I want to start by saying most BYU fans I've talked to are excited about the change and looking forward to playing Gonzaga twice a year.  I know some fans are sceptical about BYU but it's nice to see the mostly positive reception, although I'm not sure how long those positive feelings will last.  In the MWC, and the WAC before it, BYU was the team everyone loved to hate.  I'm sure everyone here can relate to that since Gonzaga fills that roll for the WCC.

But BYU is more than just a football school, and to a lesser extant, a basketball school.  They have great teams in every sport.  Since the MWC was first created 11 years ago, BYU has won a conference championship in all 19 sports except women's golf.  All together they've won a total of 118 conference championships, while Utah comes in a distant second with 45 conference championships.  Their best year was in 00-01 when BYU won 16 of the 19 MWC championships, and they've never won less than 8.

Of course basketball is king in the WCC.  BYU plays in the Mariot Center which seats 22,700 fans and you can bet it will be sold out when Gonzaga comes to town.  Their was a brief period in the mid 90's when mens basketball fell off a bit, but eventually they came back.  Under Dave Rose, who took over in 2005, BYU has never missed the NCAA tournament.  They even managed to get past the first round, which they'd struggled with for a while.  All together BYU has had 82 winning seasons, 26 conference titles, 21 NCAA appearances, 10 NIT appearances, and two NIT championships, including 1951 when the NIT was seen as an equal to the NCAA championship.

As for the concern that BYU will only stay for a few years before leaving for greener pastures, I'd say don't be too sure.  For over 30 years BYU has been trying to get into one of the top conferences and they haven't done it yet.  What's to say that sometime in the next few years that will change.  Don't be too surprised if BYU is still here 30 years from now and you're loving to hate them just as everyone from their past conferences have done.

I know BYU is saying this is not a short term deal to stay in the WCC.  However, during BYU's news conference the AD for BYU was asked about how long this would last. The reporter asking the question alluded to BYU joining a BCS conference or the rumored ESPN Super Conference at sometime in the future.  The AD's answer sounded like a typical politician's answer to a question where they do not want to give you the real answer.

I think 5 years may be the max, but the ESPN Football TV contract is good for 8 years. Thoughts?

BYU's Marriott Center

Well folks, we have been hearing a lot about our newest W.C.C. member, Brigham Young University, and I thought it would be nice to get a peek at their basketball arena. It is huge. Seating capacity is over 23,000. The "jumbotron" that floats up high near the rafters looks like a U.F.O. It will be loud and they rarely get beat at home.Their home record in the last 5 years is 76-4. ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes calls BYU "unbeatable at home in the Marriott Center" and has ranked their student body #1 of all the venues he has been to.

Gonzaga has enjoyed a rather raucous home court advantage of their own and have an incredible record at the McCarthey Athletic Center {MAC}, where the record since it's opening in 2004 is 59-4. Opponents dread coming into our arena and playing us. Although the MAC has a much smaller capacity of 6,000, it is extremely loud and deafening at times. We get a lot of home cooking.

BYU's home court is quite a step up from the "quaint gyms of the W.C.C." and I am sure we are all eagerly awaiting a chance to play there. If you cannot get excited about this, you must be pushing up daisies.

I am very excited about the prospect of showing BYU what we can do...Let the games begin!!~

Y

Yeah, I wonder why Memphis had their national title game LOSS vacated.  chris 74, all of "big blue", keep dreaming, people don't change, you will be angry in a few years.  I had a bad feeling when they anounced coaches for this event as Tyreke Evans, and John Wall.  Yup, Wiltjer is a Wildcat.  Great program, sad time with Cal.  Wiltjer looks great, he will be missed, but we will be fine.  Watch GBJ though... Kanter and Terrance committed to UW, and Slimeball snuck them in... not trying to be too negative though

--bumped from the FanPosts - ZB

I admittedly have been a bit obsessed with the conference expansion and conference switching. This whole process has sort of fascinated me (plus it helps that it is the middle of summer I suppose) because there is a real chance that this time around it could affect GU. However I read something today that made me mad (Andy Katz's blog):

"Utah State hasn't reached out to the WCC or the Big West. The WCC has made it clear it is not going to take public colleges or universities because its membership is made up only of church-based private schools. The Big West, according to a source with direct knowledge, has heard only from Hawaii and not the other remaining five WAC schools (Utah State, New Mexico State, Idaho, San Jose State or Louisiana Tech)."

Why are the higher ups purposely limiting the WCC so much? The purpose of these athletic conferences should be to develop student athletes not to keep conference membership the same. What good does it serve the WCC to keep out teams like Utah State and New Mexico State (both teams went to the tournament last year)? Its not like the WCC was founded as a religious conference. Nevada-Reno, UNLV, and SJSU all used to be members of the WCC.

read on for more...

Continue reading this post »

It's a slow news day today so I thought I'd take a look at all the "experts" out there.  We all know how we stack up going into next season.  Might be interesting to see how others view the team.  While I was at it, I pulled the rankings for the Dogs just to put things in perspective.  There is nothing scientific about the predictions I selected.  It appears to me these rankings are typical of the fare found on the internet.

Big XII Hoops, http://www.big12hoops.com/2010/6/2/1495796/2010-2011-college-basketball

Gonzaga #21;    Washington #17

Michael Luchies, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2904982/20102011_top_25_ncaa_basketball_preseason.html

Gonzaga #21;   Washington -- no love at all -- not even a little.

2011 Early Top 50 Ranking by Shawn Siegel, http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/2011-early-top-50-ranking-168630

Gonzaga #33;   Washington #36

The Big Lead, http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2010/04/06/2010-2011-college-basketball-top-20-the-very-very-early-edition/

Gonzaga #11-20 (now there's some analysis!);   Washington #20-25

The Sports Bank.Net, http://www.thesportsbank.net/college-bball/2010-2011-college-basketball-pre-season-top-25/

Gonzaga #24;   Washington #12 (assumed Terrance Ross would be a Huskey)

OnLineSportsFanatic.com, http://www.onlinesportsfanatic.com/?p=2086

Gonzaga #29;   Washington #22

Rivals, http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=rivals-375208

Gonzaga #9;   Washington #23 (also assuming Terrance Ross would play in Seattle)

Mitch's Minute, http://mitchsminute.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/early-top-25-for-2010-2011-college-basketball-season/

Gonzaga -- no love at all;   Washington #20

I know most of these guys have never watch a game played on the west coast.  They get most of their information watching ESPN highlights.  It seems they feel compelled to include a PAC-10 school in their ranking scheme even though they don't know anything about the PAC-10.  In so doing they overlook some really fine teams from the WAC, MWC and WCC.

The world of college basketball has changed.  Gonzaga has probably played a very large part in bringing that change home to other schools.  Over the past 10 years Gonzaga has proved, over and over again, a small school has the capability to put a quality team on the floor.   The recognition and other intangibles that quality basketball team brings to a school far outweighs the costs associated with such a program.

Remember last year when the doubters questioned whether Matt Bouldin could lead the team and our inexperience would lead to a down year?  Now the 'common wisdom' is that Matt Bouldin was the heart and soul of last year's team and even though he is the only starter not returning, we once again don't have what it takes to compete because we lack leadership!

Indeed there are more than a few folks out there that feel that Gonzaga has been supplanted at the top of the WCC by St. Marys!!!  We shall see.  I kinda like our chances.

Contrast these remarks with the treatment accorded to Washington!  Remember them?  Yeah, that team on the coast that used to schedule a pre-season game with us -- well until Romar decided the Dogs would only play cupcakes in the pre-season and Gonzaga definitely failed to qualify as a cupcake!  (Portland fans, please do not take offense from this comment.  We know how good you were/are.  Romar just failed to do his homework.)  Last year Washington was the team that could not win on the road.  Before the PAC-10 tournament, most felt they wouldn't get in the tournament unless they won the PAC-10 -- which they did largely because Quincy Poindexter put the team on his back and carried it to the tournament.  Now Poindexter is gone and . . .

Well most of you are used to this kind of treatment before the team steps on the floor.  It seems like we go through this every year.  Gonzaga plays on ESPN.  Washington plays on Fox NW.  Gonzaga plays a brutal pre-season schedule in venues all over the country.  Washington hardly leaves it's home floor.  Gonzaga sells out just about everywhere they play (home or away).  Washington . . . (well I don't think they played a sold out game last year -- but maybe they sold out a tournament game -- I just don't know). 

You know Gonzaga gets more exposure than Washington.  You know more people watch Gonzaga play than watch Washington play.  You know Gonzaga players have better hair than anyone in college basketball!  You know Gonzaga is poised to be the best team in the West this year.  The Huskies?  Well they might be the best team in the PAC-10.   Then again . . .

Prejudices and attitudes die a very long and agonizing death.  The east coast bias will probably never go away.  Folks have to get up in the morning to go to work.  I understand that.  Where teams on the west coast are concerned, it  often seems reputation counts for more than anything else with folks that live in other time zones. 

I guess I should be happy seeing Gonzaga appearing in so many top 25 lists.  Six or seven years ago Gonzaga wouldn't even get mentioned.    Now it seems we have risen to the level of the "oh yeah and I need to include a PAC 10 team" selection.

I think we deserve better than that!  This program plays a tougher schedule, gets more exposure, and has more success than that "other Washington team". 

Where's the love out there? 

I hate to bring this up again but . . . per Jeff Goodman's Twitter account:

"Hearing from multiple sources there's a strong possibility that BYU goes to the WAC in hoop and becomes independent in football."

Again I will open it up to the TSSF community . . . if BYU can do it, why can't we? If BYU becomes a basketball only school in the WAC that opens up a host of possibilities for GU. Previous conference switching talk was pushed aside because "Gonzaga doesn't have a football team". Well here potentially we have a school who will become a basketball only school on the west coast in another conference. The fact that BYU has a football team is irrelevant if it stays independent. I am not saying that we should go to the WAC, I am just saying that if BYU can become a basketball only school in a conference with football, then I certainly think GU can as well.

I had the chance to catch Canada's semifinal game vs the USA South team in the Nike Global Challenge.  Here is what I thought of the two Zag recruits:

1) Wiltjer - Although I didn't see his best game I still walked away impressed with Kyle.  The USA team with far superior athletes threw a zone against the Canadians and it absolutely took Canada out of its comfort zone.  The Canadian coach ran a similar zone offense as the 5th grade girls who scrimmaged at halftime.  This zone really clogged Witljer's pick and pop game that he executes, as well as his individual post up game that is one of his strengths.  He really reminds me of Daye minus the attitude issues .  That's the best comparison I can make.  Their shots are smooth (Wiltjer has more range now than Daye did in at GU) and they are going to out "skill" someone to score, not out jump or out run someone.  But what the semifinals game showed me more than anything else is Wiltjer is a system player.  If he can be an important piece of a traditional system, he will thrive.  His game is not suited for the dribble drive motion offense (which is why the Kentucky recruitment has never made sense to me), but he will thrive if he has guards that can distribute and hit the 3 to leave him some post room.  As far as expected contribution goes, I would guess he would have the chance at GU to play some serious minutes off the bench his freshman year (think Daye his freshman year).  He is not a player who is going to go to a school and make them an immediate final four threat (like Carmelo, Durant, etc).   Kyle doesn't appear to be a one (or two) and done type player to me, nor does he seem like he wants to be.  Also to be fair, it's the end of a tireless summer of basketball for him so what I saw could have been a result of some tired legs.  But from a fan who has seen upwards of 100+ GU games in person, Kyle would be a great Zag.

keep reading after the break for impressions of Kevin Pangos....

Continue reading this post »

Article on Wiltjer

Good article talking about Wiltjer's looooooooong list of schools, when he will make a decision and how all these schools are "all equal"

In addition he goes on to state his decision will be based on who that school brings in for players, the coaching staff and the style of play.

You do have to wonder how he will fair under the basket agaist big men at the D-1 level.  As this article points out, he has been playing on the best AAU team that is loaded with talented Perimiter players.  This is allowing him to take guys on one on one. 

Still think his style of play and GU program would mesh well.  IMO 

ESPN ran a quick little blurb about GJ today on its College Basketball Rumor Mill. It said that he chose Appalachian State as the school to which he will transfer(I don't know if this is old news or not). It mentioned another transfer that App State got from Rutgers, a 6'11" center named Brian Okam. Both seem to have the same story, guys that played on teams that did not really need them at the time and transferred to a team in a small conference. This was a quote that I loved,

"Vilarino was somewhat expendable for the Kentuckys and Gonzagas of DI, but he'll be a major piece for the Mountaineers..."

it later said,

"So both players will need to work hard during their transfer seasons in order to live up to the hype of their power-conference pedigrees."

Its good to hear some news on GJ and it is always good to hear Gonzaga mentioned with Kentucky in such a positive way, also who knew that the WCC was a "power conference". How great would it be to match up with Appalachian State in the tournament in 2011?

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/features/rumors