The Slipper Still Fits: FanPosts

Were In the Zone

2010-03-18T20:55:38Z

Not to worry Zag Nation. We are going in with the best team since Casey and the boys and they played Flordia too.We bounce back after silly games like the WCC championship. Harris is a mean homeboy and will come out and smash Flordia's bigs. 1st round win by 12 . of course we will be down by 3 at half but stay tuned for the fireworks. So be ready for a long ride this year.

ZAGS 86

FLA 74

Poll

How far do you think we will go. Is Harris our best player since Morrision. ?

NCAA Tournament Day 1 Open Thread

2010-03-18T16:24:52Z

Figured it might be nice to chat about everything happening. BYU and Florida are just tipping off, which means that the best couple of days of the sports year have begun!

Seems like Murray State is a popular upset pick, as well as San Diego State. Oh, an Villanova will be sitting a couple of there starters, but they should still see plenty of court time.

Hopefully this has already gotten to 75 words, because I'm sick of telling you all things you already know.

Nowhere In Sight.

2010-03-17T18:29:43Z

Since Sunday, I have seen one or two true posts about Gonzaga on the two or three major sports sites that I go to (ESPN, Fox Sports, and MSNBC). Gonzaga is used to being a hot topic throughout the college basketball world, but suddenly, we aren't. I haven't seen anybody pick us to really even beat FSU, nor have I seen anyone bring up the fact that we beat St. Mary's twice before they beat us once.

Most of the articles have Gonzaga as the loser to FSU, due to the fact that we lost to Duke by 35 and that the ACC connection is in automatic loss for us.

In all honesty, I think this can be a good thing. We have a weight on our shoulders as an 8 seed that is so much different than the other 8 seeds. I don't think Cal can feel the pressure we do coming into this game, but knowing that the media doesn't believe in us could be a total positive. The weight on GU's shoulders right now is our weight and not the media's pushing us downward like before we play Duke, MSU, UConn, Memphis, etc.

Our team can do a lot and while they may not, (I'm predicting that they'll make it out of the weekend. You have to think positive!), it's not like the pressure from the media is getting to them from being "snubbed", because I think even they know that they deserve that 8 seed after being smashed on the court by St. Mary's. This team is out to prove something to themselves, not just the media who can talk them up through the AP poll and the coaches who REALLY talked them up too much in the Coaches' poll this year.

All in all, I'm glad that I don't have to read constantly about how we are an undeserving 4/5/6 seed or a seeded too low 10/11/12 seed. Knowing that people other than the students at FSU and Syracuse and the people of Spokane's general area aren't thinking about the Zags... it could definitely be a lot easier to handle stress for the young guys and the couple upperclassmen.

What do you guys think? Does the media not talking about Gonzaga help our guys' mentality going into the game?

Selection committee screws GU over again

2010-03-16T21:08:43Z

Way back in time... A Dan Dickau led GU team was #6 in the nation, and the selection committee gave them a 6 seed! no typo. #6 in the nation got a 6 seed. GU ended up losing to Wyoming, but it still has to be one of the most absurd seedings by the selection committee of all time.

GU will need to get back to its underdog role if the want to upset Cuse in Buffalo. Losing Manny Arop will hurt them but I still think they have a decent shot if they can get past the Seminoles.

FEW on JIM Rome

2010-03-16T20:54:16Z

Coach few was just on Jim Rome's show on ESPN around 1:30pm today. If you'd like to watch the interview I am sure you can find it on espn. Jim and Coach few talked about how laid back steven gray is and discussed past and present teams including this weekend's matchup. They also talked about the impact of losing 4 starters last year and how the team has done this year.

Show us your brackets!!!!!!

2010-03-16T18:58:37Z

We would like to officially welcome everyone to the Slipper Still Fits bracket challenge. We just created an open group for Gonzaga fans with ESPN Tournament Challenge and would like all of our readers (invite your friends as well) to compete for the title of Bracket Champion. In the spirit of this site, I have selected Gonzaga to make the Final 4, but there are no requirements for how far you must pick the Zags to go. We do encourage people to be a little risky and pick the occasional upset, but if you want to choose all the #1 seeds in the Final 4, that is totally fine.

Here is how you join:

1) Go to ESPN Tournament Challenge (Click here for direct link)

2) Create an ESPN account (They are free. If you already have an ESPN account, skip this step)

3) Fill out your bracket

4) Click on Join group

5) Search: Slipper Still Fits (Key Note: The group for this blog is: "Slipper Still Fits, not "The Slipper Still Fits)

6) Join Slipper Still Fits

7) Sit back and enjoy this terrific competition.

If you have any questions or something isn't working, please feel free to email us, and we will do everything we can to help out.

One-liners for the starters

2010-03-16T17:15:16Z

You are the Gonzaga Coaching staff. You have a chance to say one thing to each of the five starters...your one-liner to them before they head out to play Florida State. What do you say to each of them?

As for me:

Sacre: Play with that fire you had against SMC! Take it to them!

Bouldin: We got rid of the softness, now go out there and show the Nation who Matt Bouldin was meant to be.

Meech: Fast and relaxed and under control, take what they give you and give em' hell back!

Gray: Time to own a game for 40 minutes.

Harris: Play heads up ball looking for ways to make them pay for not respecting you all over the court.

So "Coach" what would you say?

Mark Few's Coaching Abilities

2010-03-16T16:38:39Z

I was just listening to the BS Report, and Bill Simmons did a mega-March Madness podcast. One of his guests was a Vegas insider, Chad Millman. They were discussing the Vegas trend in the NFL of steering away from coaches that can influence games in negative ways, like Norv Turner. This is starting to leak into NCAA basketball come tournament time, and they began to discuss coaches that fit into this category.

Almost immediately when I heard this theory, I unfortunately thought of Mark Few. Sure enough, he was the second name mentioned (after Coach K). It really makes sense. He is a great recruiter, but as an in-game coach, he doesn't make the best adjustments to help the team win. His substitution patterns are also very questionable. I love Few, and am always nervous after every season whether he will jump ship to a bigger program. But would another coach give the Gonzaga a better chance of succeeding in the NCAA tournament?

THE LEARNING CURVE HAVE WE REACHED IT ?

2010-03-13T18:18:08Z

It was very difficult seating behind the kennel club at the orleans arena watching our zags, watching the gaels score, score and score. We all know how good our team can be and to watch them become oblivious in these games is mind boggling. We all tried to figure it out but the answer eludes us and our coaches. The teams failure to dial in, in these games, have done more damage then the team realizes, until now. Spokane a fading memory, a # 4,5 seed a distant dream. The damage has been done. Hopefully this team will finally learn from this catastrophic mistake.We know our team has the ability to rebound but can they do it without a relapse. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR! A DEEP RUN REQUIRES Tenacious, Unyielding , Relentless, Focused, Basketball. ZAGS you are better and stronger then you realize. Good teams are not beaten by other teams, they are beaten by themselves. Mental toughness, no matter what occurs during the game, their can be no frustration,no self pity, no self doubt.

ZAGS LET'S SHOW THE COUNTRY THAT THEIR EARLY SEASON PRAISES AND ACCOLADES WERE NOT MISPLACED. SEE YOU AT THE ELITE EIGHT!

One and done

2010-03-10T19:11:02Z

I'm not jumping off the bandwagon but after watching the Zags this last month i would be shocked if they win 1 game in the NCAA. This team is very young and now has lost their 6th man for the rest of the season. I think they will get a 7 seed. Will the real Matt Bouldin please stand up...Please stand up...And who was that guy in a Will Foster costume making 2 FTs?? Meech has NO outside game at all. Sacre can look like a superstar with his soft touch in the paint and his powerful dunks but most of the time he falls apart. Sacre will be a force in the future. Gray is a little stud that can sometimes be a dud. And we all know what Elias can do SOMETIMES. Kong may be our best 3 pt shooter but when he plays you never know what you will get, 12 pts or 0 pts. Each player on this team could have a night where they could have a 20 pt game. I dont hink i have seen a game all year where ALL the players were playing well. If we are to do anything in the NCAA this year we need a strong performance from Sacre 10+ pts and 8+ reb. Bouldin 16+ pts and 5+ apg. Gray 15+ pts. Harris 16+ pts and 6+ reb. And Meech no TOs and make some FTs. I really think next year will be even better.

Why even play a conference tournament?

2010-03-09T19:46:24Z

This really isn’t sour grapes for losing to St. Mary’s last night. They wanted this game 100x more than we did and hit the shots to put us away.

That being said, I have always thought the WCC tournament was a little redundant. I can understand it more in conferences like the Big East where not every team plays each other twice but I just don’t think it makes much sense in the WCC. We were already conference champions, we had already swept St. Mary’s and Portland in conference play, why have a tournament to basically recreate a mini-season all over again? I really like what the Ivy League does in giving its regular season conference champ the auto-bid. I think it makes much more sense for the smaller conferences like the WCC. Definitely like to hear some other thoughts on this. I can see some benefits to it like being able to play another week so we don’t have a LONG break till the NCAA’s and giving the league some TV exposure…

why why why why....

2010-03-09T17:28:36Z

I have my NCAA first round tickets in a manilla envelope on my desk. I could hear zombie nation softly playing in the background every time I looked at them the past week. I thought it was a lock. Me, watching the zags in the tournament in Spokane! Am a fool for still hoping a tiny bit that it is possible? Could it be? Am I just trying to soften the blow or is it still possible that they could play as a 5 seed? What do you think?

Poll

Could the Zags still play in Spokane?

Tourney placement? See the RPI

2010-03-09T06:19:49Z

Epilogue to a WCC washout...

Even before the troubling loss in the WCC title game on Monday night, the Zags were facing an uphill battle in securing at least a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament if you place any stock in the Rating Percentage Index or RPI.

GU was at #34 in Monday's polls with a strength of schedule that ranks 119th in the nation. That's tough to believe when you think this team played programs like Duke (#2), Wisconsin (#16) and Michigan State (#25) earlier in the season. What tripped the Zags up was their conference. Other than 43rd ranked St. Mary's -- which played the best game in the history of the program to stun GU on Monday night -- only Portland (#81) makes it into the top 150. Loyola is next at #174.

While the Zags try to figure out their substitution pattern after the loss of valuable reserve Manny Arop to a broken foot -- Coach Few, please try playing Kelly Olynyk, Will Foster or Bol Kong for more than three or four minutes at a time so at least one of them can establish some confidence -- the team will likely be looking at a #6 or #7 seed by the time the brackets are announced on March 14.

If you're looking ahead to possible opponents, don't be surprised if the tournament committee matches GU up with another team from a mid-major conference like they did two years ago with Davidson -- a team like Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley Conference champions) or perennial overachievers like Xavier or Utah State would make sense.

There's also a chance that the Zags could draw a lesser team from a power conference like the Big East or the ACC. Teams like Florida State (RPI #35) or Clemson (#27) are possibilities.

Whatever happens, this team has proven that it can play with some of the best teams in the country when the defense is tuned in, offensive rebounding is a priority and Matt Bouldin, Steven Gray and Elias Harris fulfill their potential as three of the most effective scorers in college basketball.

Take heart, Zag fans. The loss on Monday night will seem like a forgetable practice scrimmage if this team can regroup, remember how good they are and make a serious run in the NCAA tournament. With a few breaks, this is a group that could match the run of three tournament wins in 1999. Then, we'll thank Mr. Samhan and his cohorts for helping us to play with a bit of a chip on our shoulder.

Motivation

2010-03-09T04:05:00Z

I'm watching the waining seconds of this game which will never be spoken of again (delightfully goes in at number 2, behind the UCLA game which will never be spoken of again) - and I wonder how much this was in coming. St. Mary's lost at home, and then got beat in Spokane; they were probably robbed of a spot in the tournament last year. How can they not be thinking both, "we have to win to make sure we get in," as well as wanting to come out and punch Gonzaga in the face.

I don't see how ensuring a spot in Spokane matches up to that. It's valuable beyond a doubt, but how does "Get to Spokane" match up to what St. Mary's feels coming into this game? Especially the notion of this being their year - Gonzaga was going to be rebuilding a little, so this was the time to shine.

2-1 vs. a rival is good. It's just a shame the loss has to come in the conference tournament.

Who should replace Coach Few?

2010-03-03T22:18:40Z

With all of the talk about Ernie Kent inevitably getting canned in a few weeks the rumors that Mark Few will be unable to avoid the obvious benefits of the UO job are soon to start flying. These benefits include:

1. New state-of-the-art facilities

2. A HUGE paycheck (likely courtesy of Nike)

3. A new challenge

4. Close proximity to his father

There is no reason to believe that Few will jump ship this year, he has turned down some amazing opportunities in the past and has demonstrated a remarkable allegiance to Gonzaga and the "simple life." Few will likely never have the success or job security that he enjoys at GU in any other program but I don't think any of us could blame him if he left after this or any future year. He would be leaving the program in great shape with an extremely talented young team and at this point I'm not sure how much this program depends on Coach Few to continue this amazing run.

Lately I have been thinking about who would be best suited to take Spike's reins and I am curious to know what all of you think. As far as I am concerned these are the most obvious candidates but I would love to see some comments about coaches outside of this list that you think would fit in well here. Please keep the wish list realistic which means I don't want to see Coach K, Boeheim, Roy or Gary Williams or anyone else who is currently coaching at a basketball powerhouse. Here is the obvious list:

Bill Grier- He was in line for this position before heading to USD. After some remarkable success at USD in the beginning of his tenure the program has taken some hits but there is no reason to believe he wouldn't be extended the offer and he would be crazy not to take it.

Leon Rice- It is hard for us fans to really understand the role that the Assistant Coaches play in practice, in games and in recruiting but Leon Rice has been around the longest (11 years) and has the Associate title.

Tommy Lloyd- Tommy has been with the program for 9 years and is looking pretty good right now after bringing Elias to Spokane

Ray Giacoletti- Ray has only been at GU for 3 years but he was quite successful at EWU and was a COY finalist at Utah in 2005. The bottom fell out after Bogut left for the NBA and he was run out of SLC. Coach Giacoletti could be the key to stealing some high level Australian talent from SMC. He and Grier are the only coaches on the list that have head coaching experience.

Disagreements? Opinions? Other candidates? Take the poll and leave comments below, we have some downtime before the game on Sunday so lets get the opinions flying.

Poll

Which coach would be the ideal candidate to take over if Mark Few were to leave?

Bill Grier

53 votes

Leon Rice

82 votes

Tommy Lloyd

24 votes

Ray Giacoletti

53 votes

Other (Please Specify in Comments)

12 votes

224 votes | Poll has closed

WCC Tournament

2010-03-03T21:49:58Z

Click here for the WCC tournament bracket.
WCC Bracket

It is our tournament to lose. As the top seed, we theoretically have the easiest road to the final, but the seeding turns out to be very interesting. We have the Pepperdine/ LMU/ SF winner. So unless Pepperdine pulls off two consecutive "upsets", we will have to beat one of the two teams that beat us in conference to get to the SMC/ Portland winner. We looked forward to an exciting tournament last year, only to watch our boys shred two teams by 20+ and walk into the NCAA's. It could end up the same this time around, but we have four other teams (SMC, UP, USF, and LMU) who really believe they can win this tournament, and must win it to make it to the NCAA's. I know Lunardi has SMC in his bracket, but there is no possible way the committee could put them in over a lot of these bubble teams who have played against any legitimate opposition and still get to prove themselves in their conference tournaments. With the Zags fighting to keep a 4/5 seed and four other teams who believe they can earn the auto bid, this should be a perfect test for our team seeing as both the semis and finals will pin them against 12-16 seed quality teams like we will face early in the NCAA tournament.

This weekend will be a great time for us to get into the one-and-done tournament mentality again. The developmental phase with this team is over, and it's now on Bouldin, Gray, and Elias to carry us and set up Meech and Sacre with good looks. If we can play the "underdog" throughout March, it's going to be a fantastic month.

GO ZAGS!!!

Playing with fire

2010-02-25T17:44:34Z

Fire back in Zags bellys?

2:32PM ET Gonzaga Bulldogs Top Email

We wrote last week that maybe Gonzaga wasn't fired up enough. This statement came after fumbling a game to Loyola Marymount.

Even the Zags players realized they placed with a laid-back attitude, which can partially explain the 72-54 beatdown on Pepperdine this weekend. However, perhaps the two losses to USF and LMU are a foreshadowing of an early exit in the WCC tournament or worse, in the NCAA tournament. "We just didn't want to have that feeling we had on Thursday. We just wanted to show who we are as a team, not the sleepy, lackadaisical team that has randomly made appearances this year," said Steven Gray.

One key to look for in terms of scouting a potential Gonzaga upset: watch the game's tempo. Gonzaga averages about 69 possessions per game and in some of their closer wins, the pace has slackened (although, weirdly, the loss to USF was one of GU's fastest paced games of the year -- 79 possessions). Slow the pace and Gonzaga could struggle to see the first weekend of NCAA play: "The last game, we weren't pushing the ball at all, and that's a really big part of our game," said Demetri Goodson.

This was from ESPN.com rumors on Feb 22nd or 23rd.

Another possible guard for 2010?

2010-02-24T22:51:16Z

Scout.com had an interesting bio on a Canadian guard named Emerson Murray who listed Gonzaga as school of interest.

"Combo guard who has tremendous hops, an excellent jumper with range, ability to get to the basket, and major dunking skills. Good defender and outstanding leader as well. As a junior in 2008-09 he averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals per game. He nailed a 15-foot jumper with 2.6 seconds left to carry St. George's to its first-ever provincial basketball title in a 63-62 AAA donnybrook over perennial power Vancouver College Prep.

"There is very little that Emerson can’t do. He is able to defend, shoot from deep, stick the mid-range, and drive hard to the basket and finish with authority. Not to mention, his freakish vertical leap," wrote Vancouver sports writer Tariq Sbiet in a May 2009 article.

"You have athletes and you have basketball players and Em combines both," Pasha Bains, an AAU coach, told the Vancouver Province about Murray. "It's so rare to see a guy that athletically gifted who is also such a good shooter, such a great rebounder and such a great defender."

Father Mike Murray is a well known Canadian track coach and former sprinter."

http://gonzaga.scout.com/a.z?s=130&p=8&c=1&nid=4461146

Sounds like the Canadian pipeline to Gonzaga could continue.

"JUST ONE OF THOSE GAMES"

2010-02-23T15:38:12Z

The above a recent quote by one of our players. A statement that maybe indicative of our teams mindset which lead us to our debacles against USF and LMU. Being an alum and living in NYC and it's surronding area all my life, I am not caught up in the THE DARLING'S OF SPOKANE syndrome. I have attempted for years to get the bulldogs to realize that the national stage is a harsh, cruel court. GONZAGA has shaken and invaded the space of the basketball elite. The world of basketball is not SPOKANE, despite what the team may think. The idolatry and forgiving admiration does not extend that far on 90 especially in the eastern direction.

Although they call us America's team the east coast bias is very much alive. The pundits despite their lip service, still enjoy our failures and use them in any way they can, to reinforce that we are a mid major with an extraordinary run of luck. They salivate to point, to our failures and tell the basketball world that we don't belong.

BULLDOGS we must awaken!!! There is no room for error.The world is not SPOKANE. We cannot afford to have "JUST ONE OF THOSE GAMES" T.U.R.F.

A quick word on FanPosts and FanShots

2010-02-22T22:50:49Z

First of all, I really appreciate all the recent activity on the site. The comments, opinions, and discussion have been outstanding lately.

With that being said, I just waned to write this quick piece as there seems to be some confusion about where to put certain information on the site. We aim to be a site that is well organized so that you can find all the latest news on Gonzaga so it is important to make this quick distinction.

A FanPost is meant to be an opinionated fan blog. This post is meant for you to express yourself and present an argument. You can post whatever you want as long as it relates to Gonzaga. The main thing that we require is that it is an original work. I urge you to look at some of the better FanPosts on our site, specifically the pieces put together by people like SoundPound, ZAGNY, or giantkillerzags. They've all done a nice job presenting a topic and submitting an argument or presenting facts. If Mark Few makes you made because he's not playing someone you can post it there. If you are so happy about a Gonzaga win that you want to write about it, post it there. If you want to discuss where you think Gonzaga should go with their recruiting future, post it there. What we don't want to see is a link and then a bunch of words so you can satisfy your 75 word limit because...

That's what FanShots are for. If you click New FanShot on the user dashboard, you'll see that you can post links, videos, pictures or anything else you want that relates to Gonzaga. If Jay Bilas writes an article about Gonzaga that you find interesting, go ahead and link it over there and it will be promoted to the front page by one of us or discussed on the sidebar. We've had some great videos and links put up over there and we'd love to see that section of our site grow.

With that being said, from now on we are going to start removing FanPosts and FanShots that don't adhere to these standards. The point of all this is to promote your thoughts and things you find interesting. Please e-mail us at slipperstillfits@gmail.com if you have any more questions.

To learn more about FanPosts, FanShots, and other SB Nation features, please read the SB Nation Welcome Guide to familiarize yourself with the site.