Rollin' on E: Why this is the best Zags team ever.

Since our 1999 run to the Elite Eight, the college basketball world has unanimously viewed that team as the best in Gonzaga history.  While many Zag fans will try and argue other teams (2000, 2001, 2006, 2009) are the best we have had, I am going to clear up that this 2009-2010 group is indeed the best to play here, by far.  

One Elite Eight finish, followed by four more Sweet Sixteen appearances in ten years.  Phenomenal.  This program has taken some heat for running into that Sweet Sixteen "wall", but in reality, five trips to the round of 16 in eleven years is an accomplishment for any program.  Haters from bigger schools try to paint Gonzaga's lack of a Final Four trip as a testament to their mid-major status and absence of real talent and competition.  It's good that us Gonzaga fans don't care in the least about what other programs' supporters think about our team because we know it's pure jealousy, but, isn't it required that a "powerhouse" should have a National Title, or at least a recent Regional Final appearance?  

There are many reasons that we have fallen flat on our face compared to expectations in the past decade.  Obviously, it is very hard to improve when we are essentially playing Washington 4A high school teams in the WCC, but it goes a little deeper than that.  Each previous Zag team over this 12-year joyride has had a distinct offensive identity, whether it be a style of offense or an individual player.  We made the 1999 run out of surprise, that was lucky no matter how you view it.  Teams that should lose in the first round can make it to the Sweet Sixteen by shooting lights out and surprising teams with certain wrinkles in the offense like we did, but what if Minnesota had seen us play 15 times already?

We haven't had top line talent, so the thing that is benefitting our program most may also be why we have this Sweet Sixteen "curse."  The ESPN contract.  Seeing as we aren't overwhelming physically, we need to have a crisp offensive plan and execution to knock off bigger teams.  I think teams are figuring us out through seeing us play so many games on national TV.  They get to see how we perform in every situation from close games on the road in conference to marquee games where we are the underdog.  It is a very unique situation, and I think we have always been aware of the risk of overexposing our gameplans and styles because the reward for this is that you should eventually get players through the ESPN contract that can overcome the gap.  But we never got him, until now.

Elias Harris is the reason why this is the best team Gonzaga has ever had.  We started out with heady, gutsy, tough players who didn't have complete skill sets or great talent and athleticism.  Then we take the opposite end of the spectrum, last year.  We had nothing but talent, but the toughness aspect had disappeared and the team expected their recruiting rankings to carry them.  While they made the round of 16, they fell well short of the preseason Final Four hopes.  

Finally, in 2010, we have the guy that can change this team's mentality and break down the wall.  We have had pure hustle guys and great scorers, but never in the same guy.  This team has an energy I have never seen from Gonzaga.  We have a great half court point guard in Bouldin, an all-around scorer in Steven Gray, a formidable center in Sacre, and the 'answer': Elias.  We have had teams with great guard play.  We have had teams with a great post.  This year is the one that we actually have both, with some depth inside.  In the early years, an off day for the backcourt was going to result in a loss, period.  The last 3 years, all you had to do to beat us was force us to play in the half-court.  Now we have it all.  A team that can run and shoot, and at last we have the inside play to grind out games when jump shots won't fall.  

Elias is not perfect, although he seems like it sometimes.  Without him, we would have another WCC championship and an early exit in March.  He is that guy that bigger schools have that can single-handedly take down a lesser team, and he takes an unbelievable amount of pressure off of Sacre and the guards.  

Even though this team could fall in the Sweet Sixteen, it is easily the most dangerous team GU has produced due to the combination of talent and chemistry they have displayed, not to mention they are the first GU team in a long time to actually improve through conference play.

....thoughts?