Zags use a big second half to take down Portland
by Zach Bell on Jan 26, 2012 11:13 PM PST
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My apologies for the lack of a game thread tonight. Had a few things come up this evening and wasn't able to get to a computer.
After a subpar first half tonight against the Portland Pilots, Gonzaga put together one of their best twenty minutes of the season as they rallied in the second half to escape with a win. Four Zags were in double figures tonight led by freshman Gary Bell Jr. who had a career high 18 points and continues to improve and play well in the clutch. Bell's freshman counterpart Kevin Pangos also was in double figures tonight as were Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. Harris also came down with ten rebounds tonight for yet another double double. With tonight's 74-62 victory, the Bulldogs moved to 17-3 on the season as a date with BYU sits on the horizon.
For as bad as the first half was from Gonzaga, their play in the second half was about as crisp as I have seen this team since the Xavier game on New Years Eve. Elias Harris in particular just continues to look better and better. Harris finished with his second straight double double and tonight's performance marks his eight straight game in double figures.
Harris' solid play has undoubtedly been bolstered by the play of Gonzaga's freshmen guards. Particularly in the second half, Gary Bell and Kevin Pangos were dialed in when it mattered the most. Bell made a number of plays and his ability to take care of the ball and not turn it over continues to improve. In addition to his 18 points, Bell ended the game with a couple of assists and rebounds and did not turn the ball over. Pangos struggled a bit with turnovers but still made a number of great plays in the second half and both play with the poise of upperclassmen.
Another factor that can't be overlooked is how much better this team meshes when its veterans are playing at a high level. Tonight this was no more evident than the spark Marquise Carter provided in the second half. For the first time in a long time, Marquise Carter was Gonzaga's best option at the small forward tonight. He was 2-2 from the floor with three rebounds and three assists. While the stats don't indicate anything above and beyond tonight for Carter, I thought this was his best game in months. He played great basketball and seemed to calm this team down in the second half and allowed the other guards to make plays for the rest of the team. Robert Sacre also had another solid game. The senior big man was 5-5 from the floor and 6-7 from the stripe.
One last interesting piece of this game was the rotation. A trimmed down eight man rotation is all Mark Few went with tonight. Mike Hart was the most noticeable missing Zag tonight as the staff only elected to bring Sam Dower, David Stockton, and Marquise Carter off the bench. Personally, I loved what the staff did. With Guy Landry Edi starting, Gonzaga is able to kick off the game with some defensive pressure and then guys like Stockton, Carter, and Dower can come in to slow things down on offense. Role guys like Monninghoff and Hart will provide quality minutes down the line but they are best as situational subs.
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Nothing new, but Mark Few is a complete lost cause when it comes to roster management.
Mike Hart started two games ago. Tonight he got zero minutes. I’m not a big Hart fan but that’s insane. It’s especially insane when his replacement (Edi) was awful out there tonight.
He just seems so content leaving guys out there when they’re playing terrible (see: everyone in the first half) while burying guys who could help when we can’t hit a shot (Hoff) on the end of the bench. I’m fine running a short rotation, but you can’t do it when everyone is playing terribly. I don’t care if they’re not playing well in practice or whatever. The guys on the floor weren’t playing well IN GAME. That should be the #1 thing, especially when guys are playing so horribly that there’s literally no way a sub could play worse.
And to top things off, he leaves guys in the entire time. We really need our starters to play to the final buzzer? Is Few really concerned with blowing double digit leads with a couple minutes left against sub-par WCC schools? If that’s the mindset, that we should always be afraid, then we’re going nowhere.
The Hart Haters will get you for that
This game was more about building the team than winning the game — at least in the first half. When Few does this we look bad — and we did. Edi is the future — he needs a lot of polish to reach his potential — he needs minutes on the floor. No guarantee this approach will pay dividends but you have to let him play sometime.
Hart is a known quantity and not likely to improve significantly, so no need to develop his game tonight.
Don’t ya think the refs were just awful. Not that it helped one team significantly but this were quite possibly the worst officiated NCAA BB game I have seen this year. Way too many ticky tack fouls. Way too many missed fouls. Fouls called when there were no fouls. Traveling that wasn’t traveling. Sheesh. While neither team gained an advantage, it is fair to say that GU and probably Portland as well, were not able to do the things they do best. Referee Inhibition. Fans lose.
mjc
That's not an adequate rationale.
Obviously we need Edi to play well and hopefully take minutes from Hart.
But if that’s Few’s reasoning why did he wait over a month to try it? Wouldn’t it have been better to take this “build the team” approach when Guy was first back against the likes of Portland, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara at home?
And why don’t we build the end of the bench’s confidence EVER by giving them minutes in junk games other than the final one. If we have an injury or serious foul trouble they could be thrust into action. Wouldn’t giving them minutes in decided games help build teams?
(I’m asking this somewhat rhetorically, because I’m fairly certain you agree.)
It’s just absurd that a guy would go from starter to zero minutes in two games no matter the rationale. It’s either a sign you were stupid with your rotation before or you’re stupid with it now. Luckily as Gonzaga fans we have the “comfort” of knowing it’s stupid with the rotation always.
In years past
You saw Few work the bench into games at the end of the first half — and not because of foul trouble.
Getting minutes when the game is on the line is a tad different than mop-up minutes.
Potentially Edi can add a lot to this team but . . . will that potential be realized? I still maintain he is not ready and needs to work on his handle. He just does not protect the ball and is a relatively easy pick. He needs lessons from Stocks!
As for ‘why’ the minute distribution . . . your guess is as good as mine.
mjc
by quidveritas on Jan 27, 2012 10:21 AM PST up reply actions
Crisp play my ass
On offense the Ucla weave fools no one, they need to set solid screens.This weave gets ols they need to watch some old zag footage or at least watch the footage when we got pummled by St. Maries. Drive hard and kick solid screens and rapid ball movement. last night it was full of dribble,fake shot fake pass. mostly the back court played high of the key. They need to get back to basics.. Go Zags should have won by 35 to those KIDS
few's rotation
i understand why people second guess coach’s abilities, after all he’s not the coach with best win record of all active coaches… he is only second!!
Well they should guess him!
He’s ONLY one 11 consecutive WCC titles. What a joke! Big teams in small conferences are taking appendages and have like, at least 18 arms, legs and fingers on their mantles to match their titles!
by SoldierofZagistan on Jan 27, 2012 1:22 PM PST up reply actions
ooopps.....
‘guess’ I was wrong. Only John Wooden has more. Still, we should can Few if doesn’t get 18 in a row. 17 ain’t enough! We want severed limbs and trophies peeps!
by SoldierofZagistan on Jan 27, 2012 1:23 PM PST up reply actions
Never thought this Zag’s squad would shoot worse than 10% from 3 or better than 80% from the FT line… I hope we come out better vs. BYU.
If we continue to play like we have post SMC humiliation, no way we beat BYU in Provo. So the league championship to me seems to hang on which team wins tomorrow in the SMC-BYU game. If BYU wins, GU should be ok if don’t win next week, but a W for SMC means the game @BYU means whether or not this is the team that ends the streak. I know I’m doom and gloom, but haven’t seen much in the 4 games post @SMC to give me a lot of hope. And the SMC win at LMU didn’t help either.
Keeping the faith
I have the sames concerns about inconsistent play both by the team and by some individuals, but I have seen a few things in the past 4 games that allow me to keep some faith:
General consistency – Sacre, Harris and Bell have looked pretty strong on both offense and defense.
Improvements – Carter and Edi, while both shown improvement and that there is still more upside to both of them.
Waiting to explode: I think some of the offensive woes of Sam and Kevin wont last.
Zags do the Chameleon thang.
I was getting all comfy and settled in to watch what I knew was going to be an easy win. No yelling at refs. No dogs hiding under beds. This was going to be a game where we all could relax and enjoy the show.
The first half was the worst 1/2 of basketball I have ever seen. Sacre yet again tied bricks to his hands. Pangos was shooting blind. The refs couldn’t get a correct call. Someone placed Saran Wrap over the basket! Nobody sets a screen. A complete discombobulated disaster. Beyond embarrasing!
Then, after the worst 1/2 of basketball, we have one of our best. Lob passes, spin moves in the paint, An unstoppable Bell and Harris. A calmer, more determined Carter. We start hitting our free throws. Almost 50 points were scored.
What did we learn? Gonzaga can come back from a half time deficit. We can turn a horrible game around in one half.
This game with BYU is a MUST win. We lose, we go down 2 to SMC. I doubt this years SMC team will allow the collosal collaspe that transpired last year to happen again. We must win. Sure, BYU could knock off SMC in Provo, so what. If we can’t beat BYU in Provo, we will not win the WCC title outright.
So, which team will show? The first half team vs Portland…or the second half one?
Sacre had better put some dove lotion on his hands, Pangos needs his shot to fall or things as we know it….well, let’s just say we had better take advantage of this week we have to prepare for BYU.
No flop game like the one at SMC or last years mess against BYU in the dance. Oh, that’s right….we OWE BYU some payback!
Final 4 or Bust!!~
Key to victory
The key to victory against BYU is mainly stellar, turnover free play by the front line.
Firinstance, Dower has been Mr. Inconsistency all season. If the Good Sam shows up, we have an edge. Elias is a guy that is responsable for an inordinate share of turnovers: the refs are on to him when he carries the ball…yet he doesn’t seem to be able to snap out of that bad habit on his crossover move in the lane. Against Portland, Edi looked like a fool on a couple occasions when he backed up on his man and his man whisked by him to the hole. Sacre, as has been mentioned ad infinitum, continues to telegraph his moves. He has to finish at the rim and take more unblocked shots. Ten shots a game, not five.
Both Dower and Edi need a quick infusion of basketball IQ and they only have a few practice sessions remaining to get it before Thursday. If the bigs click and stay aware of the fact that they have two wonderful safety valves to pass to in Pangos and Bell then we will do OK.
Meanwhile, in the backcourt, Pangos needs to regain his touch. It seems he being overcoached and not able to assert his true talent of being a coach-on-the-floor.
No criticisim of Bell who is turning into the wonderful player I saw in the Washington state-Oregon prep allstar game,
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