he proved his worthiness to Coach Few and his teammates. I accept he did not need to prove anything to us as fans, though he did. I called for Mr. Foster to start in his place, the twin towers, hopefully we will see it at home. Dissapointed he didn’t get any minutes again. All this talent and mostly freshman with a few sophmores and a dash of seniors with a junior or two, I posted it early in the season, Mr. Few must be a top five contender for coach of the year! With a tenth consecutive title to tie Kentucky & UNLV (only behind Mr. Wooden’ UCLA Bruins w/ 13) having only Mr. Bouldin & Mr. Gray with multiple game time experience should be a lock.
Also I see Gonzaga creeping up the polls into the top ten (each week, a spot or two) as they run through the conference, barring an upset. It seems the team recognizes the importance of this season to the program and they are determined to win each game.
We have 3 go-to players > Mr. Harris, Mr. Gray, & Mr. Boldin with great teammates that produce on any given night (sometimes a day game even) whether its Mr. Sacre, Mr. Olynyk, Mr. Kong, Mr. Arop, and yes just as tonight to quiet us fans who demand perfection even or should I say especially Mr. Goodson who proved he is still more valuable to the team than a one time game-winning shot wonder to send Gonzaga to the sweet sixteen.

Ladies and Gentleman- Let’s start talking about an NCAA Championship. Our gripes, our criticism, our enthusiasm can have at its core what the team needs to do to go all the way. A lot of this conversation is just blather if we don’t take this approach. Of course, for the Zags to reach their fullest potential, Dimitri Goodson HAS to be the point guard. Let’s be patient. Unfortunately young kids often need to make mistakes to learn. He is a walking, talking genetic mutation. He’s the fastest player in the NCAA with a ridiculous vertical. Matt Bouldin is our best all-round player and steady at the 1, but his best position is 3. From the 3, Bouldin can help the Zags reach their fullest potential. He can post up, he can look for big shots from the wing, he can penetrate from the wing, and most importantly he can act as a “point forward”. (Anyone remember Larry Bird, arguably the greatest PASSER that ever lived.) We are the best we can be with Steven Gray at the 2. Let’s watch him become more consistent and stop asking Mark Few to bench him. Let’s watch Robert Sacre grow as a center. Consider how well he has already done with such limited experience. Maybe we should root for Will Foster contributing more but frankly I think Mark Few is a genius to have gotten this much out of him. How many of us have ever played with a real big man or coached a real big man. They are different breeds, different species. They spend their childhoods as somewhat outcasts. They generally are not good in sports overall and are ridiculed for being unusual, gawky, and clumsy. Suddenly, when they arrive at high school, they are courted by coaches to play basketball. Do they even like basketball? Now, consider Will Foster. Is this him, or is he a caged lion ready to take the NCAA by storm.
I’m not sure what rnplijusn was blogging. What’s with all the Mr. stuff. It was hard to even comprehend. Heck with the polls. We’ve done all we can re: the polls. I don’t even think we should rise in the polls. Should a hometown team of mine, Georgetown fall below Gonzaga, after 5 or 6 Big East losses? We had our chance to rise and we did pretty well! One more thing: the success of this team is for the players and coaches on this team, not for the program. The program will live on because of the integrity of those participating. Let’s watch and share in it with them!

Because we are pathetically bad at them, and it could cause major problems in the NCAA tourney.

Watching the game last night against San Diego was a pleasant and impressive surprise. Everyone is finding their roles on the team and they are looking like a force that many of us predicted they would be after the first couple of games at the beginning of the season. Although Matt had a subpar game, there was plenty of support from everyone else. I loved the consistency of Elias Harris. The man is a machine isn’t he! But it’s not just the scoring that impresses me, it’s his rebounding! He is just relentless to the ball and has such great hands securing the ball. I loved what Rob did last night. He controlled the paint and made some huge blocks in the key. I thought he also looked the most comfortable of the Zags on the freethrow line and, next to Matt, I like seeing him at the line when the game is in doubt. What can you say about Steven…..is this guy good or what! His new nickname should be “Silk,” because he’s smooth as silk and does things so effortlessly on the court. I thought Meech played a complete game last night. He was driving people crazy with his defensive pressure and picked his spots to shoot. I thought he never took a bad shot all night! As for the bench play, I love having Bol, Kelly, and Manny coming off the bench. Any of these players would start in a lot of programs and I see them as major contributors this season and starters in the years to come. My favorite player is still Kelly ….he has such great energy on the court and, as he matures in his game, seems to always be doing the right things at the right time. Great game and congratulations to the Zags and all their fans! We have quite a neat team to cheer for the rest of the season!

BTW….I sincerely believe we will bein the top-10 in all polls by the end of the season and get an excellent seed in the NCAA tournament. In fact, I’d be willing to put some money on that! Any takers?

However, I think a 5 or better is vital. Playing the first two rounds in Spokane would be a huge step towards a sweet 16 appearence.

Missed both games. Read the reviews! Sounds like Meech and Steven had great games at USD. Back home and will watch the game on FSN tonight. Saw Kyle D last night. Makes 3 times. The kid is a dandy. All of GU Fans will be happy with him. Pendo tough, Matt smart, Dan D. charisma and Blake like! Best news is if my health stays good, I get another year of watching him live. It’s worth the trip!

Happy BD Matt Bouldin! Zags will be 12 tomorrow