A Few Wednesday Notes: Grayson Allen To Visit Gonzaga?

We're in full offseason mode (sigh), but the good news is that it means we are going to be knee-deep in recruiting for the foreseeable future which is exciting. It is particularly exciting because the Zags are in need of, and pursuing, a big-time 2014 recruiting class. With needs across the board, the staff is hot on the trail looking at some elite prospects.

Get To Know Grayson Allen

For the past few weeks, we have been discussing a guy that hasn't been on most folks radar - Florida guard Grayson Allen. Yep, that's right, one of Gonzaga's biggest targets is from Florida. The four-star guard has nearly 40 scholarship offers which include Florida, Florida State, Illinois, and the Zags in addition to many others. Recently, the folks at Duke's Scout.com site caught up with Grayson who had some great things to say about the Bulldogs:

Did any coaches really stand out in how they coached and interacted with their players?

As far as things standing out, the calmer coaches, the ones that get their point across with out a lot of screaming. Like Coach Few at Gonzaga, he's one of the calmer guys, he won't have to yell at guys, they just understood. Florida State, Coach Hamilton is like that too.

What's your thoughts on Gonzaga?

They've been down about three times during my high school season. They offered like two months ago, as well. In watching them play, they recruit differently, since they are considered the #1 team, and it's a big honor to be recruited by them and it's definitely somebody I'm interested in.

Grayson also went on to say that he plans to take a visit in May and that the Zags are very much in contention for that visit.

The main thing that stands out about Allen is the fact that he is incredibly versatile - a trait that tends to thrive in Mark Few's system. He's one of the top shooters in the country but is also sneaky athletic and defend. To top it all off, he's incredibly bright and understands the game.

We will have much, much more on Grayson's interest in the Zags shortly.

Giacoletti Watch

As we wrote yesterday, Gonzaga assistant Ray Giacoletti is a major candidate for the Drake head coaching job. In a recent piece by the Des Moines Register, it appears that things are moving quickly:

Gonzaga assistant Ray Giacoletti has emerged as, at a minimum, a finalist for the position. The 49-year-old Peoria native has been on Mark Few's staff since 2007, when he was fired after three years at the helm at Utah. Giacoletti had a telephone interview with Drake on Sunday and was said to be flying to Des Moines tonight for an on-campus interview tomorrow.

That will give him a chance to meet face to face not only with athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb, but also the Drake players. What is unknown is whether this interview is the precursor to a job offer, or if one or two more on-campus interviews will occur later.

It is likely that Drake will want to lock someone up by the end of the week so we could hear something very soon on whether or not Giacoletti will be on the sidelines for the Zags next year.

As always, we'll have updates on Giacoletti as they come across...