Weekly Zag Briefing

Good stuff all around this week!

• Our friends over at The Dash came up with this nifty dashboard that offers a clean comparison of all the Final Four squads, make sure to check it out!
• Sports Illustrated caught up with Adam Morrison who gave an open and candid interview. He offers some interesting comparisons between this year’s squad (which he is really proud of) and his 2006 team. Be sure to give it a read!
• Mark Few will base his legacy based on the relationship he has with his players and their experience at Gonzaga, not by the number of Final Four appearances next to his name.
• College athletics detractors scoff at the amounts of money some universities spend on sports teams, and while that is a worthy debate, the Gonzaga basketball program certainly has a net positive return on investment for the university.
• The success of the Olynyk Clinic has really paid off for the basketball program.
• You may remember that Rick Barnes has been on the Gonzaga bandwagon since his Vols lost to the Zags in December. Since his team has actually played each of the Final Four teams this season, his “gut feeling” that Gonzaga will win the national championship is notable.
• I would say things worked out well for both programs when Mark Few rebuffed Oregon’s job offer in 2009.
• It is hilarious how much money Gonzaga makes for the rest of the WCC’s members. It will be annoying if that money isn’t re-invested into basketball to improve their basketball programs in order to improve the conference as a whole.
• If you haven’t read it yet, our friends at the mothership have declared that The era of doubting Gonzaga basketball is dead.
• Seth Davis breaks down the Final Four field for Sports Illustrated, and thinks the Zags will play relaxed and shoot much better this weekend now that they’ve finally gotten over the F4 hump.
• Since you’re here on this website, this won’t apply to you, but if you know of any neutrals looking for a team to support this weekend, tell them Gonzaga is the team to root for.
• Great story by Lindsay Schnell over at Sports Illustrated about watching the evolution of the program as an 11-year old in 1999 to a first Final Four.
• Jay Blias gave the lowdown on Oregon and Gonzaga for all the east folks with an early bedtime.
• It may be “just sports,” but Gonzaga’s Final Four berth really does mean a lot to a lot of people.
• Despite having to completely retool after last season and integrate a bunch of new faces to the squad this year, the Zags still found a way to make the Final Four.
• Many thanks to Athletic Director Mike Roth for being the man at the helm of the athletic department. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for the job he’s done over the years to help grow the program and university.
• John Blanchette broke down the 5 steps it took for Gonzaga to get here.
• Don’t be fooled, Gonzaga is still America’s Cinderella.
• The Zags have basketball coaches, and they also have spiritual coaches.
• Our friends over at Mid-Major Madness tracked down the #MopGirl who looked down the barrel of a fastbreaking Josh Perkins and lived to tell the tale.