Gonzaga vs St. John's: Post game thoughts

[johno]

We played two physical teams that might be on the sidelines of the NCAAs come March. Perhaps this was their one chance upon the stage, they were desperate. They gave us all they had and lost. We prevailed despite uncalled intentional fouls. I won't name names, the team prevailed. And they were team wins! I love this team, Go ZAGS!

[Reborn]

Gonzaga vs St. John's: Post game thoughts

I liked what Bob Knight said Wednesday night when he was announcing our game. After Gonzaga had built a good lead, and then, in his opinion Gonzaga slacked off the second half, Knight said that he felt that it would be good for Few to have something to criticize the team about. He also said that when a team has been playing as good as GU has that it's kind of easy for them to think a they are a little better then they are. I liked it. And I like it now.

This team has a lot of growing to go through. They have so much to learn. And they will. They played ok, but really not all that great. Not as a team. Too many turnovers and at times not enough intensity and energy (I felt). And poor 3 point shooting. Heading into this week I did feel the Zags would be challenged and they were. It was a very good road test for them, and the good news is they did pass the test. Teams just don't play as well on the road. It was a great environment tonight and overall the Zags played good enough to win. there were certainly some bright spots.

I'm so glad Melson is going to play now. It's obvious to me the Zags need him. He played so well tonight. Amazingly well. I was really impressed. And we need him going forward. I'll be anxious when Perkins comes back and we have them both on the court at the same time. Sabonis, another freshmen (and who did not play well last night) played like we have all seen him play. He was great. Obekpa could not stop him, and that is saying a lot. Wesley has played very good and is very steady, as a senior should be. I really like his presence on the court. And Gary played great tonight. He really stepped up offensively. I was so glad for him and for the team. They do NEED him to score. He needs to get that into his head.

It was a great game tonight, and really exciting. Honestly, I was glad they had a really close game tonight. They needed that as they get ready to prepare for Arizona. And they needed to play in a tough environment against a tough, physical team. I'm happy.

Go Zags!!!

[Section 116]

Was Nunez a bad matchup? Didn't see much of him tonight?

[hooter73]

I'll be interested to see how it all falls together with Eric and if Josh does or doesn't do a medical shirt. The Kyles are underplaying imo. Nunez was pretty absent tonight. This was our first taste of the road and upper level competition. Lots to improve on.

[Marcus]

My biggest take away is how much more team toughness we have this year. Domas and Wesley can really bring it and have added something that's been missing. Bell and Pangos won't back down either. And Perkins, my goodness. The guy takes a ninja kick to the face, breaks his jaw and try's to say he's ok. Even says he wants to play with his jaw wired shut, wow!!!

[drnoe]

Was Nunez a bad matchup? Didn't see much of him tonight?

Thanks for bringing this up. I was wondering the same thing. He just played a few minutes.

[DZ]

My biggest take away is how much more team toughness we have this year. Domas and Wesley can really bring it and have added something that's been missing. Bell and Pangos won't back down either. And Perkins, my goodness. The guy takes a ninja kick to the face, breaks his jaw and try's to say he's ok. Even says he wants to play with his jaw wired shut, wow!!!

This.

Add to that the mental toughness shown by beating back every single charge led by SJU. GU built up leads throughout the game, SJU came charging back - I think of Memphis last year and a game lost b/c of fear (seemingly). This team did not play scared. It played poised and confident.

[Marcus]

For sure Dixie, the Memphis game form last year is the perfect example.

[gonzagafan62]

Glad we left MSG with the preseason NIT streetfight championship. Man I am glad to leave NYC. Worst trip ever. Refs were terrible, but we got the job done. GO Zags

[basketballzag]

Glad we left MSG with the preseason NIT streetfight championship. Man I am glad to leave NYC. Worst trip ever. Refs were terrible, but we got the job done. GO Zags

I liked the way Few played Nunez tonight actually. He was inserted into the game when St Johns was slowing down and he provided a quick back breaker for St Johns. He really didn't provide a good matchup against St Johns so few used him to help wear down the other team. He provided good defense during his play. Did make one bad pass to Sabonis but overall did a terrific job despite playing limited minutes. I would read much at all into his limited minutes tonight because he just didn't matchup well against them---same for Wiltjer

[CDC84]

Nunez still has a tendency to commit boneheaded turnovers. That's tough when facing a team like SJU who climbs into you defensively.

With SJU being so undersized, I think Few wanted Karno and Sabonis out there as much as humanly possible.

[CdAZagFan]

This.

Add to that the mental toughness shown by beating back every single charge led by SJU. GU built up leads throughout the game, SJU came charging back - I think of Memphis last year and a game lost b/c of fear (seemingly). This team did not play scared. It played poised and confident.

Great point... Even when the lead was down to 3 late, I didn't see any fear from GU (Pangos was especially great and Wesley did a great job continuing to be aggressive). I saw the fear a few times last year. I thought these were two good wins. My only very minor criticism is that it seems to me that coach seems to want to start slowing it down and draining clock with large leads and lots of time left on the clock (9+ minutes). Up fifteen tonight, I thought they took a little air out of it - I wish they would push the pace more until around five minutes left.

[MickMick]

The St Johns shot blocker with the funky curled up shorts is as good as I have seen. That is also based upon what I saw of him in the Minnesota game where he played equally well.

Has a high motor, never quits on a play.
Very instinctive and quick to react on help defense.
Can jump through the roof.

An ordinary player would have fouled out by halftime doing what he was doing. It isn't easy to consistently get "all ball" considering how much his hands were in play.

One can understand Lavin's halftime interview where his biggest concern was keeping the kid out of early foul trouble. Indeed, when he left with four fouls, GU zoomed from a four point lead to double digits in just a few possessions. I don't think GU wins this game if he manages to stay in the game for four minutes longer. Thankfully, due to the situation awareness of Pangos (probably inspired by Few), they attacked him early in the second half. Wesley's first half drives to the hoop helped very much in this regard as well.

Players like that St. John's kid can find a role in the NBA. In my opinion, the single best player GU has faced so far in this early season.

Edit: Just looked up his name....Obekpa. The young man is a defensive stud.

[Larrylegend]

Has Gonzaga turned a corner?

Thinking back to the UCLA and Wichita State debacles where Gonzaga squandered leads and lost, I see St. John’s as a turning point in the program. They showed toughness and refused to fold under pressure. Pangos is the key to this team.

[roxdoc]

Nice that they didn't fold, although they did not play very well for the second night in a row. UCLA and WState were much much better teams. We have a good team which undoubtedly will improve some. Think we have the talent for it but for whatever reason right now I don't think we are operating like a top-10 team.