryman is so fond of (you know who I’m talking about).
Matt Bouldin – For sure, he’s had better games. It’s crazy the way he would come out of nowhere with an awesome play to silence the crowd and then disappear again. But he does need to play better in the future, and I think he will.
Steven Gray – The catch with this guy the last couple of years has been his lack of aggressiveness. That was not the case tonight. His defense was excellent and, contrary to the stat sheet, he played well on offense – it was just a case of his shot not falling tonight. Coach Few has got to make sure he doesn’t let this game affect his aggressiveness in the future (I was glad he took those two threes at the end of the game, even though he missed). His shot will return, and if he keeps up the effort, he’ll be an excellent player for Gonzaga.
Demetri Goodson – His defense, especially in the first half, was great. He completely shut down Lucas in the first 10 mins. Obviously: His offense needs work. A lot of it.
Will Foster – Actually, I never thought that Foster was going to be bad as many of the folks on this board seemed to think. Even last year, I thought he did a decent job of buying minutes, but perhaps I was watching the wrong games. He’s not going to be a star, but he can be a good role player filling up the middle, especially when the other bigs get in foul trouble. And that’s exactly what he did this evening.
Kelly Olynyk – When he first went into the game, it was clear nerves were getting the best of him. But once he settled down, he played pretty well. The stats don’t really show it, but he was very active, and I think he’s got quite a bit of potential to get better.
G.J. Vilarino – I think he did a good job backing Goodson up. He played very well on defense, and while he didn’t show it this evening, if his offense is his strength, he could be better than Goodson very soon.
Mangisto Arop – For the minute or so that he played, he looked rattled. He did pull a sweet rebound down, though. I’m sure he’ll benefit quite a bit from more experience.
Few critical points
Clearly, this game could have easily swung the other way if it weren’t for a few specific instances. The most notable in my book were two poor calls by the refs in the second half. The first would have to be the goaltending call on Harris, and the second would have to be the blocking foul on Sacre that easily could have been a charge. Those two calls amounted to five points right there and severely changed the way the offense ran. Case in point is simply how passively Sacre played in the last few possessions, unwilling to foul out. I’m not saying that the refs screwed us in those two calls, as there were many bad calls that went both ways and evened out in my eyes. The most evident point were the two missed threes by Gray in the waning moments of the game. Gray was able to get as open a look as you could hope for at that time, and was unable to hit either. I don’t want to indict Gray for the loss, but Michigan St. choose to let him have the look, and he failed to make them pay for it (notice Bouldin was doubled throughout the last five minutes). Gray had some incredible defensive plays and was solid off the ball, but was just to inconsistent in scoring. I firmly believe that if he develops the confidence throughout the season to look for those shots late in the game, we’ll be capable of knocking off teams like Michigan St, and will prove to be a certain bracket buster.
Zagnificent - GU Class of 2011
Oh BTW
forgot two things: Refs were awful on both sides and Izzo deserved a T. No coach should get away with all that BS on the court. Great coach, but he’s smart enough to realize it was going both ways.
The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!
No such thing
as a mental/moral win, but this game certainly made a good argument.
+1
Much of the same feeling I had. It’s an acceptable loss that you deal with and move on from.
by coltinjespersen on Nov 17, 2009 10:09 PM PST up reply actions
Disappointed but Excited
After i have given myself some time to settle down and think about the game, i would agree with Zach and say that i am now even more excited with the potential that this team has this year. Obviously i am disappointed with the fact that we somehow squandered another chance at beating a great team, but the good news is that we pretty much dominated the #2 team in the nation for a good 35 minutes of the game. The frontcourt showed me a lot in this game and they now have my full confidence to step up big against virtually any opponent we see all year. That, i have to say is a very nice feeling considering it was my biggest question mark going into the year. Now, i am extremely excited to see if we can take this solid play to Maui and bring home a tournament win to begin the year.
like true zags
I thought the team came out and battled like true zags tonight. We have nothing to be ashamed of. The upside is large. The officiating IMO was fair, although there were some bad calls. We showed our youth at times with some fouls that I am sure by March these kids will know when and when not to foul. I am over all a pleased ZAG fan and alumni that believes at the end of the season this team could be great. What happens now doesn’t really matter as I would love to see us fly under the radar and for our youth to grow in playing these big games. This again was a bigger win in a ZAG loss than it was for a Spartan win. We punched them in the mouth like true ZAGS and these kids will only grow from here. I am truly excited. GO ZAGS!
Sure its a loss, but still very encouraged with what we saw.
We basically outplayed the 2nd ranked team in the country for 35 minutes. We looked to get a little nervous at the end but I was very impressed with the performance tonight in a tough environment, especially since it was my first chance to see the team this season.
Bouldin and Gray did struggle at times, I did like Stevie’s aggressiveness but the shots just weren’t falling for him tonight. I thought Bouldin’s best contributions were some great finds for assists throughout the game. He hit some big shots as well but then disappeared for a little. They’ll both be fine I think.
Big Rob really impressed me tonight. Its been so long since I’ve seen him play I forgot how much of a force he can be in the paint.
Meech was excellent on defense for the most part, he clearly struggled on offense hopefully he’ll improve throughout the year.
Harris certainly looks like he is going to live up to the hype. I started thinking of him as a stronger version of Austin the more I watched, a better rebounder and bangs harder. He looks like he’ll have a great inside-out game.
Olynyk was my favorite player tonight. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I came away happy. He reminds me a lot of Pendo, looks awkward and you don’t think he’ll be good but he created a lot with just sheer hustle and scored points when he had the opportunities.
GJ looks good, he’ll probably go through some growing pains as the year goes on but I’m excited to see him more, looked very composed and in control of the ball. Good compliment to Meech when he needs a rest, slow and in control vs Meech’s “controlled (almost) chaos” style.
I’m definitely really excited for Maui, if we see this team show up there I think we can take the tournament.
Probably the best way to lose.
We basically played better than MSU and I’m pretty sure if we weren’t in foul trouble we would have been able to keep up the defensive intensity as well. Some things of note from the comments above.
- As much as we’re saying that Bouldin/Gray will have better games, one thing to note that it probably also represented the better range of Big Rob and Will Foster’s abilities too. I think overall, we’ll shoot better most nights, and as the young’ns mature, we’ll be better overall too, but I don’t think this represented the low end of our team.
- I’m surprised we didn’t try trapping more this game. Towards the end with Meech and GJ on the court at the same time created massive in-bounding problems. I imagine if we had a Olynyk on the inbounder, Meech, Gray, GJ, and Harris on the others it’d be a real tough way to in bound balls against us.
- We didn’t post up Matt Bouldin at all it seemed like. I’m surprised we didn’t put him on the block with a lineup of Meech/GJ, Gray, Bouldin, Olynyk, Harris.
- I’d like to see us go small from time to time to see how that plays.
- Meech looked pretty lost in the half-court. He couldn’t generate any penetration against a team that we desperately needed someone to penetrate with. If Rob and Elias don’t have as good of a post game inside we really didn’t have a good way to consistently score.
- This is definitely the best defensive effort I’ve seen from the team. Aside from Bouldin getting burned quite a few times I can’t think of a player that performed average or below defensively. I’m curious if we can get Gray going to run out a defensively lineup of Meech, Gray, Arop, Harris, Sacre to see if opponents can even get shots off.
- I’d like to see some more screens on the off ball people to get Gray and Bouldin some better looks while they’re on the move. Perhaps they haven’t been able to get that advanced with all the freshman, but that would get our guys some looks without having to create it all themselves.
- Sacre’s offensive post position this game was stellar throughout. Completely unexpected from seeing him other games and if he can get make those kinds of post positions consistent, he can produce as well as any of our past guys.
Definitely agree with the general consensus that while this was a tough loss, it’s extremely encouraging and exciting.
It's Acceptable
I’ve spent a while thinking, replaying certain points and situations, letting my emotions come and go but when its all said and done the thing that really came to mind is this…
There is a going to be a winner and a loser. There is no such thing as a good loss because you lost. There are good wins, ugly wins, and ugly losses but never a good loss because well you lost. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, definitely can describe tonights game but I think the best way to describe the game is that it’s ACCEPTABLE. I can accept the fact that we lost tonight and I think we can all agree on that statement. That is my take on the outcome of the game and I really don’t plan on spending much more time thinking about it.
As for the game itself, this is what we have been waiting for. There is no denying that this team is different than years past. We’ve always had bits and pieces but for all of it to come together finally and this year of all years in amazing. Here was my reaction during the game… “To be completely honest just the fact that they are playing like this and knowing they CAN play like this is phenomenal. Regardless of what happens at least we know its there. I dont ever remember a Zags team like this. Scrappy hard working never taking a play off dominating the boards and just plain out working and out hustling the other team. I’m speechless. Keep up the intensity!!!” That pretty much just about sums up my thoughts even after the game. This team is a Gonzaga team that we have never seen before. Sure we’ve seen glimpses of it but to play the way this team did for 40 mins and look like they belonged on the floor with a much more experienced and a much more talented team was awesome. I’m sure that some of you watched the Memphis-Kansas game after and although I was still checking my blood pressure it hit me. No more getting bullied, no more getting out hustled and out worked, no more you’re Gonzaga the mid-major that could BS. Tonight we proved that we could play the way we never could. The physicality, the toughness, the bend but don’t break. If I’m not mistaken I remember being taken to school by Memphis year in and year out. People saying we couldn’t handle their style of play. This team can! Sure we aren’t the best team in the Nation but playing with this style of play that we have never possessed gives us a chance even when we don’t play our best basketball (much like tonight). We can go from game to game knowing that this team won’t back down to anyone. It’s this style of play that wins National Championships. Tonight proved to me that we can play with the best of the best and there are many good things to come!
(P.S. just my opinions, agree to disagree, we all watched the same game and will all take different things from it.)
by coltinjespersen on Nov 17, 2009 10:06 PM PST reply actions
‘playing the way you never could’? It’s not like this playing style is such a huge revelation – it’s just people have forgotten what it’s like to have a real post-presence after the past couple of years and the perimeter focus. Harris/Sacre are going to be fantastic, but there have been other fantastic frontcourts in the past and will be again. Other GU teams have definitely belonged on the court with some of the best teams in the nation, but this was also a great team and certainly looked good out there tonight.
I don't know
I don’t ever remember a Zags team like this one. Only been following them for 5 years or so and that might be why but I think we have something special coming together here. This is a team that won’t be intimidated or outworked. For me this team just has a different feeling around it this year. I said the same thing all year long about the Yankees and they won the World Series so hopefully I am right on the Zags too. It’s hard to explain but theres something different and I like it.
by coltinjespersen on Nov 18, 2009 9:59 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I For One Am Not Happy.
The more and more I think about it there is NO WAY we should have lost that game. But more importantly there’s this…
With 5 minutes left in the first half I turned to the kids I was watching with and explained EXACTLY how the game would play out. They all agreed. You know why? Because the same thing has happened in a dozen or so big Zag games over the past few years.
It’s so damn predictable and it crushes my hope. Mark Few just can’t rise to the occasion in big time games. All these big losses come from disjointed offense, an inability to guard the 3 pointer, and a refual to feed the hot hand. How on earth does Rob not get more touches when he’s lighting it up?
You can say all you want about experience and what not, but bottom line is we were the better team and lost. Sure the refs blew some calls hard, but that had to be expected.
I wish we had a top-tier game coach.
I agree somewhat
I can agree with what you are saying and thought about putting that in my recap but I decided to stay positive and not go that route. Those were my feelings last year after the UNC game but it’s not the right perspective to take on this team right now. Like the texts I sent my friend after the game tonight, “Typical gonzaga like always f’ing can’t win the big f’ing game, always f’ing blow it” and “I know I’ll be happy but I’m just so dissapointed and it’s just like a broken record every f’ing time. Man it’s so god damn frustrating. Welcome back gonzaga basketball I missed ur heartbreak.” and “F’ing stupid, such typical gonzaga, can never win the big game”. So as you can see I felt very much the same way you did but these are different circumstances. We need to let this season unfold and run its course before we judge this team. As hard as it is, try to stay positive and just always remember with the good come the bad and with the bad come the good.
by coltinjespersen on Nov 17, 2009 10:58 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, all those bigtime upsets and Sweet 16s… Few sure can’t coach in a big game. Too bad, too, because if he could we’d win 100% of the games and never lose to another team, even in a hostile road environment playing tons of freshmen without having had nearly enough practice for everyone to be on the same page in the offense (or D).
Does Few’s style of play have some weaknesses? Yes, the weak perimiter D is probably the most glaring. Have the Zags lost some big games? Sure. But how many have they won? For teams not named KU, UK, Duke, or UNC, what’s the winning % against the types of ‘big game’ teams you’re talking about? Probably not as good as the Zags have done over the years. If you take into account how many of those games are played on neutral (often only quasi-neutral) or hostile courts, it’s even more impressive.
With just about every other big-time mid-major coach moving on to greener BCS pastures over the years, it is completely rediculous when people want to trade in Few for a different coach. It’s a case of the grass is always greener – if GU ever lost Few, the team and school would regret it tremendously and very well might sink back into mid-major obscurity.
by Nevtelen on Nov 18, 2009 12:20 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Another quick point I wanted to add
“There’s no question the crowd won that game for us,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “If you were down there, you could hear it.”
My friend also made this comment to me at the end of the game but I was so heated at the time I didn’t care to pay too much attention to it…“Yea, I’d take the positives from this. If this was even a neutral court game, gonzaga pulls it off but either way they played great regardless.”
Like I said theres no such thing as a good loss because you lost but this loss is acceptable. (From my point of view)
by coltinjespersen on Nov 17, 2009 11:02 PM PST reply actions
Just finished watching the game again!
Here’s my take: I think your being to rough on Steven and Matt. If you watch the game again and stop and replay and so-on, you’ll see how out of postition on sets the Young Guys are! They run into each other, pull players into places they shouldn’t be, cause others to get fouls because of their positions and finally to me they need to be much more aware of what is going on in their sets. The good news is, their new and young. The bad news is we’ll see much more of the same during this learning curve. Meech was interesting again. 2 games and I already prefer GJ to lead and Meech to come off the bench. Yeah, it won’t happen but GJ is simply playing better. KO hustles……..but 9 fouls in 2 games 6 points and if you rewatch the games and are fair and honest with your evaluation, he’s out of position alot and has caused others to draw fouls because of his play on “D”. You might say the hustle outweighs the faults. I’m not sure of that. Robert took some for him and so did Elias. Now, if they have to go to the bench because of that, thats where I say he’s more trouble than good on the floor. I’m sure he will learn, but when and at what costs. On “O”, he along with Elias and GJ just plain don’t know the plays well enough and sometimes cause TO’s because of their position on the floor and what they do during a set play.
Matt and Steven played OK, not good but OK. Coach Few and staff missed some opportunities for som set calls of the bench for the Vets but overall did OK too! Thats what I honestly see. NOW, I’m just wired about how good these kids are going to be. I can’t remember about this excited in years about the Zags. SO, despite my critique, I love this group of kids and I think we’re all in for a special year!!!!!!!!! Great game Zags.
By the way folks, lots of comments on not winning the big games. Just remember who they are right now and where they will be. 9 new players? Lose 4 starters off your team? Just give it some time and then blast’m if they don’t get better but until then just critique their play. As always, JMO
I haven’t brought myself to watch it again yet, but good points and I definitely noticed some of that the first time through (when I could concentrate and wasn’t yelling at the tv :) ). Great points all. I’m hoping that when the offense starts to click (please by mid-December at the latest?) then the fouls will drop off some and there will be more/better shots by Matt and Steven (and maybe some actual drives for Meech?) because the spacing will be better.
Good Points Mike!
No need to add to that! As much as people are ripping Steven and Matt, they were both aggressive, forced some action, the shots just weren’t falling! And yes, from a coaches perspective guys were out of position all night long! Some of that can be contributed to Michigan States defense, the rest is the fact that it is the 2nd game of the season. Unlike teams of the past that seemed to peak early, this team is built to peak late with all the new faces! You’ve got to love the upside, I just don’t want to hear all the zag fans stating the future is bright next year and so on, the future is now! And like I have stated in earlier blogs, I expect this team to win a lot of games! Elias Harris is one of the best Freshman in the country!
glen mccloud
Great Observations
I haven’t replayed the game yet, but I think I will after this. What opened my eyes and gave me a pleasant surprise at the very start of the game was the team’s overall poise and patience. They played deliberately and forcefully making first contact and drawing first blood. It stunned MSU. The next thing that impressed me was the play of our bigs. If our inside game improves over this one, then look out Omar Samhan!
Across the board from what I’ve read, the nation came away impressed with Gonzaga. Me too.
Tom117
zags record vs. pac-10 teams
oh holy rollers at the slipper still fits,
this is completely off subject but could you find the record Gonzaga holds all time (or last ten years) versus Pac-10 opponents.
I just read the story concerning the game on the Seattle Times website and the UW fans are out in force knocking GU. I am pretty confident that the Zags record vs. pac-10 opponents is more than respectable and would like a little ammo when it comes to squashing their ridiculous comments.
if you have it, please post it or tell me where to find it.
Hate to say it, but that was an Awesome loss! GU has a promising season/future ahead of them, and no one should hang their heads after the loss.
Stephen Gray needs to think a little more however, and not force the action so much. There was a period in the first half where he was handing Michigan State possessions!
tough question
It took me some time to figure out but had the same question a few weeks back:
Gonzaga is 18 – 10 against the PAC 10 since 1999
They also have 28 ranked wins since 1999 – average of 2.8 per season
by giantkillerzags on Nov 19, 2009 11:32 AM PST up reply actions
Poling vs. Olynyk
I watched the game tonight and was disappointed that our foul trouble on the interior ended up costing us. Just when Sacre was getting hot, he had to go to the bench because of fouls, and the same for Elias. The thing I noticed was how Kelly Olynyk struggled against the larger Michigan State posts. Now Kelly might have more natural skill in the post, I don’t know I haven’t seen him play enough. But he was clearly overmatched defensively. And to piggyback on mikesequim’s point, its not just the fouls that Kelly commits but the fouls that our other bigs pick up having to help out. His offense doesn’t really make up for this, as he looks incredibly awkward whenever he touches the ball.
Now from what I have seen, Andy Poling looks much stronger than Olynyk and may have been better suited guarding MSU’s big men. I have been anxious to see Poling get some burn, because he has the size and strength to help out on bigger forwards/smaller centers. What do you think Few’s logic was opting for Olynyk instead of Poling?
Overall it was a phenomenal game that Gonzaga can build on. Elias and Rob were better than I could have ever imagined, and if they can give us a serious frontcourt threat it would make things that much easier for Bouldin and Gray later on. I would have liked to see some more set pieces off of dead ball situations (like those great backdoor cuts that we used to create for Pendo), more Bouldin in the post, and maybe some pressing during those MSU runs. I know they have a quick back court, but it can’t be quicker than Meech/GJ, and you can give Bouldin a quick breather while you press all-out for a couple minutes. It would have been interesting to throw a few curveballs like that. It is disappointing to come away with a loss, but all things considered Gonzaga was a winner tonight.
On Poling
It is kind of weird that even after his RS year, Poling has barely seen the floor. You’d think he’d at least get back-up minutes by now, especially if he knows the offense from practice last year, but who knows what happens behind closed doors in practices, I guess…
So, I know that this type of thing always comes off as patronizing, because my team won . . .
But it’s hard to not be enormously impressed by your team. Very, very few non-Big Ten teams come into the Breslin Center and play with such poise. Every time we went on a spurt, it seemed like Gonzaga had an answer. Even if your team wasn’t playing its best game, they were awfully good.
By the end of the season, this game will surely end up being quite worthwhile for both teams—both from an experience perspective, and for RPI purposes. Good luck the rest of the way; see you guys in the Tournament.
"Do not cheat your team or your teammates. Know your plays. Block. Protect. Add to what we are trying to do."
The Only Colors
by LVS on Nov 18, 2009 5:15 AM PST reply actions 3 recs
thoughts on game
I agree mikesequim. Gj should start, and have meech come off the bench, or at least have them play equal time. Also, I know Kelly racking up so many fouls is bad, and kind of cost us during this game, but I am in love with his game. He’s a 6’11 post player, who can play outside, similar to Daye. But, unlike Daye, Olynyk is diving, playing tough D, deflecting passes and getting on the floor. He is just what we need, and Few is making a great decision bring him off the bench so quickly. On the other hand, I think Harris and Sacre need to play more. I know they were in foul trouble, but whenever Sacre was on the floor we went on a run. He can score, rebound and defend with anyone in the nation. I think Few should have played him more in the first half to push the lead, even if it meant putting him in dangerous foul trouble.
meech is better defensively!
Plain and simple why he is starting.
glen mccloud
by montanazag on Nov 18, 2009 8:34 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
New to the Slipper still fits!
Hi every one. New member here. Been a zags fan since I was a kid, Grew up in Boston. I have absolutely no connections in Washington or anything Gonzaga related except for the fact I have loved them and always rooted for them since I was young. Huge fan of the program. My favorite athletic team period. I was very happy with what I saw last night. Although disappointed with a Loss, we proved to the nation, once again….that we aren’t going anywhere. for a LONG LONG time. I thought the skill set displayed was phenomenal and I can’t wait for the rest of the season. We have a lot to look forward to.
by Gone Zag'n on Nov 18, 2009 12:46 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
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