Weekly Zag Briefing

We’re in the final week of the regular season, and this time of year always feels like the calm before the postseason storm. Here’s hoping the Zags get through the week unscathed!

• Bad news for 2017 signee Corey Kispert as he will miss the remainder of his senior season with a Jones fracture in his right foot. Kispert had surgery on his foot on February 10, and is expected to make a full recovery by the summer. In an interview with Pat Forde of Yahoo, Mark Few singled out Kispert as one of Gonzaga’s biggest recruiting steals. There’s a lot of interesting stuff from Few in that interview so definitely make sure to read it, and its clear that Few is excited about everything Kispert brings to the table.
• There is no shortage of nicknames for the members of the 2016-17 Gonzaga squad, or for anyone that has come through the program for that matter.
• Randy Bennett says this is the best Gonzaga team he’s ever faced, and he points to the Zags proficiency on both sides of the ball as the reason why.
• Mark Titus from The Ringer argues that Gonzaga has earned a 1-seed regardless of what happens the rest of the pre-tournament season. Titus also wrote what is probably my favorite paragraph written about Gonzaga basketball all season:

Current national-title-threat status: On a scale from Adam Morrison’s mustache to Kevin Pangos’s luxurious flow, I give Gonzaga’s title chances “Przemek Karnowski’s beard.” It should be the favorite, but the added pressure of being undefeated and trying to reach the program’s first Final Four does worry me a little. And just to be clear: I don’t think the Zags are the best team in the country just because they are undefeated. I think they’re undefeated because they’re the best team in the country.

• While we’re spending time at The Ringer, Rodger Sherman thinks its time for Gonzaga to shed its Cinderella label, as the slipper stopped fitting a long time ago. But we like the name of our site, Rodger!
• Zags hold steady as the #1 seed in the West region of Lunardi’s latest bracketology.
• Nice human interest piece on Gonzaga’s new full-time scoreboard operator, Justin Stottlemyre, as he’s taken over the full time role following the passing of long-time scoreboard operator John Oakley in November 2016.
• Gonzaga remains atop Gary Parrish’s power rankings, and Parrish wrote a whole column about the Zags opining that the hate directed towards the team should be considered #FakeNews.
• Ticket prices for the WCC Tournament are soaring thanks to the Zags.
• Another piece examining the success rate of teams who have entered the tournament with Silas Melson’s jersey number in the loss column.
• The Zags are eyeing some time off to recover from the conference schedule before heading off to Vegas.
• The Lady Zags are looking to clinch the outright WCC regular season title this week.
• Keep voting for Przemek Karnowski in the Senior CLAAS award. Polls are open until March 21, 2017, and you can vote every single day. Przemek is currently leading with 33% of the vote, but keep stuffing the ballot to make sure he stays there!
• Rem Bakamus is the handshake king

• Mark Few was on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt a few days ago. Be sure to watch if you haven’t seen his interview yet.