Few has known all along what we don't know

[Reborn]

and that is what he thinks about the new Zags and the team he has for 2017-2018. I will always remember what Tommy Lloyd told us about how little we fans know about recruiting ect. I think he said about 5%. And the thing we fans just can't know is how Few has already been building and planning for 2017-18. I believe that in Mark Few's mind (and most likely in the minds of the assistants) his team is set. He likes what he sees out of these guys and for me it is a very very positive thing. The 2017-18 team may be considerably better than some fans thinks; at least some of them who post here. Some may feel a little bummed out because Few has not signed any transfers or another big this summer; and then there are other fans (and some of those also post here) have a lot of Faith in Mark Few and his staff; they believe that 2017-18 just may another surprising year like last year. We are quickly approaching the new season. I have a pretty strong feeling right now that the players on the team are set; and mos likely will be a lot better than we think. I like surprises especially if they are like the huge surprise that last season was.

[GrizZAG]

Of course Reborn, we have reason to believe in Mark Few and staff with good reasons no doubt, but...

Lingering questions for us not in the know are there that make us circumspect this year.

Is Larsen going to be ready and just how good is he?

Even if this group of new talented players are what they are billed to be in talent, are they going to be able to play at a high enough level to handle a very challenging early OC schedule set forth?

Is Rui going to magically understand Few's system and perform closer to his potential? He has the physical skills but as many have said he looked lost often last year.

We know there is great talent in our veteran players and hope the best for our new guys unknown to many of us till we see them, so our belief in the staff is what we have to go on but until we get to see this we will have uncertainty of course. That OC and tournament schedule is daunting.

[Bogozags]

Reborn, once again your spot on!

There is no doubt that the Staff has tons more knowledge about what is happening on the recruiting scene. The members of this board speculate on what "we" think will or should happen. "Our" speculation is being done in a large, dark room having only one window that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time; subsequently, "our" view is somewhat hindered. The Staff and its recruiting is held close to its vest much like the inner working of the White House and in both situations we have no real information on what or why choices are being or not being made. As much as "we" would like, the Staff isn't going to have a press release sharing the why and why not's of recruits choosing to or not to chose GU, as their destination to play the game of basketball. In most cases, the recruiting this Board's speculation of the why's & why not's of a recruit's choice sure appear to be logical BUT it really would be interesting to know the particulars and since those are almost never available, "we" have to live with our speculations. At least it passes the time for "us" until the season begins...BUT I sure think it would be nice for someone on the "inner - inner" circle to leak some informative tidbits, which would surely keep us on the edge of our seats...

[jazzdelmar]

Bornie....I get your drift, but surely the staff put effort into getting players. They came up empty. Now they know more about the talent level of the team now, but for us questions marks persist. You're entitled to some revisionist thinking, however....

[TheGonzagaFactor]

Bornie....I get your drift, but surely the staff put effort into getting players. They came up empty. Now they know more about the talent level of the team now, but for us questions marks persist. You're entitled to some revisionist thinking, however....

I thought about this a lot and my question marks have been resolved for the most part. I was really concerned to see us go after a couple of the guards we did because if we were going after a guy like Onwuasur or the young kid from UNC-W, it must mean our guards SUCK in the eyes of the coaching staff.

After we "struck out" on everyone it made me think that Few probably didn't guarantee these guys any type of PT or role to go with it. They were just going to be there for their experience and weren't interested without the guarantee of heavy playing time. The staff was out to get depth players, not starters as I thought.

Onwuasur isn't good enough to be a main player at GU, so they probably told him he'd have to fight his a** off for 15-20 mpg in a backup role.

We didn't need Hawkins (although we could have used him) so he was likely told something similar and decided to go to an ACC school offering more minutes (my, how far we've come).

The staff must like Larsen over Rooks and made it clear to Rooks. Otherwise, KR would probably be a Zag right now.


I'm confident in that I believe the staff likes the roster we have now. Any transfer would have just been an add-on; a bonus.

Could injuries change all that and send us to a mid-WCC finish? Yes.

Should we stay healthy, I really like what we've got.

Of course it's hard to have that confidence going forward with the ridiculous depth we had last season. In 2013 and 2017 we had 4 legit bigs which is a luxury few programs ever experience.

We're coming up on a rebuilding year that could still make it to the second weekend.

[Reborn]

Bornie....I get your drift, but surely the staff put effort into getting players. They came up empty. Now they know more about the talent level of the team now, but for us questions marks persist. You're entitled to some revisionist thinking, however....

I thought that Hawkins would sign with Gonzaga. We heard it was between us and New Mexico. No brainer right? And then suddenly we don''t hear anything about Hawkins again; and as each weak went by I began to feel he wouldn't be a Zag. I really felt he'd help the team; and I felt Few had made a mistake and probably could have went after him harder. Then I realize that I never once heard that Few wanted Hawkins. My OP was an attempt to understand why recruits may not have signed to play for the Zags. I certainly am not saying that my thinking is right. It's just some thoughts I wanted to share. As Bogozags said in the above post sometimes we just don't get to understand why. I think we all have fun trying to figure it out though and that's what makes this forum so interesting. I am sure there is the possibility that the staff made some effort in recruiting for 2017-18; but what seems clear to me is that he was not willing to give them the minutes that they wanted. In my opinion in the end I believe he really likes the players that he has.

This tells me that players like Rui, Larsen; Kispert; Wade; Ayaya and Norvell are probably going to be really good players for Gonzaga. I'm not saying this team will take us to the Sweet 16 or deeper in the NCAA Tournament next Spring. At this point I have no idea how good this team could be. It's pretty much the way I felt last year at this time. Just a lot of unanswered questions.

[zag67]

Reborn, great call.

I also think we could sustain an injury to someone like Larsen and still perform at a top level. We would have to go smaller, but the coaches must feel that Rui at the end of last season was ready. Also that Kispert will be able to come a in an immediately be an asset. And again at the point guard we have Perkins and Wade. Shooting guard Melson, Ayayi, and Norvell. And at small forward we have many options. They can use Norvell, Rui, Kispert, and Jones. Then look at the mixing and matching that they can do. Yes, we have some major experience holes. But we also have some major players with experience. Perkins, Melson, JW3, and Tillie. And then role players like, Rui and Jones that went to the NCAA championship game. Not too many teams have that much experience returning

I agree with the coaches. I do not know who will step up. And it may be different players each game, but I do think we will surprise a lot of good teams. Maybe not win but be competitive.

Also I think they have plans for the following years in the recruiting world.

[bartruff1]

It is never a good idea to speculate on anyone's motives....

[Reborn]

One player I have not thought about enough until today is Larsen; but because how things are turning out regarding recruiting i am now thinking about him in a new light. Maybe he is as good as a few of you believe he is. Maybe he is one player that Few really likes and believes in and is not gong to cut into his playing time to make Hawkins happy. I'm thinking; what if he's as good as Mt K? I hear a lot of booing. But what if he is. PK gave the Zags 12.2 ppg last season but what if Larsen can the Zags 10? I'd say that's pretty good. In the video I saw of Larsen I saw a good defensive player. So I think he can be a rim defender and a good post defender. And then there is Tillie. Certainly Few isn't going to cut into his minutes. He will be one of the Zags toughest defenders and rebounders. He'll be a decent scorer too; I'd guess around 10 ppg which is what Collins gave us. And believe it or not I think Tillie will be a better defender than Collins who continuously made stupid fouls which kept him from helping the Zags more than he actually did.

And there is Rui. Maybe he really is as good as some think (including me). Maybe Mark Few thinks he is also. Maybe he can score between 12 and 15 ppg. If he has that capability then it is much easier to understand why Few is not bringing in a transfer this year. I think Rui can be a good rebounder too. These leads me to Kispert who has been a huge surprise for me. He really does seem like the real deal; and someone (I think it was Tommy) compared him to Frahm. He is a pure shooter for sure; but I also see him with more than an inside game than Frahm had. Kispert is more athletic; and like we all know he's built like a tight end. The more I'm thinking about these guys the more I am liking Gonzaga's chances next year.

[JPtheBeasta]

It is never a good idea to speculate on anyone's motives....

I'm thinking of a few reasons why you might be saying that...

[MDABE80]

I'm thinking of a few reasons why you might be saying that...

I hope our friend Bart remembers what he's written here.

[titopoet]

One player I have not thought about enough until today is Larsen; but because how things are turning out regarding recruiting i am now thinking about him in a new light. Maybe he is as good as a few of you believe he is. Maybe he is one player that Few really likes and believes in and is not gong to cut into his playing time to make Hawkins happy. I'm thinking; what if he's as good as Mt K? I hear a lot of booing. But what if he is. PK gave the Zags 12.2 ppg last season but what if Larsen can the Zags 10? I'd say that's pretty good. In the video I saw of Larsen I saw a good defensive player. So I think he can be a rim defender and a good post defender. And then there is Tillie. Certainly Few isn't going to cut into his minutes. He will be one of the Zags toughest defenders and rebounders. He'll be a decent scorer too; I'd guess around 10 ppg which is what Collins gave us. And believe it or not I think Tillie will be a better defender than Collins who continuously made stupid fouls which kept him from helping the Zags more than he actually did.

And there is Rui. Maybe he really is as good as some think (including me). Maybe Mark Few thinks he is also. Maybe he can score between 12 and 15 ppg. If he has that capability then it is much easier to understand why Few is not bringing in a transfer this year. I think Rui can be a good rebounder too. These leads me to Kispert who has been a huge surprise for me. He really does seem like the real deal; and someone (I think it was Tommy) compared him to Frahm. He is a pure shooter for sure; but I also see him with more than an inside game than Frahm had. Kispert is more athletic; and like we all know he's built like a tight end. The more I'm thinking about these guys the more I am liking Gonzaga's chances next year.

I think Larson will surprise a lot of people here. Ryan transfer for a reason and this is only my speculation but was it because he thought he would lack playing time. Ryan is a very capable D1 center.

[bartruff1]

Speaking only for myself..... I have no reason to doubt Tommy's........ fans don't know 5% .....admonition.

[JPtheBeasta]

I hope our friend Bart remembers what he's written here.

I hope we all take that to heart- that we can't known a person's motives.

My statement above was a bad joke and I didn't mean to drag Bart into anything (although I think of you, Bart, as someone who posts controversial things enough for me to think of you as somewhat of a contrarian).

[zaguarxj]

Well I don't claim to be able to ready anyone's mind (much to my wife's chagrin), but I think part of the problem is that 2 returning contributors to last year's NC runner-up team are, at best, underappreciated (at worst, reviled) by a large segment of this board. I may be nuts but I'm glad the Zags have a foundation of Perkins and Melson to help run the show while the young pups learn their way around. I'm looking for good things from Tillie and JW3 too but you can't really say their contributions are not recognized by the fans here.