Demetri Goodson officially leaves Gonzaga
by Zach Bell on May 3, 2011 7:54 PM PDT
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PrintWill reported over the weekend (and had the jump on this story well before that) that Demetri Goodson was strongly considering leaving Gonzaga. Well, that strongly considering has turned to out the door as Meech becomes the latest defection from Spokane, Washington. Meech joins Mangisto Arop and Keegan Hyland as transfers from this past season and is the seventh transfer from Gonzaga in the past couple years.
Goodson's transfer also means that not one member of Gonzaga's 2008 recruiting class will finish their collegiate career as a Zag. Goodson's transfer is a bit different, however, as he will finish his collegiate career on the football field. He'll likely head back to the state of Texas but his destination, at this time, is not known.
I haven't quite had the gravity of the past two paragraphs set in. Not only is Gonzaga really feeling the effects of some obvious recruiting missteps, but one must wonder how the program progresses from here. This is by no means a death blow, but the writing is off the wall and starting to smack us in the face. All we can do now is hope, and pray, that the staff has picked up a thing or two from the last few years. The addition of Donny Daniels and the promise of the 2011 class are good steps in the right direction, but seven transfers over a few years is extreme.
I'll have more about this later, as I'm sure Max and Will will. For now, this is tough to swallow. Best of luck to Meech. He gave me my most favorite moment at a sporting event when he hit that runner against WKU. Tough to see him not finish at GU.
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I don't like this,,,
the string of transfers, losing a GREAT KID.
Still, honestly, we will be fine. We have a great frontline, and a great, albeit young backcourt..
More importantly, Meech is better off pursuing his new athletic dream…I will be watching the big 12 and rooting for him..
I have a question about his elgibility
Obviously he is switching sports, so how does that affect the situation?
Will Meech only have one year of elgibility to play football at A&M?
And if so, does he have to sit out a year before he can suit up for the team?
Since GU
does not have a football program he can transfer and will have 2 years eligibility right away playing next year.
by jomogolfpro on May 3, 2011 9:37 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Welcome back!
How is GJ doing? I look forward to following him next year.
Few's system
isn’t for everybody, and I think Meech hit the ceiling as far as his abilities in basketball went. He just couldn’t develop a good shot. He is definitely built like a fullback though, and my friends and I have always thought he was better suited for football.
Really nice guy, I wish him luck in Texas.
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Unfair comparisons to Pargo
Meech was doomed to fail from the start when most everyone was trying to compare him to and make him the next Pargo. Pargo even did so himself in the Decade of Excellence DVD. Meech just wasn’t as good of a player and those were tough shoes for him to fill.
The only negative I see by losing him is when GU goes against big, physical guards. But Bell will play the point in those games so all is good.
by Fisherrock on May 3, 2011 9:29 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
The program is fine
7 transfers in the last few seasons is a lot, but if you look at them individually it puts things into perspective.
Gibbs transferred because he wasn’t getting the playing time and was behind Meech.
Poling transferred for similar reason and because he wasn’t getting big enough.
Arop and Manny were foreign-born players who each had some sort of issues.
Hyland wasn’t up to snuff and probably shouldn’t have been signed.
Meech hit his ceiling and decided to pursue his dreams in another sport.
Now, if the guys coming in were iffy players, I would be concerned. They aren’t. Between the transfers and the incoming freshmen, the team is actually stronger from all of the transfers.
Ummm, not too sad about this.
I guess he’s a great kid, but I don’t care much about that. I’m actually glad he’s opening up room for the possibility of Bryce Jones coming in. Also, I would be happy to see Pangos this year rather than him redshirting because he will probably have to play this year with Meech leaving. Good luck to Meech at Texas A&M and I will follow his exploits there, but I don’t think this hurts the team that much if at all. Anybody know what position he’s playing?
by BulldogsNotZags on May 3, 2011 10:06 PM PDT reply actions
Fate
Is it just me or does it seem like fate is forcing us to use David Stockton? MC and GB jr. are going to be really helpful, but if anyone has an increased opportunity because of Meech leaving, it’s going to be David. Call me crazy, but it seems like the basketball gods are forcing us to give DS more playing time as if he’s going to turn out very similarly to his dad. Here’s keeping my fingers crossed that DS turns out to be as amazing has his dad!
DS will be good
but only during the early season and WCC play. when we get into the meat of our schedule (Nov. and Dec.), we’re going to need a guard that can be physical, but DS has great offensive playmaking ability that he can use to demolish teams with no strong physical presence.
The Next Generation of the KC
by s0merand0mdude on May 3, 2011 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I told ya so
Almost 9 months ago I stated that the door for DS will never be more open.
DS got a chance to play and . . . did OK all things considered. Now, he’s the ‘old man’ at point guard and the door is still open. If nothing else he will get minutes as a back-up.
If Few is his usual self, he will be quick with the hook with the new players. He did it to Ravio; did it to Pargo.
As DS matures physically he might just turn out to be a better player than you might expect. You have to admit he made some amazing plays both offensively and defensively.
Also, don’t forget about Sarbaugh – I hear he’s got a pretty good handle and is a lot bigger than DS. He spend some time with John Stockton as a coach at G-Prep so the ‘Stockton effect’ may surface again.
I think we will have better years in the near future but this coming season will be a lot of fun and I think this team will be better than most would anticipate.
mjc
DS
how do you mature physically when you are 5’11 (which is a reach) and soaking wet 150 lbs?
DS is not the man! maybe he’ll look nice against some cup cakes, AKA the WCC!
I won't argue with you
Wouldn’t do any good.
Watch and learn. Then get back to me this time next year.
mjc
mjc
This is a dumb non-response,
particularly when it is, as far as I can recall, a fact that DS (for all his unquestionable smarts and virtues) got eaten alive by real (read: non-wcc) teams.
You are so right
When we played quality teams he got his scrawny ass handed to him on a platter. It will not bode well if he winds up as our starting pg.
Genetics
His Dad was listed as 6’1" and 175 and dealt with some pretty elite talent. That height and weight aren’t too much of a stretch for David and even if he’s 1/2 as good as his father he should be a pretty decent D1 point guard (which I guess he’s already proven in my mind). He’s certainly got a prime opportunity in front of him though.
I don't think this is bad
Sure, I hate losing a great player, but I don’t think he was a great fit for our system. It seems like we’ve recruited a lot of point guards (DS, although he wasn’t a recruit, GBJ, and Pangos), which makes me think we knew his departure was a strong possibility. I think we’ll move on well from this.
The Next Generation of the KC
Hmmm
In hind sight I bet Grant Gibbs wishes he would have stayed at Gonzaga now.
Goodluck to Meech! Next season is going to one of the most interesting seeing such a young Zags team develop.
Didn't he leave
because he was behind Meech? Given that Meech is leaving seemingly because he has reached his ceiling, I don’t know that Gibbs would have worked out…
transfers
how bad were gibbs and gj to have left because meech was ahead of them? pollyannas on the other board see this as an evolution of the species kind of thing. im not so sure. few’s recruiting has been plainly awful. he is still in panic mode w jones and landry. call it “keegan hyland syndrome.” time for the a.d. and wiser heads to intervene. the influx/outflow of unhappy kids is eroding the image of the program (with no saving grace of making it more competitive).
by jazzdelmar on May 4, 2011 4:34 AM PDT reply actions 3 recs
So much this.
Why is “evolution of the species” even part of the narrative here? GUBoards makes me wanna puke and so does this entire situation. I’m finding it real hard to support the program these days.
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I'll tell you what
If Donny Daniels wasn’t on board, I would really be thinking the same as you.
Fact of the matter is that Few and Co. lazily recruiting and didn’t develop over the past couple years. There’s no other way to cut it. Seven transfers including a starting guard, an atheltic wing that was an elite rebounder is pretty damn inexcusable. Some were late recruiting gaffes (GJ, Keegan) and then there are development problems.
We’ll be able to learn alot from the 2012 class. Donny is hitting the West Coast hard but you have to wonder if recruits are wondering about all the defections (I’m sure they are) and how does that impact “the brand”.
On a “polly” note, I had a twitter discussion with John Blanchette from the Spokesman and nearly vomited. I commented that it is absurd for a program to have seven transfers in two years and have a whole recruiting class leave the initial school. His response was “Didn’t Meech finish his collegeiate career at GU”. Sure, John. We can count Meech as 3/4 of a transfer since he isn’t playing basketball anymore in college. I pray every night that Spokane gets one reporter that will actually say “Holy shit, seven transfers, what does this say about the recruiting and player development recently”.
/rant
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by Zach Bell on May 4, 2011 7:41 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Zach
I don’t twitter but I did have a back and forth with JB 3 years ago……………only took that one back and forth to think exactly what you did about getting somebody in Spokane to take off the glasses at the Empre! I also hope DD is the right person for the job. My concern is, how much latitude Coach Few will actually give him.
As long as the Spokesman also sends its GU beat reporter to also cover Whitworth volleyball, it'll never happen
Meehan tweeted the other day that “there’s something to” the transfer rumor Will first reported, then once the transfer became official, he wrote his story without mentioning that Will and SSF had the report first. If you’re out there, Jim, didn’t you have to take a class on journalistic integrity in journalism school?
Then again, that’s a rant for another day.
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TSSF had the report
I agree but I said this on this on my fan post 7 days ago….If JB needs to give credit to Will then Will needs to give credit to me. LOL
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S-R basketball reporting is definitely by and for ass-clowns
but then I also think about how people like Woody Paige and Rick Reilly make millions every year in the limelight being idiotic and terrible at their job on a national level.
Whaddayamean b-ball reporting?
S-R reporting is biased, distorted, and at times flat out untruthful (dependant upon the current political and/or moral stance of the Cowles family). Pretty much across the board. Why would coverage of the Zags be any different?
It's been five years since I read any of the other sections, so I thought I'd stick to hating what I know.
your point is taken, though…
GJ will turn out to be the one that got away… You’ll get a chance to see it over the next few years. GJ never left because of Meech or some of the others brought in. I think last years perfromance by most of that group speaks for itself.
Manny and Meech didn’t leave because of the guys coming in next year… The reason most of these guys leave is because there are some deep issues in that program that are sub-optimal for these guys to say the least… That many people on these sites no nothing about. Don’t believe most of these homers who represent themselves as insiders to program… It does not exsist… There are NO insiders. The program is closed to ALL except to the ones (Players and Coaches) that are there every day. There are no insiders, just mouth-pieces for program. Newspapers in Spokane will never report on the under-belly of these issues… They know if they do, they’ll be cut off entirely and that can’t happen.
A few of the biggest problems there the I care to talk about are:
1-Horrible communcation
2-Lack of Work Ethic among the coaches (Don’t know about Daniels) with the exception of Lloyd (hard working, great guy.
3- Lack of Mentorship/Leadership
4-No Developement of Players
5-Cookie Cutter approach to how they relate to youn men
Hey, when a guy like Meech walks away afer 3 years and frankly he was thinking about that after last year, You have big Problems!
Meech should of ended up being a really good player there… They never helped him get better and they ended breaking the kids spirit (Shame on them) and broke his confidence… He deserved better and you are not going to be able to replace him with what you have or have coming. He is a huge lost!
Good luck Meech… I only wish you would of pulled the trigger sooner and taken care of yourself first.
yeah
but not many athletes in the world have the opportunity of hitting a game winning shot in the ncaa tournament and then going on to play football in the Big 10. I think the guy has a solid chance at getting drafted. That’s nothing to hang your head over.
No Development?
As a non-insider that knows nothing of the inner workings, I can comment and take issue with that comment.
We have all seen several players develop — some more than others.
Bouldin and Turiaff come to mine right away. Sacre has also improved (not as much as some would like) considerably from the time he arrived. Some guys are more amenable to coaching than others. This can be a two way street where the player-coach relationship is concerned.
As a parent who has seen his kids go through frustrating situations on some teams I can empathize with your comment. When the focus is on other kids, it does seem like your own kid gets ignored and feels ignored. I can only imagine that sting would be especially bitter if your kids is the top dog for many many years and now for the first time you run into this. (Where my kids were concerned it seemed like this happened every 2-3 years — so you kinda learn how to deal with it ).
I do know that Few often places a great deal of focus on one player and most of the plays are designed to run through or to that player. There is nothing ‘fair’ about how things work on the offensive end — its all about having the best player (in Few’s opinion) take the best shot.
We all enjoyed GJ when he was here and wish him nothing but the best. I don’t have to wait and see what he does at Appalachian State. I know he will succeed if he finds the right situation. I really do hope things work out for him there.
mjc
Explain to me
how getting two high-major prospects that are sought by other top programs is comparable to getting Hyland, who admittedly was an impulse/panic get?
And how is it not getting more competitive? The team has seemingly gotten better with every transfer.
Yeah
but you have to factor in the apparent attitude/chemistry issues.
I'm happy for the kid
It takes guts to make a big change and try a new dream. Good for Meech and I hope he is rewarded for taking the risk.
I agree with one of the lines of this post. Meech’s runner against W.Ky is definitely in my top 2 or 3 live sports moments. Thanks, Meech.
We could look at it as the state of the program
Or we can simply say that the kid just wanted to play football. It’s not like Meech didn’t have friends, it’s not like the coaching staff pushed him out, I think he just realized that his heart wasn’t in it anymore and that the potential draw of being a draft pick in the NFL considering his brothers status was just too alluring. I don’t see this as a reflection on the status of our program nearly as much as the other transfers we’ve had the last 2 years. I wish him luck and hope he finds success.
He hasn't played football since sophomore year of high school
I’d bet he’s got as much chance of being an NFL draft pick as he did of being an NBA draft pick. And how do we know he wasn’t pushed out? His PT went way down by the middle of conference play, and with 30 point guards coming in next year, it was bound to go down even more.
Of course we all wish him the best, but to me, this is a much bigger issue and I’ll think it is until I hear contrary reporting.
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I seriously doubt
he was pushed out. Even Few’s critics acknowledge his loyalty to upperclassmen (and even criticize him for it), so I’d be shocked if he was pushed out. Last season his minutes dropped because he wasn’t getting it done. Bringing in 3 guards (with 2 presumably redshirting) his senior year is hardly pushing him out.
It seems like he was frustrated and desired to try his hand at football while he still could.
I never said he had a chance of being an NFL draft pick
I’m just saying that the glossy potential of being one, no matter how realistic, had more of a role in this decision than the coaching staff or the program as a whole. Meech is an athlete, we know it, he knows it. I’m sure he would like to be a professional athlete, and he realized he probably had a better shot with football as he was struggling to be a stand out in basketball. Mark Few has already given his respect to Meech and his decision, and that’s all we know as far as this story is concerned. I see no evidence pointing to the coaching staff or the players forcing him out except on the pure merits of playing time and what worked best for our team during each individual game.
the whole situation pisses me off
I have never seen a player get mentally abused the way meech did! I have watched games where he was playing very well, only to come out of the game and not go back in for very long stretches. I would watch few yank him out of a game for making a mistake, only to have others repeat that mistake and stay in. My guess is Few sat down with meech at the end of the season and told him his playing time and starting role was in jeopardy! Meech obviously didn’t except that role. I quite frankly can’t blame him. I have watched so many players recently not develop there talents, that I am wondering just how good of coach Few is when it comes to development. It is no longer impressive to me that we feast on a mediocre mid major conference! We have been blown out in the tourney 4 years in a row to end our season! We typically look very unprepared during these games! Sure we can win the WCC, with the young guys, but my gut feeling is, Mark Few is becoming content just winning WCC titles.
Dude
When Meech plays too much, Few is questioned for being too loyal. When Meech doesn’t, Few is questioned for not being loyal enough (the mental abuse part was new though).
How does he not develop players? Seems like AMO, Turiaf, Daye, and even Pargo and Heytvelt developed pretty well.
Your post is ridiculously short sighted.
Micah Downs
I believe Mr. Downs would agree with you on the mind games Few plays with some players.
exactly!
Also, it was Leon Rice and Bill Grier that developed the Guard play at GU…they are gone…and the development of the GU backcourt seems to have left with them.
It is a pipe dream but just look howJohn Stockton helped with Courtney V. Would be great to have him the staff just to work with the Guards.
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A bigger question
Is that Gonzaga’s biggest weakness last year was perimeter d, in my opinion.
Well you just lost two athletic defenders in Manny and Meech. Now you have a returning backcourt of Stocks and Carter. Neither lit the world on fire defensively.
I think GBJ probably now has to start as he can defend and has length and Guy Landry has to play extended minutes at the wing. Otherwise, you are going to see an absolute freaking barrage from outside.
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I am actually more interested than ever..
The ball, the primary perimeter defense, the SEASON is being thrust on GBJ…will he be up to it?
This is a gamble, and I don’t even want to go into all the reasons why, we all know putting too much faith in one player can easily backfire (see E last year).
I don’t want to dwell on that,,,I want to see GBJ so much we all choke on him, and I want to see him mentioned as the best freshman PG in the nation, Calimari be damned!
Just like last season, which I ultimately graded a step back year, we will know if it worked by how we played at the end of the season..
Reservations?,,,Go ahead,BTW, the end of the world is coming in 2012, somewhere around Dec…I am all in for this season!
Good point
I shudder to think about getting worse at perimeter d…
I agree...
I think that the issue will be the ability of the guards to keep their guy in front of them. The 3 point barrage is more a result of Mark Few D philosophy of packing it in…but still a huge concern.
In addition to Meech and Manny we lost Steven who WAS a very good defender. I would say we just lost the three best defenders that were on the team.
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GBJ
IS the starting PG as soon as he steps foot on June 25. Just as Few told him during his recruiting. And KP will surprise some of you guys. I think the PG position will be fine. What concerns me is the SF (again!!!!) Who will it be? GL, MM, MK? Non of those 3 are proven. Although Few speeks very highly of Landry and his team first attitude and his defensive ability. So is he the starting SF? Do they go big again with E at the SF so Dower and KO get more mins? Do we see 3 guard line up GBJ, MC, DS or KP? To me this is the biggest question for the 2011-12 GU team. The guard play will be an upgrade I believe.
Landry — could well be the starting 3 — my choice today.
Hoff just doesn’t play D well enough and I have yet to see him take it to the rack. Limited offensive array last year (but sure can hit the open 3). Will need to show much more if he expects to start.
Keita could surprise but I see him as a back up at 2 next year. To me this kid is an enigma — has potential to succeed but lacks that ‘something’. I don’t think he is as good as PMAC was at this point in his development but I think he occupies that same position in never-never land right now.
Hey, the kid from SC could still be the starting 3 next year.
mjc
mjc
-I have yet to see him take it to the rack.
totally true and to think that most of the you-tube stuff on him was his dunking! I expect to see MM make the jump this year and do very well. I think or rather HOPE a combo of MM and Landry will work well at the SF position….I have not seen Landry do anything but dunk….and MM spent last year not shooting…and looking like a lost puppy on D.
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This may well be the case. I hope GBJ and Pangos are awesome, and I fantasize about their future glory.
That said, can we (we, not just you) show some awareness of the fact that putting a whole bunch of faith in unknown quantities / new players is risky/stupid? The trap of preferring the unknown to the known — because ‘prospects’ are a breeding ground for projection, fantasy, unrealistic expectations — is just that: a trap. So when people are talking up Pangos over Meech, Landry over Arop, etc, I get suspicious. Why do we expect Landry to be better than Arop? Because he’s never played for us. And why are people more excited about him than Monninghoff and Keita? Same old reason.
Of course we should get excited about new players, particularly if there’s a lot of good scouting on them (GBJ, for example). But let’s not get all hot for tomorrows flavors without remembering that the players we’re throwing under the bus now are the same ones people were wanking over one-two-three years ago.
by Hoft on May 4, 2011 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Like I said above, I really think Few is throwing the dice this year,,
With Bell, I believe he has a royal flush, and dividends will be big, with the others, I am only hoping as a hopeless homer…
I do enjoy the drama, this season has more intrigue built in it than in years past (last year, we assumed E was going to be a top five all american, at least i did); lesson learned, we really have no definite barometer, even on our vets…too many variables…that being said, Bell will be a top 2-3 freshman, and we will be in hog heaven come tourney time..
Right you are . . . but
Is there an alternative to speculating about untried players?
Fact is we don’t have a strong player at the 3 position next year. I wish Harris was the answer but he will need to make great strides to become that kind of player — that and he is so much more effective in close to the basket.
mjc
I'm not down on speculation, I'm down on always assuming the new guys are more awesome than the guys we already have.
You may well be right that Landry is the guy at the 3 next year, but I don’t (yet) see any reason to put faith in the idea he’s better than Arop, or Hoff, or Keita.
not saying the newbies are more awesome
Just stating that the PG position is in good hands. Yes there will be some bumbs along the way, they are only freshman, but what I’m saying is that by March of 2012 the PGplay will be solid and for the next 3 years after that.
As for Landry better than Arop I can’t and won’t say that. I’m saying that is the biggest question again going into next season.
by suzag on May 7, 2011 11:37 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
All I feel like I know about him
is that he is a great dunker and seems to have good character.
Over analyzing
I think there might be a bit of over analysis on Meech. Could it be as simple as a driven kid who has a desire to play a sport at the next level and realized his only chance was football? Although hate to loose him hope to see him lacing them up on Sundays in 2 yrs.
Whos next to leave
Im sure we will be talking about this again soon I know this situtation with meech is different but im sure we will bring in tons of more players to boot out the ones we already have its becoming a stupid trend and its f@#$ ing pissing me off. Im sure we will rush to fill this open scholarship with some average player. good luck to meech But F this crap with whats going on with the team right now. sorry if people disagree
by go lions @ go zags on May 4, 2011 1:42 PM PDT reply actions
They just talked about Meech leaving on PTI
Wilbon asks Kornheiser what he thought about it, Kornheiser said players usually go the opposite route (football to basketball), he thought it kinda odd….lame, no insight, just a 5 second acknowledgement that we are on the national map, I guess.
Well....
What do you want them to do? Spend a whole segment on it? I think it’s obvious that we are not worthy to television execs of a whole segment on one of our players going to play football instead of basketball. I’m sure they did a whole minute or two on Greg Paulus going to Syracuse, even though he’d already played his basketball eligibility out.
by BulldogsNotZags on May 4, 2011 5:34 PM PDT up reply actions
opportunity as a professional athlete
for Demetri’s athletic build he will be better suited to play football at 5’11’’ and 175 are football dimensions. We could see gonzaga Bulldog in the pro bowl after all.
I wonder have their been any Bulldogs in the NFL from wwwaaaayyyy back?
Again, Meech hasn't played since high school.
And former Zag Tony Canadeo is in the Hall of Fame.
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PG was going to be a crowded position next season anyway.
Carter had stepped up, Stockton was improving and was the better passer, the incoming freshman may have had a leg up on all of them, it would have been controversial for senior with two years starting experience at PG to be coming off the bench, or be a poor shooting #2 guard.
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