Let's not forget our returning players

[Reborn]

We are having a great Spring in Zagdom due to the terrific recruiting. I just felt like we might need a thread aimed at keeping things in perspective for next year. So far Few has added Carter and Hyland for next year (Bell and Dranginis for '11). We know Few went looking for outside shooting so I think it would be fair to say that both players will see playing time. Sam Dower will also be a new redshirt Freshman, so essentially we have 3 new players. And we are losing only two (Matt and Will).

At the beginning of the year, I believe that the starters will be Meech, Gray, Arop, Sacre and Harris. Olynyk, once again will be the first guy off the bench. These six guys saw a lot of Div 1 action last year and are now experienced players who know the Zag system well. Olynyk and Arop had great years last year, imo. Both played very well for Freshmen. And I believe both are tough team players who play defense, rebound, are good passers, and can become better scorers this year. From what I've read, Dower will be ready to play and ready to contribute next season. We are all excited to see him play. Dower's ability to play the low post could free up either Harris or Olynyk to play at the wing. Dower has a lot of talent on the offensive end.

I think Gray will be better than Matt was last year. Like Matt was, he will have his chance at being an All-American based on his season. Hopefully, he will be a better outside shooter this year. I think Arop will have a breakout season, and average in double figures. Harris has a great chance of being an All-American as well. Sacre will be vastly improved next year, and as we saw at times, he has a lot of upside to his game. To be a very good team, the team needs three guys who can SCORE. Gonzaga has that and more I think. These three guys will all be offensive threats next year, and will average in double figures, and Arop will be right there as a fourth option.

We need a point guard who can pass well, and get the ball to the scorers. We need a guy who can shoot from the outside because if we don't have that, then the defense will use the man guarding our point guard to sang into the middle which makes Sacre's game much tougher, and it makes our wings game tougher because it takes away their ability to drive to the basket. Meech will certainly have his chance to show that his shooting has improved. If it hasn't then I expect to see Carter taking over the point. From what I have seen of him he is a very good passer/distributer, plays good D, and can shoot from the outside. Because Matt is gone we are going to need a good back up point guard. It's not going to be Gray. It will be either Carter or GJ. It won't be Grant Gibbs. He could never guard a point guard. I think there is going to be an intensive battle next Fall at that point guard position.

So that leaves Hyland trying to find his way onto the court next year. He will have to beat out Kong and Gibbs in order to do that. If he can play defense he will have a good chance of doing that. And if he can show a lot of confidence to knock shots down from the outside, this too will increase his chances of playing. Neither Gibbs or Kong were consistent from the outside, and Kong was better than Gibbs.

When I look at playing time, I look at 8 guys and maybe 9. So here's my take on those 8 guys and lets go with 9 for now.

Gray, Harris, Sacre, Arop, Meech, Olynyk, Dower, Carter or GJ, Kong or Hyland. My guess is that as the season progresses the 8th and 9th players (if Few goes to 9 deep which honestly is doubtful) will be Carter and Hyland. I think Few will go 9 deep this year if Hyland can prove that he can be effective while out there on the court. I think in his case effective means knocking down a 3 point shot or two, and playing some hustling defense.

[hooter73]

Agree with pretty much everything. the injury wild card is the only thing keeping the entire bench from being overloaded.

Deep deep deep.

[thespywhozaggedme]

We are having a great Spring in Zagdom due to the terrific recruiting. I just felt like we might need a thread aimed at keeping things in perspective for next year. So far Few has added Carter and Hyland for next year (Bell and Dranginis for '11). We know Few went looking for outside shooting so I think it would be fair to say that both players will see playing time. Sam Dower will also be a new redshirt Freshman, so essentially we have 3 new players. And we are losing only two (Matt and Will).

At the beginning of the year, I believe that the starters will be Meech, Gray, Arop, Sacre and Harris. Olynyk, once again will be the first guy off the bench. These six guys saw a lot of Div 1 action last year and are now experienced players who know the Zag system well. Olynyk and Arop had great years last year, imo. Both played very well for Freshmen. And I believe both are tough team players who play defense, rebound, are good passers, and can become better scorers this year. From what I've read, Dower will be ready to play and ready to contribute next season. We are all excited to see him play. Dower's ability to play the low post could free up either Harris or Olynyk to play at the wing. Dower has a lot of talent on the offensive end.

I think Gray will be better than Matt was last year. Like Matt was, he will have his chance at being an All-American based on his season. Hopefully, he will be a better outside shooter this year. I think Arop will have a breakout season, and average in double figures. Harris has a great chance of being an All-American as well. Sacre will be vastly improved next year, and as we saw at times, he has a lot of upside to his game. To be a very good team, the team needs three guys who can SCORE. Gonzaga has that and more I think. These three guys will all be offensive threats next year, and will average in double figures, and Arop will be right there as a fourth option.

We need a point guard who can pass well, and get the ball to the scorers. We need a guy who can shoot from the outside because if we don't have that, then the defense will use the man guarding our point guard to sang into the middle which makes Sacre's game much tougher, and it makes our wings game tougher because it takes away their ability to drive to the basket. Meech will certainly have his chance to show that his shooting has improved. If it hasn't then I expect to see Carter taking over the point. From what I have seen of him he is a very good passer/distributer, plays good D, and can shoot from the outside. Because Matt is gone we are going to need a good back up point guard. It's not going to be Gray. It will be either Carter or GJ. It won't be Grant Gibbs. He could never guard a point guard. I think there is going to be an intensive battle next Fall at that point guard position.

So that leaves Hyland trying to find his way onto the court next year. He will have to beat out Kong and Gibbs in order to do that. If he can play defense he will have a good chance of doing that. And if he can show a lot of confidence to knock shots down from the outside, this too will increase his chances of playing. Neither Gibbs or Kong were consistent from the outside, and Kong was better than Gibbs.

When I look at playing time, I look at 8 guys and maybe 9. So here's my take on those 8 guys and lets go with 9 for now.

Gray, Harris, Sacre, Arop, Meech, Olynyk, Dower, Carter or GJ, Kong or Hyland. My guess is that as the season progresses the 8th and 9th players (if Few goes to 9 deep which honestly is doubtful) will be Carter and Hyland. I think Few will go 9 deep this year if Hyland can prove that he can be effective while out there on the court. I think in his case effective means knocking down a 3 point shot or two, and playing some hustling defense.

Agree with most of what you wrote, except I think MC will beat out Meech at the pg spot and Bol will be primarily an sf, other than that good post.

[cggonzaga]

I don't think anybody is forgetting about our current players but make no mistake about it, the kids being brought in this year are being brought in to play if they're ready. I think the recent additions should be huge eye openers to some of the current guys and it's up to them to step their games up. It should be a very interesting summer to see who's up to the challenge.

[titopoet]

At the beginning of the year, I believe that the starters will be Meech, Gray, Arop, Sacre and Harris.

I think the starters are Meech, Gray, Harris, KO and Sacre. Also, look for the Zags to be a more of an inside team than they ever have with a huge presence on the offensive boards. With addition of Coach Daniels and KO being good passer from the 4 spot this could easily be a pound it inside team. I have great hope for the interior passing and better footwork from our bigs, which can wear down teams.

[BobZag]

Oh yeah, those guys!

[ZagsObserver]

I agree with most of the above post, but it will be a hard task for Gray to excel beyond the Bouldin that we all saw this last year. Bouldin was better as a Junior than Gray was this year in my opinion. I'll qualify better as not just having the ability to score inside/outside, but to essentially set the pace and tone of the offense, and make the incredible pass. So unless Gray makes a bigger jump between his Junior and Senior year than did Bouldin, you'd have a hard time making that argument. That having been said, I expect Gray to do good things next year and be a vocal leader. He has a good chance of being drafted if he commits himself this summer. As for Meech, I doubt he'll start, but we'll see. If it was just one hole in his game he'd probably get the nod, but he has at least two very glaring holes. I think Carter will get the nod, but GJ and Meech will each get a shot. Next year will be exciting, and think one of the biggest question marks is will Harris play the 3 or 4, or a combo of the two, as that will have impact on playing time.

[hooter73]

...look for the Zags to be a more of an inside team than they ever have ...this could easily be a pound it inside team...

Cant do that in the WCC, we saw that this year. A big even sneezes near somebody and they get called on a foul. My biggest hope for Sacre over the summer is to identify and find a way to still be effective around fouls.

[Reborn]

Great responses to my thread. I agree that the biggest battle will be for the starting point guard position. The reason I listed Meech as the starter AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, is because I know Few and his committment to his players. The job is Meech's to give away. As Few said at the end of the season, Meech will need to improve his outside shooting and foul shooting. The question is, "can he?" I know he can if he puts in the time. Anyone can. And then the question becomes, "can he do it in the games?" And what we're talking about here is confidence. That's what I question about Meech. Yet, he did turn his foul shooting around at the end of the season, and that's a good sign. I think Carter is a very good player, but he has not yet played at the division 1 level, and it is much, much, quicker and faster too. We must wait and see how he plays at this Div 1 level.

The question about Harris playing the wing is a good one. I think he and Olynyk both have the ability to play outside and inside, and I believe this will allow Mark Few to be very, very creative with these two guys.

I probably shouldn't have said I think Gray is better than Bouldin. But I do think he'll have a better Senior year in terms of statistics, and especially scoring. But I've always been biased toward Steven. I've liked him from the very beginning, and I thought last year, dispite his below average outside shooting, that he had his best year yet. I loved his hustle and defensive effort especially. I have always thought he'd make it to the NBA and I still do.

I also believe that next year's team will be better than this year's, and considerably better, and will make it to the Sweet 16. Go Zags! I really lilke the 3 new players we will have next year: Dower, Carter and Hyland.

[ZagsObserver]

Hey Reborn, I agree, next year's squad has a great chance at eclipsing this years squad, particularly with all the freshmen gaining a year of experience and practice this summer, as well as Few plugging the holes he saw in this year's team. Now that Few has had an opportunity to see all the freshmen play, he also has a better idea as to their strengths and weaknesses, and I think he'll capitalize on that. The year of experience will be as much about the players as the coaches in that the coaches can now devise their playing strategy according to the collective strengths of the players. However, my expectations are Elite 8, not Sweet 16 next year ...haven't been there in a while...

[gamagin]

at least they're out of the rain . . .

Oh yeah, those guys!

under the bus.

[FuManShoes]

Wait, who are these returning players? I thought the team was booted after another dreadfully underachieving year and Few would be relying entirely on redshirts, transfers and new guns.

[Reborn]

[QUOTE=ZagsObserver;566561However, my expectations are Elite 8, not Sweet 16 next year ...haven't been there in a while...[/QUOTE]

That's a very good expectation. The key to me will be the point guard play. We must remember that the year we did make it to the Elite 8 we had Matt Santagelo at the point, and he was a JUNIOR. I'll have to wait and see how Meech and Carter progress before I'll say Elite 8. I think that we do have guys like Harris, Gray, Sacre and Arop who can play at that level. I hope Kelly and Dower have bulked up because we will need them on the boards. We all know how important point guard play is in order to make a deep run. The other two things we need is excellent 3 pt shooting and GREAT defense.

For some reason I think that Daniels is going to be able to help us improve on defense. It's just a gut feeling, but he is coming from UCLA who has had the best defense on the West Coast for the last five years. Now that we have Daniels in our farm house it just has to help the Zags.

[zaguarxj]

I'm not sure why you rule out Gray playing minutes as a 1. He played there at times last season and looked pretty decent.

[cjm720]

This is a legitamate Final 4 team if we stay healthy. So many options, big time front court, got the wings covered, and depth at the guard spot. Put this team on your shoulders Mr. Gray and take us to the promise land.

Go Zags!!!