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Gonzaga defeats Saint Mary's in overtime thriller

A month after hitting a miracle shot to knock off the Zags in Spokane, Mickey McConnell had the chance to do it again.  This time the shot was no miracle.  It was virtually an uncontested layup and by some beautiful and pure irony, it missed.  His miss, along with some clutch free throws by Gonzaga, sealed the deal as Gonzaga leaves Moraga with an enormous road win. 

Gonzaga's 89-85 win this evening is huge for the obvious reasons.  It not only means they are in the drivers' seat for at least a shared WCC title with only a road game at USD remaining but it also affirms what many of us hoped: this team is finally coming into its own and peaking at the right time.  Five players were in double figures this evening but it was clear that Mark Few was determined to establish dominance inside and go from there.  Forty points were scored in the first half.  34 of those points came from members of Gonzaga's frontcourt.  In the first stanza, the Zags were bolstered by some Elias Harris bounce we hadn't seen in quite some time as he buried a few jumpers and had a monster slam.  The real star of the show early and often was the redshirt freshman from Osseo High School in Minnesota.

Sam Dower began getting consistent minutes in late January and has just exploded since then.  From what we've seen so far from Dower, I feel confident in saying that Gonzaga has never had a player of his age come in and display such exceptional touch around the hoop.  JP Batista developed touch as a senior and became one of the best back to the basket bigs in GU history but Sam has it in a very raw form.  His 7-8 effort from the field was remarkable.  He hit contested shot after contested shot and really kept the game close in the first half when Saint Mary's was playing like the better team.  Dower's first half was enormous but he, like the rest of the team, made some plays down the stretch that were the difference tonight.

more after the jump!

Star-divide

The second half of the game was a perfect microcosm of the season.  There were moments of sheer excellence.  Gonzaga jumped out to a couple 7-10 point leads.  Then, there were moments of torment as Saint Mary's consistently battled back while Gonzaga seemingly was doing what it could to make it close. 

Just as the frontcourt stepped up in the first half, the backcourt stole the show in the second.  I have to start with Marquise Carter and Demetri Goodson.  Aside from letting McConnell slide past him on the late drive (a big error), I thought Meech did an admirable job defending the All-WCC guard.  He backed that play up, finally, with a solid offensive game.  Meech was 5-7 from the floor and attached the glass and even hit a couple of jumpers, including a three.  You could tell he was confident.  Before he hit that three, he was clapping for the swing pass whereas we are usually used to him being an innocent bystander on the perimeter.

Like Sam Dower, it is really hard to imagine these kinds of games coming from Marquise Carter when I watched this team in December.  Both Dower and Carter were absolute nonfactors and I would have to say that their ascension off the bench has been a season definer.  Marquise was noticeably absent in the first half.  He didn't get many looks and was pedestrian.  When the second half begun, Marquise began to open things up.   He hit a couple threes early in the second half to help give Gonzaga their biggest leads and his confidence spilled over.  He hit a running jumper midway through the half and then hit one of the biggest shots of the game as he drained a three with a little over a minute left to tie the game at 76.  Those would be the last points scored of regulation.

The overtime period had a similar start as the second half.  Gonzaga got out to a decent lead only to see Saint Mary's crawl back in.  After Steven Gray's fifth and final foul, Matthew Dellavedova hit a couple free throws to bring the lead down to one point.  After an inexplicable Elias Harris turnover, Mike Hart fouled Dellavedova and he went on to hit both free throws.  Then, it became the clutch free throw show.  Mickey McConnell was whistled for a foul on Sam Dower and he nailed them both.  After those free throws, the beautiful irony of Mickey McConnell missing a bunny layup happened.  Robert Sacre and Sam Dower proceeded to hit four more free throws and just like that it was game over.

It was simply a great game and a great win.  So many good things happened whether it was Sam & Marquise continuing to play at an extremely high level or just seeing those glimpses of how good Elias Harris can be.  Put this team in a similar position in December or even January, and I think we are sitting around talking about a loss.  Boy, does it feel good to get that win.

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Dower made it look so easy in the first half

I loved how nonchalant he was when he sank shot after shot. He is showing the brilliant efficiency and quick release that he displayed in the exhibition games. He will be special.

by ZagsFanatic on Feb 25, 2011 12:01 AM PST reply actions  

Props to assistant coach Donny Daniels!!~

He came in last year from UCLA with the reputation of being an excellent mentor of BIGS. Dower redshirted last year because he himself said he could not hang with Sacre. Well, he can sure as hell hang now! And we get {hopefully} three more years to enjoy this?! WOW.

Nice job Daniels!!~

Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~

by gaz-tastic on Feb 25, 2011 4:14 PM PST up reply actions  

YES.

Welcome to the Sound Pound...

by SoundPound on Feb 25, 2011 12:02 AM PST reply actions  

Great write up, Zach

…and a great game. I’m so happy to see a win in Moraga after they stole one in Spokane

by BKZ on Feb 25, 2011 12:14 AM PST reply actions  

#9

harris’ slam dunk made #9 on espn’s pods tonight.

by rnpljnsn on Feb 25, 2011 12:16 AM PST reply actions  

over the past couple weeks

we are finding out really how deep this gonzaga team is. dower is a stud and a great shooter for a big man. we just need to get control of the turnovers and lazy boards we give up.

great resilience going on the road and beating a tough team in a tough environment.

by tho0505 on Feb 25, 2011 12:16 AM PST reply actions  

Two things.

Man, can we just focus and quit with the unforced errors. There were five inexplicable turnovers in the second half. If they had kept those possesions we would have won this going away.

The coolest thing I saw out there tonight was the class of our players. You could see that crowd prepping to storm the floor. When the guys won it at the end they didn’t have a party at center court, they went over and shook hands with the Gaels.

Nice to see a tem act like they’ve won a big game before.

by DaveValleDrinkNight on Feb 25, 2011 12:17 AM PST reply actions   1 recs

im watching a replay on espn 3 right now. gonzaga is all about class.

by tho0505 on Feb 25, 2011 12:20 AM PST up reply actions  

Hmmm...

I just checked the boxscore and we actually won the rebound contest by 6. Is anyone else shocked that we weren’t destroyed in this category?

by zeeehjee on Feb 25, 2011 12:41 AM PST up reply actions  

must be a typo...

I would have bet the farm that they out rebounded us.

It sure felt like they had a lot of second chance buckets. Perhaps it’s because we expect more, lol.

Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~

by gaz-tastic on Feb 25, 2011 4:21 PM PST up reply actions  

in the off-season

I think Harris needs to lose about 10-15 pounds as he needs to be quicker to dominate at SF.

Bulldogs can go far with Sacre-4, Harris-3, Dower-5 playing 30+ minutes each.

by rnpljnsn on Feb 25, 2011 12:23 AM PST reply actions  

he hasnt been the same since his injury earlier in the year. if he wants a chance in the NBA, he needs to be 220+, he needs the pounds else he’ll just get pushed around by players like Carmelo and Co

by tho0505 on Feb 25, 2011 12:27 AM PST up reply actions  

Rec'd

Because we beat St. Mary’s

by i_am_a_ZAG on Feb 25, 2011 12:33 AM PST reply actions  

Dower had 21 points in 22 minutes

In honor of his game, I made him my avatar pic

by BKZ on Feb 25, 2011 1:12 AM PST reply actions   1 recs

Can't wait

to watch him over the next 3 seasons (if he stays that long). He could really cement himself in the Gonzaga record books

by zaggrad99 on Feb 25, 2011 7:55 AM PST up reply actions  

Dower Power in HS

I grew up just a few miles from Osseo. Dower was a stud in HS. Speaks volumes the Zags landed him over UofM (and Tubby). If the last few games are any indication, he’s going to be a beast. We’ll be luck if he sticks around for two more years.

by mburfeind on Feb 25, 2011 4:08 PM PST up reply actions  

I just watched it 10 times....

…Harris’s monster jam. And I need to change my pants.

by GregBAMFer on Feb 25, 2011 2:25 AM PST reply actions  

The morning after...

wooooohoooo!!!

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 6:45 AM PST reply actions  

feels great doesn't it

My days are always a little brighter when the zags win. Especially against the Gaels!

by montanazag on Feb 25, 2011 7:37 AM PST up reply actions  

a win....

and the fact that we might have secured an NCAA bid with that win! The Vegas tourney is going to be interesting, that’s for sure

by zaggrad99 on Feb 25, 2011 7:57 AM PST up reply actions  

I know

There have been recent comments about Gray forcing shots at times…. But he didn’t impact this game much. I was worried. Nice to see the remainder of the team step up, but WHERE WAS STEVEN?

by GU.AmericasTeam on Feb 25, 2011 7:36 AM PST reply actions  

Gray didn't impact this game much????????

He lead the team in assists, rebounds, and steals!
His knee is clearly bothering him which is affecting his offense, but I don’t think there was a player on the floor last night that wanted that victory more!

by montanazag on Feb 25, 2011 7:44 AM PST up reply actions   1 recs

He did have those big steals

he didn’t take put up a shot until late late in the first half. I do think there were other players on the court that wanted this game as much. In fact, Steven was pretty lucky not to cost us more on that mix up with Delladova.

by GU.AmericasTeam on Feb 25, 2011 7:52 AM PST up reply actions  

I agree

Scoring is nice but he did all of the things that helped us win. The first half you could tell that our game plan was get it inside and pound them hard. Every play was aimed at getting a pass to the low post and go to the basket.
GREAT TEAM win and super effort by Steven at the passing, defensive and rebounding parts of the game. Remember without the steals and the layins, we would not have been in the OT.

by zag67 on Feb 25, 2011 9:21 AM PST up reply actions  

It doesn't matter, does it?

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by larevblog on Feb 25, 2011 7:45 AM PST up reply actions  

It doesn't matter, does it?

Steve’s not the player/leader/superman everyone wants him to be. Time to lay off him. Especially because the team won.

http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/

by larevblog on Feb 25, 2011 10:45 AM PST up reply actions  

Nice to see the other players

Step up on and impact the game on the offensive side. Very Nice to see Dower take the game over for a stint in the first half.

by GU.AmericasTeam on Feb 25, 2011 7:53 AM PST up reply actions  

He simply wasn't part of the offensive gameplan

especially in the first half. It was all interior play early and Steven simply was a facilitator.

He had a very similar game to what we saw from Matt Bouldin last year. If the offense wasn’t coming his way, he did other things. He assisted, he boarded (with reckless abandon, mind you), and he got a couple steals.

As a slight sidebar, I have a really hard time with peple questioning Steven’s motives as a basketball player. He must have hit the deck four times and he played balls out last night. Sure, he does other things outside of basketball but when he’s on the court, I really don’t doubt that he is killing it for his team. He’s developed a persona and reputation that people think he’s being lazy when he’s not producing but I just don’t buy that….at all.

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 9:26 AM PST up reply actions   1 recs

To clarify, I wasn't questioning Steven's motives on the court

Not one bit. A reply to my comment stated that no one wanted this win more than Steven, which I disagree with.

Last night he displayed (yet again) his willingness to mix it up with the opponent at any cost to his body. I agree the game plan last night was to feed the paint. It was known long before the game even started. My concern was that he is our leading scorer and lone Sr on this team. He appeared (to my non professional and untrained eye) to be defering on offense the entire first half. That’s a concern to me even with the game plan being to pound the ball inside. Our leading scorer goes without quantifiable scoring opportunities through a majority of the first half.

By no means was I intending to call out Steven although I admit it could be read that way. I was attempting to express my concern that he seemed to be a non factor in the offensive part of the game plan. Be that Steven’s doing or the coaching staff, I definitely do not know… but I was concerned to see him go so long without anything on the offensive side of the ball.

STOKED about the win, GO ZAGS!

by GU.AmericasTeam on Feb 25, 2011 9:43 AM PST up reply actions  

Not directed at you

Just a general thought wrapped up into my initial reply about the gameplan. Sorry, sometimes I get on my soapbox and have to preach!

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 9:50 AM PST up reply actions  

Great game by Steven

Overall I was very impressed by Steven. He didn’t try to force the offense through him. He stuck to the game plan and fed the post. He also came up with some big steals and rebounds when the team needed them.

He saw what the team needed to win and put 100% effort into doing that rather than going for the glory. You can’t ask for more than that from a senior leader.

by Dizzo on Feb 25, 2011 10:30 AM PST up reply actions  

Another way to state my concern

Is that I see a big difference in forcing offense and finding offense within the flow of the game plan.

by GU.AmericasTeam on Feb 25, 2011 10:42 AM PST up reply actions  

Agree on the basics...disagree on what it means for Gray's leadership

Unlike other times he didn’t try to force the offense. He worked within the game plan and found other ways to contribute. We like to make stars out of our players and sometimes that’s a determinant to both the team and the player.

I like Grey much more now that he’s shown the willingness to do what the team needs. I feel much more confident that he’ll work in other ways to get the team the win even if he’s having an off-night offensively or he’s not a key part of the game plan for the evening. He’s going to rely on his teammates to make the buckets and execute the plan. It’s that kind of trust and leadership that a lot of the great Zags have shown and made the Zags a better team.

It’s one of the reasons I often can’t stand NBA games. Stars are often unwilling to do what the team needs rather than what they need to bolster their own reps and stat sheets. They’ll get their 30 points a game on horrible shooting % and flush the team’s chance at victory so they can make a Sportscenter highlight reel. I’ll take a well-rounded guy like Grey who does what the team needs rather than an ego driven NBA star any day of the week (and twice on Sunday).

by Dizzo on Feb 25, 2011 11:52 AM PST up reply actions  

I think your NBA point is off, but what you mentioned is exactly the thing I've always liked about Gray

He’s the most well-rounded player Gonzaga’s ever had but that all gets lost behind talk of his “leadership.” I’d call what he did last night playing within himself more than leadership. That’s just me, though.

http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/

by larevblog on Feb 25, 2011 12:58 PM PST up reply actions  

Then Let's Not Talk About "Leadership" Anymore

Steven does some things really well and other things not so well. Any talk of leadership in relation to those abilities is vague at best, largely because the term has become debased by overuse and the generalizations attached to it.

Instead of railing on Steven, it might be more constructive to talk about what we need to do to solve our lack of a end-of-game offensive presence: http://wp.me/p1eeY7-6A

Zagacious

by zagacious on Feb 25, 2011 1:28 PM PST up reply actions  

If we stopped talking about leadership, I'd die a happy man

And then the world would explode.

http://twitter.com/larevblog
http://larevblog.wordpress.com/

by larevblog on Feb 25, 2011 1:38 PM PST up reply actions  

Not talking about leadership works for me

Totally overused term that oft-times has little meaning. I personally think shifting more of the offensive focus to our post players is the right strategy especially for SMU. The only thing that’s consistent about Grey is his inconsistency.

When he’s hot he’s hard to stop defensively. When he’s not…his shots eat up a lot of possession that would be better served trying to get high percentage shots for a big men around the rim. As he showed last night…he can still be a vital force on defense and on the boards even when he’s not involved in the offense.

By the way…I love your blog Zagacious. Great analysis there.

by Dizzo on Feb 25, 2011 2:51 PM PST up reply actions  

By the way...

I am “Don”, who left a comment on your superb article; Gaels Forced

Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~

by gaz-tastic on Feb 25, 2011 4:40 PM PST up reply actions  

Sam Perkins from the old Sonics looked

stoned 1/2 the time and disinterested…but he was the shit! It was just his style, and Steven has his. Laid back but effective. He leads the Zags in multiple statistical catagories. Kind of like Bouldin did last year and we all know how losing him hurt us.

Steven Gray is beat up…He gets thrown around more than a Barbie Doll in a daycare center!

Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~

by gaz-tastic on Feb 25, 2011 4:29 PM PST up reply actions  

Great win

Can’t believe how many times we almost gave that game away due to our lack of perimeter defense and lack of offensive execution. Does Few’s smart call to foul while up 3 make up for the horrible plays he “drew up” all game and his continued inability to design a defense to guard the perimeter or limit opponents’ offensive rebounds?

I will take any win over any loss though. Go Zags.

by BW2020 on Feb 25, 2011 8:23 AM PST reply actions  

Hmm...

I definitely see the merit of this point but what I loved about last night is that out of halftime and at the start of overtime, Gonzaga was the better team. That is something we have RARELY seen recently. I can’t complain that this team wasn’t prepared whatsoever and, to be honest, defensively a lot of the crap that happened was a result of A) Stockton not being able to keep up with Steindl early on the perimeter (which, I will admit I don’t think Stockton deserved his time last night) and B) Elias simply can’t guard a player like Rob Jones and it showed last night. Those were two of the big breakdowns of the night. One could have been prevented by rolling with Meech and the other is simply that Elias is just not a god defender.

Also, it was clear the guys bought into the gameplan last night. Every posession went through the post and virtually every one ended there in some fashion. The second half was more balanced but I loved that the first half consisted of sheer power of the frontcourt. It was a pleasure to watch all of them, specifically Sam and Elias operate in the first half.

I see the merits of your point and I’ve been a big Few criticizer (particularly in late game/half situations) but when I step back, I think the preperation for this one was pretty damn spot on.

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 9:19 AM PST up reply actions  

Defense against the 3s

Most of those 3s were contested, but I will agree that a few of them were left open in trying to help the middle. Also remember that 2 of Steindl’s 3s were with less than a second with someone in his face. I do not call that bad defense, I call that great shot.

by zag67 on Feb 25, 2011 9:26 AM PST up reply actions  

You're right

it may not have been Steindl because you are right that he hit at least one where it was simply a prayer.

Also, SMC did a hell of a job running players off screens to get them open from deep. My main point was not as much to disparage little Stock, but more of wondering why Meech wasn’t playing more on what may have been his best game since Davidson last year or USF this year.

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 9:30 AM PST up reply actions  

I generally like coach Few, don't think any one here who reads my post doubts that

so I probably look for the good…
     Loved his moves, whether it be calls out of timeouts, having faith in Quise and Dower, and setting the tone for beginning of 2nd half.
     Hey, it takes patience and discipline in todays trend of dribble drive, uptempo styles, to realize OUR strength is in the FRONTCOURT. I think Few deserves credit for sticking to his guns. We are becoming a competent, inside out squad, finally, and the perimeter players are getting better at complementing that style.
     Love Few’s scheduling, be it tournaments, home and aways, what have u…How is that Marquette win workin’ out? No tangible stat to measure improvement from playing, and sometimes getting whupped by best teams across country, but I believe we are seeing dividends lately.

by mattzag72 on Feb 25, 2011 10:59 AM PST via mobile up reply actions  

whether iron man preconf sched. was a good move

my mobile poster is a dinosaur, and doesn’t show everything i have posted,, this could be the weekend I invest in a stinkin I Pad

by mattzag72 on Feb 25, 2011 11:09 AM PST via mobile up reply actions  

Good preparation for SMC

But it’s not a coincidence teams seem to have outstanding 3pt shooting nights against the Zags. I can accept Steindl’s clutch shots, but numerous wide open 3’s are another thing. While we have a couple weak defenders, we don’t have an effective help defense, which often leads to a lot of open buckets (both 2pt and 3pt), And1s, or getting bailed out by the BS charging calls where our defender is completely under the basket.

I was very pleased Few spent the first half running the offense through the pose, it was obviously really effective. Very frustrated in the 2nd half when we went away from what was working. One particular and critical point was when we had Meech, Carter, and Stocks in, but Harris was running the offense at the top of the key. Result=TO. Plus, Jones had 4 fouls at the time, why not put it in the paint?

I don’t think we were unprepared necessarily, but I think the team has enough talent to beat a team like SMC by double digits on a consistent basis. But again, I’ll take the win, and I’m happy about it.

by BW2020 on Feb 25, 2011 5:10 PM PST up reply actions  

MC's play

Gives me hope that GU can redshirt KD and KP and RS next year. Wouldn’t that be sweet? Probably not reality because there will be some attrition, no doubt. Looks like Meech/DS/MC/GB could still fill the gaps if MC continues his move upwards. Very pleasant surprise for me. Didn’t see it coming, but then again, I’m not at practice and that is usually where your minutes are earned. Great job MC!

by mikesequim on Feb 25, 2011 8:54 AM PST reply actions  

Crazy what a defined role and a little bit of confidence can do, eh?

I really enjoy watching Marquise play. He’s a very meticulous player to the point where, when he’s out of his element, it really shows. He doesn’t make big mistakes but you can see why he would sort of fade to the background when he was still figuring things out. He doesn’t have that explosion that can make up for other shortcomings and we are now seeing his full capability as a functioning member of the offense.

I don’t know if the increased playing time was a cause or effect of his play but he has established himself as a force on offense. Too bad we only get him for one more year!

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 9:09 AM PST up reply actions  

His defense was OK last night also

Went back and watched specifics important to me and came to the conclusion MC played well from the start to the end. I thought he was loafing early on but after reviewing the game and the use of replay on tape…..I was way off on his performance! The MVP in the game to me, with the Big Smooth a close second.

by mikesequim on Feb 25, 2011 9:14 AM PST up reply actions  

agree.

his defense has always been my biggest issue. But last night I thought his on ball d was solid!
He keeps on improving and that is all we can ask for.

by montanazag on Feb 25, 2011 10:10 AM PST up reply actions  

Rob Jones

Can anyone explain to me why we didn’t attack him more once he picked up his 4th foul? Gotta attack players when they get in foul trouble, especially coming down the stretch into WCC and a March tourney.

by GU.AmericasTeam on Feb 25, 2011 9:48 AM PST reply actions  

seems like entire second half Few forgot how well we were doing in paint

Agree it would have been the perfect time to go to the block when he picked up 4th foul, but I guess Few must be smarter than me

by golfinstud on Feb 25, 2011 10:11 AM PST up reply actions  

Marquise stepping up consistently

Now gives HC Few a starting 5 throughout the rest of the season (barring injuries).

As dominant as our big men are we do not need 3 of them on the floor at the same time; we need the quickness of Carter, Goodson, and Gray on the floor.

Stockton needs to gain some mucles to be a dominant pg.

by rnpljnsn on Feb 25, 2011 10:22 AM PST reply actions  

Although Stockton getting more confident.

He had a few BIG crossovers yesterday, I was impressed. I agree he needs some muscle, but you can tell his body is still maturing.

I don't hate many things, but i do hate Boise State.

by spokanistan22yuh on Feb 25, 2011 3:53 PM PST up reply actions  

is* getting... sorry

I don't hate many things, but i do hate Boise State.

by spokanistan22yuh on Feb 25, 2011 3:54 PM PST up reply actions  

On A Total Side Note For A Second

Last night was the first game of the year in which I wasn’t painfully aware of the fact that MM, MK and MA never got off the bench. While I feel like I have the mathematic obligation to miss all three of them (coughoffensiveefficiencycough), I kind of…didn’t. And I don’t know how I feel about that.

Anyone else?

Zagacious

by zagacious on Feb 25, 2011 1:37 PM PST reply actions  

I found myself watching the bench whenever the cameras showed it. MM looked fine, MK looked happy, and MA looked like someone stole his dog.

I did miss MM when I realized how nice it would be to have a perimeter threat to open up the paint a little and free a little space for some creation on offense. Not to beat my own personal dead horse, but the Zags are effing brutal in the half court and something’s got to give. Then again, maybe Marquise will keep hitting his semi-set shot and become that perimeter threat MM isn’t allowed to be.

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by larevblog on Feb 25, 2011 1:42 PM PST up reply actions  

Problem is...

MM seems to be having a hard time creating space when he has a defender in his face. He seems to choose to pass instead.

by Tom117 on Feb 25, 2011 4:04 PM PST up reply actions  

I only care at one instance

and that is when Mike Hart plays. It just doesn’t work. He’s not quick enough to be a defensive sub late in games. I nearly ran to the bathroom vomiting when Mark Few was doing an offense/defense substitution pattern consisting of David Stockon on O and Hart on D. Then, the staff decided to leave Stockton in on defense which, in itself, is a completely different discussion.

Other than that, I agree. With Marquise playing well, I don’t really care anymore. None of them have exactly lit the world on fire but that can be attributed to their roller coaster ride of minutes. Who the hell knows but I wish I could ask the question.

The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

by Zach Bell on Feb 25, 2011 1:46 PM PST up reply actions  

my head

I often times scratch it while watching the decisions he makes.
Why not MK for a defensive stopper instead of Hart? Considering Manny is the dog house?

by montanazag on Feb 25, 2011 3:43 PM PST up reply actions  

I agree so much

Hart may be a good defender, but you couldn’t expect anyone who’s been sitting on their ass for the last hour to jump in and lock down their best defender. The body doesn’t work like that.

I don't hate many things, but i do hate Boise State.

by spokanistan22yuh on Feb 25, 2011 3:57 PM PST up reply actions  

2 Mathis' and a Manny

Cutting MK out of the rotation is kind of a no brainer. He’s not quite up to speed yet IMO. I think he can be a good player here in the future but it’s asking a lot of a freshman this year.

Same thing with MM. I definitely see the potential but it’s not quite there yet…unless he is already wide open when he gets the ball, he doesn’t shoot and passes it along b/c he cannot create for himself yet.

Manny is a real head-scratcher though. Even if he isn’t scoring, he is playing good D and getting boards (especially offensive). He is a valuable asset as a slasher and I think would be a nice sub for Marquise. He can also hit an open 3 which is more than some of our guards can say…

I can’t imagine what he’s done to end up so far deep in Few’s doghouse. I would really like to see him come back next year but I would say it’s looking pretty iffy.

by i_am_a_ZAG on Feb 25, 2011 4:51 PM PST up reply actions  

I really liked Coach Fews game plan

and the way he managed last nights game, except: He’s got Manny Arop on his bench and he puts in Mike Hart at a critical juncture? WTF?

by oldzag on Feb 25, 2011 1:46 PM PST reply actions  

Manny

clearly in the dog house, and probably on his way out, unfortunatley? I thought when we lost him last season that really changed things for us! We didn’t play the same at that point! Oh what could have been? Few does a lot of fishy things?

by montanazag on Feb 25, 2011 3:41 PM PST up reply actions  

If I were him, I'd leave

Manny is a good player and brings a lot to the team. There is no way Hart deserves more PT than him

by BKZ on Feb 25, 2011 4:46 PM PST up reply actions  

I've been rewatching the game

I didn’t realize Hart got PT in the 1st half. OMG! McConnell ate him alive! He looked like he was standing still and for the most part he was. Put him in for his defense? On this one Few’s got his head up his ass.

by oldzag on Feb 25, 2011 5:54 PM PST up reply actions  

Manny knows what he has to do

There’s a reason he’s in the dog house.

Hart is a very good defender (if the refs let him play that is)

Our problem this year is DEFENSE. We always score plenty of points.

Few is sending a message — not just to Arop but the whole team — D-UP and you will get minutes.

Don’t kid yourselves — our D is still a big problem and needs to be shored up ASAP.

mjc

by quidveritas on Feb 26, 2011 12:16 AM PST up reply actions  

stockton

apparently your comment doesn’t relate to him or Harris

by montanazag on Feb 26, 2011 5:00 AM PST up reply actions  

So enlighten me oh wise one

What did Manny do to deserve this. Oh and Hart cannot play defense. Watch some tape.

by oldzag on Feb 26, 2011 6:19 PM PST up reply actions  

Steven

I appreciate Steven’s all around game, the steals, the assists, the boards. He did not have to put up big numbers against the Gaels. But on too many occasions he got snookered by screens that enabled Delladenova to step aside for uncontested threes. As I review video clips from other games: there is one disturbing and repeated aspect to Steven’s defensive game: he repeatedly loses his man on the perimeter. In so many games, you see a three being launched with Steven rushing in to cover, well after the shot was released. Over the course of a game, that’s nine to 12 points for the opponent, something we don’t need if we are to launch a serious post-season run. From what I’ve seen Gary Bell right now has a much more serious approach to D and rarely, if ever, gets caught flat footed. Hopefully,
that will pan out at the Division One level.

by fungor on Feb 25, 2011 3:08 PM PST reply actions  

Weird...

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

Saint Mary’s is still higher than us in Lunardi’s bracket… I really don’t understand the reasoning after their 3 game losing streak and their clear lack of class :P

by WayLayZag on Feb 25, 2011 3:12 PM PST reply actions  

St John's win

Their win over St John’s, the first game of the year, and St. John’s since becoming a dragon slayer in the Big East has inflated SMC’s RPI, SOS, etc. and that is what keeps them ahead, for now.

by WyZag on Feb 25, 2011 3:17 PM PST up reply actions  

Yea

True story. I don’t get all the RPI stuff but I thought that win would be countered by their loss at san-diego. Anyhow, as a WCC conference member I hope we get two teams into the tournament… for selfish reasons I hope Gonzaga’s the higher seed….

I can’t stop thinking about how the WCC could be a 3 bid conference next year. So excited for the future!

by WayLayZag on Feb 25, 2011 3:21 PM PST up reply actions  

they wont be higher

after we kick their arsssses in vegas

like sound pound always quotes, "i hate the f??kin gaels. Great Victory last night

by montanazag on Feb 25, 2011 3:34 PM PST up reply actions   3 recs

ESPN hasn't been giving us any love lately.

Last night, toward the end of the game, they kept touting how the streak was over.
They sure shut their mouths at the end though.

by wesolint on Feb 25, 2011 7:03 PM PST up reply actions  

Higher than us

I think they are probably ahead of us due to the fact that they are still winning the league, so Lunardi assumes they have the autobid as of now. If you look they are still in all caps which shows league leaders.

If we were there we would probably be ranked ahead of them. This is also why they are not one of the last four in or even talked about in his odds of getting in… yet.

by 2011zagg on Feb 26, 2011 12:24 AM PST up reply actions  

I've figured it out

Mike Hart is guarding Steven Gray in practice

by 1AndDone on Feb 25, 2011 5:05 PM PST reply actions  

Bill Grier

Remember how Bill Grier was our friend and hero a week or so ago when they beat SMC? Now he is the enemy. No hangovers, no let downs! Take care of business. Go Zags!

by denverzagdad on Feb 25, 2011 8:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions  

I still believe!!!

The best is yet to come…….

by wesolint on Feb 25, 2011 7:06 PM PST reply actions   1 recs

Kentridge Vs Auburn tomorrow. Winner to State final 8 Vs Jackson and B Kingma!

Gary Bell had 31 and the game was over about midway through the second quarter.

by mikesequim on Feb 25, 2011 10:47 PM PST reply actions  

Chris Sarbough

A good friend of mine coaches in the Eastern Washington area. He tells me this kid is very good! Not a great shooter but very strong with the ball, great defender and playmaker. Have you seen this kid play or heard anything on him? I don’t see any way he gets any PT for at least 2 years? He also went on to say he is a legitimate D1 player?

by montanazag on Feb 26, 2011 5:05 AM PST reply actions  

I heard he is better than David Stockton was at that point in High School

It should get very interesting in the backcourt the next couple of years.

Its gonna be gLoRiOUS!!~

by gaz-tastic on Feb 26, 2011 12:23 PM PST up reply actions  

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