The Zags have a long ways to go before

[Reborn]

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have a long ways to go, imo, before they are ready to compete in the NCAA tournament in March. I hope the Zags will address their turnover problem. Maybe getting Gary back will help. The Zags are just committing too many turnovers for as good as guards as they have. Pangos in particular has really been turning the ball over lately. And Dranginis makes poor decisions every game. IMO they need to cut those down to 8-10 turnovers a game. Second, the Zags need to stop missing so many bunnies. They are just too good to do that. Shoot, Sam Dower must have missed 7 or 8 against LMU himself. GU should have beaten LMU by twenty points.

Next Kevin Pangos needs to play much better than he is now. Kevin's turf toe has really affected his game. I do not see him returning to his former self. He will not be much more then 75%, maybe less. Now that Gary Bell is back, Few plans on resting Kevin some and I believe he needs it. He just did not look like himself at all against LMU. I think the Key to the rest of this season is how good can Gary be. Now that Kevin is going to be somewhat limited going forward, Gary needs to really shine. He needs to begin to be that player we all know he can be. This, I believe, is his time to shine. I believe he needs to begin to score in the upper teens instead of the lower teens.

The good thing that has happened as a result of the injuries to Kevin, Sam and Gary is that the bench players have really improved. Kyle and Drew have really gained confidence on the floor, and that really helps the Zags. I also believe that Gerard Coleman has really improved. He's beginning to play within Few's system. He has looked really good recently. Nunez, imo, still has a long ways to go. However, he is so athletic and potentially talented, that you never really know what he's going to do. I can still see him having a few really good games where he makes some really good plays, and his contribution is very noticeable.

ONe last thing. I wish Gonzaga could begin to close out games with the peddle to the metal. IMO, they seem to let up in the last 5-7 minutes in the game. I think this is a bad habit, and that habit hurt is last year against WSU in the NCAA tournament. I just see no reason to let up. what's wrong with beating teams by 20 and 30 rather then 10 and 20?

[flytiezag]

Kevins numbers will increase with Gary back we will have 2 and mybe 3 great 3 point shooters (Drew) on the floor at the same time .Kyle@David can get the ball to them. Teams will not be able to only guard Kevin as there game plan result Kevin will get good looks.Go Zags

[maynard g krebs]

IMO they need to cut those down to 8-10 turnovers a game.

Sam Dower must have missed 7 or 8 against LMU himself.

Only eleven teams are averaging less than 10 turnovers per game, and only 3 average less than 9. GU's average of 11.1 is 50ish. It has slipped some since Bell has been out and Pangos limping, but is still pretty good and Bells return will help.

Sam shot 12-22 in that game. Nineteen or 20 of 22 would certainly be nice, but that's a pretty high expectation.

[Reborn]

Only eleven teams are averaging less than 10 turnovers per game, and only 3 average less than 9. GU's average of 11.1 is 50ish. It has slipped some since Bell has been out and Pangos limping, but is still pretty good and Bells return will help.

Sam shot 12-22 in that game. Nineteen or 20 of 22 would certainly be nice, but that's a pretty high expectation.

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. If you watched the game wouldn't you say that Sam missed at least six easy shots that he would have normally made? Even Few mentioned that in the half-time interview. I'm just hoping we can make more of our bunnies. Kevin misses some, Stockton misses some, Kyle misses some, PK misses some, Coleman misses a lot. Imagine what we could be scoring and averaging if we made our bunnies. Yes we're doing well. But I would like to see this team do great.

[maynard g krebs]

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. If you watched the game wouldn't you say that Sam missed at least six easy shots that he would have normally made? Even Few mentioned that in the half-time interview. I'm just hoping we can make more of our bunnies. Kevin misses some, Stockton misses some, Kyle misses some, PK misses some, Coleman misses a lot. Imagine what we could be scoring and averaging if we made our bunnies. Yes we're doing well. But I would like to see this team do great.

Yeah, I agree. Just sayin' it's gonna happen from time to time and nobody's perfect. Most of those were early; he started 1 for 6 or 7, so the balance of the game he made 11 of 15 or 16. He really righted the ship, and fought through the early struggles. He also had his second highest career rebound game, so it looked to me like he used the struggles as motivation and elevated his game. I'm looking at the 28 and 14 as glass half full and seeing the positives of that game for Sam, who I thought gave an outstanding effort.

[Reborn]

Yeah, I agree. Just sayin' it's gonna happen from time to time and nobody's perfect. Most of those were early; he started 1 for 6 or 7, so the balance of the game he made 11 of 15 or 16. He really righted the ship, and fought through the early struggles. He also had his second highest career rebound game, so it looked to me like he used the struggles as motivation and elevated his game. I'm looking at the 28 and 14 as glass half full and seeing the positives of that game for Sam, who I thought gave an outstanding effort.

Yeah! I thought he played great too. One of his better games. Career high in points. It was a good time to have a big scoring game because Kevin was so off. I'm trying to look forward to March and trying to think of how the team could improve. The Zags need to continue to play the great defense they're playing most of the time now, AND they need to get back to scoring 80+ ppg. In the NCAA tournament I believe that the teams that can score 80+ pts a game advance. However, I'm sure I'm wrong. But still, one way to get to 80+ is to make our bunnies. Oh and it sure would help if we could make more FREE throws too.

[Zippyzaggy]

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. If you watched the game wouldn't you say that Sam missed at least six easy shots that he would have normally made? Even Few mentioned that in the half-time interview. I'm just hoping we can make more of our bunnies. Kevin misses some, Stockton misses some, Kyle misses some, PK misses some, Coleman misses a lot. Imagine what we could be scoring and averaging if we made our bunnies. Yes we're doing well. But I would like to see this team do great.

He said something to the effect that "he had never seen one of his teams miss so many bunnys". There must have been a lid on the basket in the first half, lol.

[Baseline]

My biggest worry is the Zags shooting away from their home court. They have a huge difference in their shooting, Pangos in particular seems that way. He has had a few games that were good, but for the most part his 3 point shooting can not be counted on away from home. If he is off the whole team starts missing, if he is hitting they all hit. This is a nightmare going into the tournament.
This is my perception without wading through the stats.

[Zippyzaggy]

Just doing a quick look back at the stats eight years to (2006/7), and see that there has only been ONE YEAR (last year) where the Zags had a better record after 19 games.

16-3 is pretty darn good considering the flu and injuries. Makes me feel better about where we are, and what potentially lies ahead! See, I'm not always doom & gloom...Anyhow, back to my bannanas.

[Hoopaholic]

Just doing a quick look back at the stats eight years to (2006/7), and see that there has only been ONE YEAR (last year) where the Zags had a better record after 19 games.

16-3 is pretty darn good considering the flu and injuries. Makes me feel better about where we are, and what potentially lies ahead! See, I'm not always doom & gloom...Anyhow, back to my bannanas.

right with you zippy....excited for the second half of the year and what this team will bring

[HOOTER]

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have a long ways to go, imo, before they are ready to compete in the NCAA tournament in March.

Not even close. This is a team that hasn't even advanced beyond the sweet 16 with their current coach... Ever! A supposed elite team mind you. This team, as with many in the past, isn't built for tournament play. They might barely eek out an auto bid, but advancement beyond the second round would require some divine intervention.

[Zags11]

Ahem......yea I hope we do something.

[Unbiased]

Agree, the Zags look like a middle of the pack WCC team - nothing more. No continuity and I can't figure out the lineup. I don't think the players can either.

[ZenZag]

How can we have four viable 3-point shooters in the game (Pangos, Bell, Dranginis and Barham) and not get one of them an open look? At one point tonight it was just the four of them tossing it around the perimeter. This team is very out of sync right now.

[Mantua]

I like this sober, honest thread. It sums up what I've been thinking. It's not clear how this team could get synced up considering the illness and injury. I like the attempts at integrating the new talent. With Kevin hampered so badly, there aren't many options but to be more creative. The same old same old isn't going to get this team anywhere this season. The defense was hot and cold tonight. We had 1 block which I guess was due to to Dee taking so many outside shots, but I'd feel a little better about our defense if there had been more blocks and steals. I wonder if there is any offense designed to get DB open? It's a shame to waste his shooting ability. The half-court game was too static and too predictable.