GU vs Pepperdine Media Thread

[Guest]

Meehan in the S-R:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/jan/03/gonzaga-weathers-waves/

Tidbits:

Gonzaga was in desperate need of a sparkplug in its West Coast Conference opener and David Stockton was happy to oblige.

Stockton came off the bench to help the 10th-ranked Bulldogs climb out of a deficit in the first half and he provided another boost in the second of Gonzaga’s 78-62 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday night.

Stockton scored nine points and had four steals and Kevin Pangos scored nine points.

Stockton keyed Gonzaga with three steals in the first half and helped the Bulldogs get the ball to their big men to hold off a rallying Pepperdine team that was down two points with 12 minutes left.

“I thought he sparked us in both halves,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He was the one guy that was being proactive. I thought I had a whole team full of guys that was being reactive. Both times we put David in the game he kind of got us going.”

Stockton, the son of Naismith Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, took pride in the four steals. It was originally five but one was taken away on the final box score.

“I like to see that on there,” Stockton said. “That’s something I’ve always tried to do and I’ve kind of lost sight of it. It was fun to fly around tonight and get your hands on a lot of things and disrupt a team.

“I was just trying to provide a spark. I have the luxury to sit and watch and see how our team is feeling. Whatever I can provide, whatever I can see, I can go out and that’s my goal on the court — to help the team in any way possible and stay on that spark.”

More at the link.

ZaGranny

[ZagNative]

SI Game photo album

I like this one of Kelly:

[ZagNative]

Jim Meehan's Day-After, with a great pic of Elias:

—Gary Bell Jr. said his right knee “was a little stiff, but nothing that was hindering me out there.” Bell didn’t seem 100 percent, but was close to it. He finished with five points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. His knee didn’t require a brace.

As Bell was exiting the locker room, former Zag Ronny Turiaf offered some words of encouragement. “That’s a winner right there,” the L.A. Clipper shouted.

—Mike Hart didn’t start, but he again saw the majority of minutes at the ‘3’ position. In fact, he was the third ‘3’ to enter the game behind Guy Landry Edi, who started, and Kyle Dranginis, who subbed in and immediately hit a floater but then fired an errant pass and missed badly on a 3-pointer.

That brought in Hart, who immediately made an impact. He snagged an offensive rebound that led to Przemek Karnowski’s layup and then fed Pangos for a 3-pointer. Hart assisted on a Harris basket and then, with the Waves defense sagging inside, he buried a 3-pointer.

In the second half, Hart missed an open layup, but was able to gather the rebound and, while falling to the court, fed Pangos for another 3, boosting GU’s lead to 57-47.

“Our bench made plays, David, ‘Shem’, Sam,” coach Mark Few said. “And Mike Hart always does.”

Hart finished with five points, more than his previous four games combined, five assists and four rebounds in 23 minutes.

STOCKTON, when it was mentioned that he might have been shortchanged one steal on the stat sheet: “I’d like to see that on there, please.”

[ZagNative]

From Jon Gold at Yahoo!

Gonzaga rallied from an early deficit behind Stockton, who came off the bench to help the Bulldogs take a 30-26 lead into the half.

Stockton had seven points, three steals, two assists and countless floor burns as he upped Gonzaga's energy with his inspired play.

"I like to sit back on the bench to start out, judge how the team is playing, and find a way to provide a spark," Stockton said. "That's my goal the second I get on the court."

Added Jackson: "I thought he was the difference-maker in the game for them. He came out with a lot of energy. He got a few steals in the first half and he just got their offense running and going."

[raise the zag]

“I thought he sparked us in both halves,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He was the one guy that was being proactive. I thought I had a whole team full of guys that was being reactive. Both times we put David in the game he kind of got us going.”

Props to Stocks and much deserved. A very keen game by him last night. His steals were something else and his aggressiveness on offense was key to our turnaround. Same can be said for Mike Hart in terms of Rebounding and Defense.

On the other hand, Pangos had his worst game, by far, to date. Never seen him play so laissez-faire, pretty poor all-around effort, I thought. He'll bounce back, not worried one bit.