Gonzaga vs Alabama St Post Game thoughts and analysis

[Reborn]

Thanks for waiting for me. I recorded the game but can not watch it. I found out I never signed up for DVR. I'm getting old and losing my memory. So sorry. I'll get that fixed by next game. I am really curious how the game went. Please fill me in,

Thanks

Go Zags!!!

[Reborn]

Gonzaga wins 95-64. Looks like it was a good game,
Kispert led the Zags with 28 points, and was 5-6 from beyond the 3 pt line. So much for Kispert not being able to shoot. Way to go Corey. Way to shut up a lot of back biting fans. Petrusive was next with 15 and Gilder and Timme had 11 each. Watson only scored 7. Ayayi led the team in rebounds with 7 and assists with 7, and with 3 steals. He played 22 minutes and did score 4 points. He did hit a 3 plus one FT. He only shot 1-4.

Zags shot 50% from beyond the 3 pt line. As a team they shot 10-20. Besides Kispert's 5, Gilder made 2, Woolridge 1, Ayayi 1 and Lang 1. For the night they shot 56% from the field but only 63% from the line. Not good. Timme shot 4-6 from the field and 3-4 from the line. Good stats. He played 26 minutes off the bench. He and Ayayi were the two main subs. Few really only played 7 guys until it became "clean-up" time. Overall it looks like a good game. I think I would have liked to have seen more from Petrusive. He shot 5-8 which is good, but only shot one 3 and missed it. The definitely needs Tille.

Go Zags!!!

[mgadfly]

Gonzaga wins 95-64. Looks like it was a good game,
Kispert led the Zags with 28 points, and was 5-6 from beyond the 3 pt line. So much for Kispert not being able to shoot. Way to go Corey. Way to shut up a lot of back biting fans. Petrusive was next with 15 and Gilder and Timme had 11 each. Watson only scored 7. Ayayi led the team in rebounds with 7 and assists with 7, and with 3 steals. He played 22 minutes and did score 4 points. He did hit a 3 plus one FT. He only shot 1-4.

Zags shot 50% from beyond the 3 pt line. As a team they shot 10-20. Besides Kispert's 5, Gilder made 2, Woolridge 1, Ayayi 1 and Lang 1. For the night they shot 56% from the field but only 63% from the line. Not good. Timme shot 4-6 from the field and 3-4 from the line. Good stats. He played 26 minutes off the bench. He and Ayayi were the two main subs. Few really only played 7 guys until it became "clean-up" time. Overall it looks like a good game. I think I would have liked to have seen more from Petrusive. He shot 5-8 which is good, but only shot one 3 and missed it. The definitely needs Tille.

Go Zags!!!

Petrusev rolled his ankle and went to the locker room for a bit. So the minutes were impacted a little there. I'd have sat him down the rest of the way, but he returned and played pretty well. Hopefully it feels fine in the morning.

I personally thought the team looked really young at times, especially in the first half, but loved the way they ended up going from a single digit lead to up 24 in the blink of an eye.

Positives:
The team has a lot of talent
The guards and bigs moved the ball up the court really fast
Woolridge is fun to watch with his driving and soft finishes
Gilder's dunk - wow!
Kispert - he was really good tonight. He isn't going to lead like some of our past guys have, but he is big and strong and showed quickness like he did early his freshman year. The shooting was there and he made good decisions. It was nice to see him leading the bench after he left the game and having a good time. He is going to lead in his own way, and I think that's fine. I worry about him creating his own shot if other teams key on him after we rely too heavily on him.

Negatives:
We lost focus in the first half like young teams tend to do and went from 17 up to 9 up.
Petrusev rolling his ankle
Depth - it is a 7 man rotation right now, and when Petrusev went down it became a six man rotation. The other guys got in at the end.

After seeing that game (not the end result but the lapse in the first half) I think there will be a lot of learning this season and some will be upset when we drop a game or two to teams that aren't as talented. But I think it is going to be really fun to watch. I love watching Ayayi, he has incredible size and ran the point late in the game. He rebounds for a guard. I still think his upside is really good. Timme and Watson are both fantastic too.

Overall, in my opinion, it was inconsistent at times but with a lot to like. Really different than most seasons with so little returning. Can't wait for Tillie to be back.

[Reborn]

Petrusev rolled his ankle and went to the locker room for a bit. So the minutes were impacted a little there. I'd have sat him down the rest of the way, but he returned and played pretty well. Hopefully it feels fine in the morning.

I personally thought the team looked really young at times, especially in the first half, but loved the way they ended up going from a single digit lead to up 24 in the blink of an eye.

Positives:
The team has a lot of talent
The guards and bigs moved the ball up the court really fast
Woolridge is fun to watch with his driving and soft finishes
Gilder's dunk - wow!
Kispert - he was really good tonight. He isn't going to lead like some of our past guys have, but he is big and strong and showed quickness like he did early his freshman year. The shooting was there and he made good decisions. It was nice to see him leading the bench after he left the game and having a good time. He is going to lead in his own way, and I think that's fine. I worry about him creating his own shot if other teams key on him after we rely too heavily on him.

Negatives:
We lost focus in the first half like young teams tend to do and went from 17 up to 9 up.
Petrusev rolling his ankle
Depth - it is a 7 man rotation right now, and when Petrusev went down it became a six man rotation. The other guys got in at the end.

After seeing that game (not the end result but the lapse in the first half) I think there will be a lot of learning this season and some will be upset when we drop a game or two to teams that aren't as talented. But I think it is going to be really fun to watch. I love watching Ayayi, he has incredible size and ran the point late in the game. He rebounds for a guard. I still think his upside is really good. Timme and Watson are both fantastic too.

Overall, in my opinion, it was inconsistent at times but with a lot to like. Really different than most seasons with so little returning. Can't wait for Tillie to be back.

Thanks for the report.

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

My biggest impression from this game was how great it was seeing Kispert shine; he has such a great shooting stroke , strong, athletic yet in past seasons never seemed to put it all together for an entire game..just in spurts. Now he gets to be a #1 or #2 scoring option and so just great to see him kickstart the season by embracing that and performing so well.

Overall, my expectations for this team are trending downward. Only 3 guards now so no room for foul trouble or injury. Gilder didn’t really impact the game as much as I expect him to. Woolridge has great pace and love his drives and floaters, but man that right leg of his just looks off to me...like it’s dangling and he is willing it along for the ride. That sounds weird, I know, but that is the impression I got.

Clearly I’ve been spoiled by the more finely tuned versions of past early season Zag squads. I think this team will lose 3-5 games in the early OOC schedule and face a win WCC tourney or sweat out the bubble type season. More like a top 50 team but not top 10. Sorry, just my thoughts after first game. Hopefully Zags will improve by leaps and bounds and I will look the fool for reacting so negatively after just 1 game.

I hope Watson will be given some minutes at the 2 just to see how he can do there in a pinch and be an insurance player as a little if Woolridge, Gilder or Ayayi get into foul trouble.

[FloridaZagFan]

You have to be happy with that game. Offensively, who you expected to show up did and then some. Kispert was very agressive as was Pet. Everyone else seemed solid , played within themselves and did what their skill set allows. Free throws were scary and because of that A.St. had a much stronger heartbeat, when in reality they should have been on life support after the first half.
Defensively, i thought the guards were really good at keeping players in front of them and not allowing them to get downhill. Sure there must have been some mistakes because of the wide open 3's but fortunately for us they knocked them down as better teams will do.
Besides the free throws (dreadful) with for new starters and a bech that averaged about 5min of playing time last year you have to be happy. It looks like there is enough talent to maybe get us through some of the growing pains early on. The very best teams go through this every year.

[zagnut2012]

My thoughts...I liked what I saw from Woolridge, both offense and defense. Guilder's 3 point shot will come as his confidence grows. Ayayi has grown, and I was impressed with his handles. Petrusev and Timme have the skills to give many teams problems down low. Corey had a "Thunder Dan Majerle" game. I love the confidence and aggressive offensive play. As a team, I believe the upside is tremendous. For a first time out is was a great start. Go Zags!

[GrizZAG]

Nice accurate assessments, thanks.
With a very small look, I think Zakharov has a look of intensity that caught my attention. My gut says this guy is a real sleeper and great things are to come from him. He was very aggressive in the minutes he was in and made one really nice play. Arlauskus looked like me out there and that is not a good look..LOL

[Goshzagit]

My thoughts...I liked what I saw from Woolridge, both offense and defense. Guilder's 3 point shot will come as his confidence grows. Ayayi has grown, and I was impressed with his handles. Petrusev and Timme have the skills to give many teams problems down low. Corey had a "Thunder Dan Majerle" game. I love the confidence and aggressive offensive play. As a team, I believe the upside is tremendous. For a first time out is was a great start. Go Zags!

Woolridge is a triple double waiting to happen.

Such a spark plug for this team. Can lead a fast break or finish one.

Has quick hands, good handles, quick release, finishes great in traffic, always ready, & nice energy.

Had an all around impact vs MSU, in exhibition, in the game last night. Might be our most important piece right now, which is why I'm concerned about that right leg.

After watching the replay, he avoids that leg at all cost. His euro step was one legged but somehow pulled it off, his drives to the hoop, or fast break finishes were spectacular, yet extra effort to stay off that leg. He had patella fixation this Spring. He currently has screws & wires wrapped around his kneecap.

I just hope it's not something constantly nagging him and/or holding him back.

He has played great, yet would feel awful if hes always playing through pain, discomfort, or less than capable.

Patella hardware often causes discomfort until removed or adjusted, and really hope it's not the case for Ryan.

[zagamatic]

Not to be lost in all of the post game stuff is the fact that Arlauskas and Zakharov played. Which, unless the rules have changed, means that neither will redshirt barring medical qualifications. Also, the same can be said of Matthew Lang. I'm really happy for him that he hit the last 3 of the game. Especially considering I believe he was the one who went down to injury at the end of Kraziness in the Kennel and had to be helped off the court.

[JPtheBeasta]

This team doesn't have the high fliers like last year. They are going to have to be tough, fundamentally sound, and take care of the basketball to win at a high level. Josh Perkins is hard to replace, but Woolridge did a fine job and I like his ability to attack the rim. Gilder has a compact stroke and should be a consistent shooter, but I was least impressed by the game he played; at least he got it going at the end, which should help with his confidence. Anton took a bit of a step back but I'm not worried about him. Ayayi is looking like that stat filler I was hoping for in the mold of Dranginis and others. Ayayi has a very consistent, calm stroke from outside and I think he will likely be a pretty good shooter from 3 this year. With Clarke and Rui gone, it is easier for me to see the athletic talent that we have in Tillie. I hope he gets back soon. He will be a real difference maker.

[ZagsObserver]

It will be fun to watch this team develop. The young blood will certainly mature as the year progresses.

As far as taking a current pulse of the team, I do not believe they are the 8th best team. They might be in the 15-19 range.

[GrizZAG]

This team doesn't have the high fliers like last year. They are going to have to be tough, fundamentally sound, and take care of the basketball to win at a high level. Josh Perkins is hard to replace, but Woolridge did a fine job and I like his ability to attack the rim. Gilder has a compact stroke and should be a consistent shooter, but I was least impressed by the game he played; at least he got it going at the end, which should help with his confidence. Anton took a bit of a step back but I'm not worried about him. Ayayi is looking like that stat filler I was hoping for in the mold of Dranginis and others. Ayayi has a very consistent, calm stroke from outside and I think he will likely be a pretty good shooter from 3 this year. With Clarke and Rui gone, it is easier for me to see the athletic talent that we have in Tillie. I hope he gets back soon. He will be a real difference maker.

Good assessment. I would add that it is concerning that Ayayi was our top rebounder. We have all these BIG guys that were getting beat on the boards by smaller guys. That needs to be addressed. Also Woolridge's free throw shot is haphazard and not careful, hopefully they work on that too.

[FloridaZagFan]

Zackarov is going to be a beast and a half as he starts to fill out. Scary to think about he and Ballo next year! Tremendous upside!

[Zagdawg]

Liked that Tillie was out shooting in warmups --- hitting 3's like old times.