Am I the only person worried about...

[gozagswoohoo]

players getting discouraged about playing time?


This might just be me, but I sit and look at what I believe is the most talented and deep team Gonzaga has ever had, and it worries me. (Don't get me wrong, I am more giddy than a school girl in a candy store, but this has been in the back of my mind for a few weeks.)

We have so many BIG-TIME players. And big-time players want to play. We are so deep, how could we possibly grant all the talented players all the time they deserve. There was no question with PMAC, we KNEW he was talented but when he came in (though the time was often limited), he rarely stepped up and did what we knew he could do. So that was a different story. But, I really think we have some guys that can play, and will want to play.

I don't know, we'll have so many people wanting time, and wanting to prove themselves...LOOK HOW DEEP WE ARE EVERYWHERE! ! !

It's so exciting, yet, is scaring me slightly.

Thoughts?

[former1dog]

Good problem to have Woo Hoo...

[pbriz]

unc last year....

UNC was in the same boat last year. Roy Williams did a great job of motivating his starters by pulling ALL of them and switching in 5 new players to get his team rolling at times.

Not only motivates the starters but gives everyone some playing team and keeps everyone fresh. Depth is a beautiful thing.

[gozagswoohoo]

Good problem to have Woo Hoo...

You got that right former!

And pbriz, thats one thing I thought about too. We could have a new rotation of 4-5 guys every few minutes. Think of the possibilities...we be the first team in NCAA history to score 200 points! haha

[finechina2003]

Agree with former1dog. Why do we the most successful economy in the world? Capitalism. Competition breeds success. Sure it has it challenges and pains ... but talented players, with a great attitude, is what you want up and down the roster.

[lothar98zag]

Depth was supposed to be an issue last year, but injuries (& other "things") took care of that.

I hope that depth is the biggest "problem" the team has this season.

[DZ]

Coaching

I agree that it is a legitimate concern but this is precisely where Few and staff need to delicately bring along the entire "team" -- in the greatest sense of the word. I believe the right type of player can be satisfied with 5 minutes if he is motivated by the coaching staff that his presence is adding something invaluable to the "team" at that time. If the opponent is not hitting anything long, go with your big specialists and let them fire away, obviously you need essentially a five man defensive team almost in a football sense. The definition of a Zag is one who puts "team" first, well if everyone is aware of something special that they alone bring, minutes seem to matter less than opportunity.

[JLGutrocks]

I agree that it is a legitimate concern but this is precisely where Few and staff need to delicately bring along the entire "team" -- in the greatest sense of the word. I believe the right type of player can be satisfied with 5 minutes if he is motivated by the coaching staff that his presence is adding something invaluable to the "team" at that time. If the opponent is not hitting anything long, go with your big specialists and let them fire away, obviously you need essentially a five man defensive team almost in a football sense. The definition of a Zag is one who puts "team" first, well if everyone is aware of something special that they alone bring, minutes seem to matter less than opportunity.

Well said Dixie. This aspect is the key to this season, IMHO.

JL

[cbbfanatic]

i dont think it'll be THAT big of a probelm - at all

i think gu has some pretty good depth of talent, but i also think there is a decent balance in roles. a lot of these guys presently, or coming in 08, seem to be in the mold of a role player, which is great - you gotta have those guys.

and the spacing in terms of school year is good too. young kids will get their chance to earn playing time.

the way i see it...
guys that are ready to run the ship now:
heytvelt, pargo
guys that are ready to contribute, and will be called upon to contribute now:
bouldin, pendergraft, downs
guys that will be role guys now, possibly capable of more
daye, kuso, gurganious
guys that could get into the mix as the season progresses/wild cards
gray, sacre, brown, davis, foster

next year, just bump everyone up a rung. i cant see any of the guys on that bottom tier really being TOO upset if they dont EARN enough pt this year (unless they are upset with themselves, which is fine) since they are young and unproven. i dont really see too much room for dissent, the heirarchy of the team seems pretty clearly defined, or that it should be that way anyway.

its not like UNC last year that had a RIDICULOUS incoming class they had to work in with other 5 star talent. i mean, these kids arent ALL stars. i think they fit together very well, to be honest - and i certainly dont look at it though gonzaga colored glasses

[MickMick]

Two years ago, the unhearlded Seattle Seahawk defense led the league in sacks. Was part of the reason because the defensive unit had to face one of the top offensive lines in the game during practice? After facing Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson in training camp, was the regular season a "break" for them?

When the toughest competition within your conference is the guys you practice against, you can't help but become good. You rise to the level of your opponent.

[cggonzaga]

I think this is a great problem to have. It sets up healthy competition between each player and makes each that much better. As a player you now have to realize that if I don't get the job done the next guy will. Some will step up to face the challenge, others will not. It's what separates the men from the boys.

[BobZag]

Loser school's fans who envy Gonzaga and its success and plethora of talent will fuss and fume about it, but fans from Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, UNC, Duke, and the like, will understand. It's reality.

[PFzag]

USC Football

They have been dealing with this "problem" for a couple of years now down at USC in football, and things have worked out pretty good for them.

[cbbfanatic]

They have been dealing with this "problem" for a couple of years now down at USC in football, and things have worked out pretty good for them.

having 6 or 7 parade all american running backs is a slightly different problem than this one. again, in my eye, these guys fit. i dont see it as overwhelming talent at all. i see it as a good mix of proven talent, solid role guys, and young guys with a lot of potential, but probably not the immediate ability to overtake the older guys (with the POSSIBLE exception of daye).

honestly guys, this is nothing like usc football, or even some of those bball powers listed. this is a good, solid mix of talent and roles

[UberZagFan]

We'll see how much of a problem it is. Don't forget that the depth being spoke of here is based upon 4 incoming players new to GU's system and making the jump to D1 hoops, 1 player coming off a redshirt year, 1 player coming off injury, and 1 player coming off a frosh year playing 11 games averaging 3 minutes---leaving 6 players returning that contributed significantly last year (one of which is returning from suspension).

Could GU have a lot of depth? Sure. But let's wait and see.