Gonzaga vs Arkansas Pine Bluff postgame thoughts & analysis

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

Zags tightened up their D. Woolridge super floor general game; his right knee sure seems gimpy though. Great seeing our bigs dominate as they should vs these teams. Nice seeing Watson and Gilder more assertive.

I noticed Few went big in a couple stretches w Watson at the 3. Zags need to find ways to keep him on floor when Tillie is back so good to see this.

Arlauskas and Zakharov both strike me as guys who can contribute this season but not sure there are enough minutes available. Really happy Few is getting their feet wet now so they are ready if needed down the road.

I think Ayayi is my favorite player to root for this season. Just great seeing him so comfortable and stuffing the stat sheet. He and Watson both seem like do a bit of everything glue guys for this team.

[strikenowhere]

Yeah, regarding Woolridge - I am definitely worried about how his leg is going to hold up. Its the 2nd game now where I've seen him start limping down the court a bit after a possession switch.

[Reborn]

Zags win this one quite easily 110-60. Petrusive led six Zags in double figures with a career high 25. Gilder and Timme followed with 15 each, followed by Woolridge with 14, Watson with 12 and Kispert with 10. Woolridge led the team in assists with 9 followed by Ayayi with 5 and Kispert 4. Ayayi led the team in rebounds with 13. Yep! 13. Amazing!

Personally I don't get too much out of games like this. When the competition is this bad it's really hard to say how good our guys are. I can say that the Zags dominated in every area of the game. Arkansas Pine Bluff was like a JV team playing a varsity team. Petrusive was just too big for them to guard, as was Timme. I will say that I like Tille a lot. He has a great body for a post player. He's really tough too. And so far Watson just seems to fast and too quick. He's like a 6' 8" guard. And he has such quick hands on defense.

Gonzaga spent most of the night shooting layups off the fast break. Woolridge does a really good job so far running the fast break. He IS fast, and a very good passer. Ayayi had another really good game, and actually even better with 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 points. He hit 2 threes. So far he's looking like an excellent 6th man. It's really good to see. The foul shooting was much better, as they shot 80% on 31-39 shooting.

That's about it. Have a nice Sunday.

Go Zags!!!

[zagamatic]

I'm pretty happy with how things are going so far given all of the unknowns coming into this season.
It'll be interesting to see if the youth of this team gets caught looking past North Dakota in anticipation of the A & M game.

[JPtheBeasta]

I'm missing the high flyers we had last year. This team doesn't have that superb athlete that will fly in out of nowhere and erase defensive mistakes at the rim a la Brandon Clarke. I think they will need to play very cohesively and fundamentally sound on the defensive end to be successful against better teams. A healthy Killian Tillie changes that, of course. Assuming no injuries, he is the guy that gives this team top-10 upside.

This looks like another Zag team that will score pretty efficiently.

Timme looks like more of a 4 than a 5 to me with his style of play. He is very mobile and should be very capable of executing defensive switches on smaller players. He's going to catch a few big men off guard this year with his ability to put the ball on the floor (although he looked a little sloppy and sped up with that, but you can tell the talent is there). You can tell that Few is comfortable with him bring the ball up the floor, as he did it multiple times; I can see him pushing the ball up on fast breaks kind of like Rui and Clarke did last year.

The difference between Petrusev from freshman to sophomore year is significant. His moves in the block are much more assertive and he looks to be poised to be an anchor of this offense.

Kispert utilized his strength and is looking to be much more aggresive off of the bounce. I like that mentality.

I second (or third, or fourth) the concerns about Woolridge's knee. The season is such a grind. I hope the staff finds ways to rest him. I have enjoyed Woolridge's passing already and
midrange floater. This should only get better as they work more and more things into the offense.

I'm still waiting for Gilder's shot to come around. He kind of pushes his shot, which isn't super aesthetically appealing, but it seems like a compact, repeatable stroke.

Ayayi is looking like that swiss army knife guy I was hoping for. I am very confident in his shooting and think he is the second-best shooter in the back court behind Kispert (maybe he is actually better... time will tell; Tillie being better than both)

Arlauskas looks capable of filling the backup 2-guard role, if needed. He seems to know where the ball needs to go on offense, as I saw him pointing to the post right before the ball went there. his ball handling looks good enough and his length should help him contribute on the glass. He gets around screens well and obviously had that nice steal and dunk in the second half.

Zakharov went to dunk with two hands. That was nice to see. All of the high school highlights showed him doing reverse layins and finesse moves. He was also 100% from behind the arc He looks like he has a good feel for the game. It is awesome to have a guy this talented on the bench.

[DZ]

I don't know how one justifies not starting Watson even when Tillie gets back, and even if is Petrusev that takes the seat.

I know that messes with lineups and all, but at this point, he's our best player, IMO.

I was most happy to see fantastic ball movement and passing. Of course ARPB isn't a great defensive team, but Zags all appear to be on the same page.

[SorenTodd45]

It'll be interesting to see if the youth of this team gets caught looking past North Dakota in anticipation of the A & M game.

That is NOT going to happen, no way.

[SorenTodd45]

I don't know how one justifies not starting Watson even when Tillie gets back, and even if is Petrusev that takes the seat.

Yupp, I think that Anton has already earned a starting spot, the kid is amazing. It was amusing to hear Heister and Fox just slobber all over him.

[Reborn]

More about the team. I was glad that Few played his bench players the last 7 minutes. It was nice seeing these new guys play. I enjoyed watching them and was impressed by them all. Arlauskas looked good to me. I liked everything about him, his size, his ball handling, his defensive stance and awareness both defensively and offensively. And he's pretty big. Zakharov has really good size and a great body. He looks very tough to me, and he hit a nice 3. I'm sure these guys give the starters all they can handle in practice. The Zags have really good size.

Go Zags!!!

[bartruff1]

No Rui....no Clarke.....no Norvell....no Perkins...…..going to be a different kind of season but a lot of fun never the less..... Last years team could beat anyone....including Duke and Florida State.....and yes, Texas Tech.....this team is like Thursday's Child....a long ways to go...

[GrizZAG]

This is more balanced team than last year. While the stars were exciting to watch I think it took away from some of the others who were quite capable last year.. It was all about Brandon and Rui which is certainly not a bad thing in any way, it was a blast.
What excites me most about this team is how they are universally offensive threats top to bottom. They are playing the schemes and are unselfish in the game. I would think competing coaches would have difficulty finding too many weaknesses to exploit when scouting them. They were more synchronized in this game which tells me the trust is beginning to gel as a group. Nice game. I thought UAPB had some decent players and made many difficult shots requiring great athleticism. I would put them middle of the pack in WCC. Not a JV team. Good effort on their part IMO.

[jazzdelmar]

No doubt far and away the best player. Only a 100% healthy Tils challenges that. I’m pleased w Timme but he appears very slight to me. I thought he was a burly type but he’s 25 lbs from that. He swims in his uni. But great talent. Joel is a solid looking 3rd guard. Kispert reverted to Kispert, slow-footed and questionable shot selection. Petro’s growth is stunning.

I don't know how one justifies not starting Watson even when Tillie gets back, and even if is Petrusev that takes the seat.

I know that messes with lineups and all, but at this point, he's our best player, IMO.

I was most happy to see fantastic ball movement and passing. Of course ARPB isn't a great defensive team, but Zags all appear to be on the same page.

[Zags11]

Petro is looking very good. Timmie has all the makings of being a offensive star. Kispert 3 wasnt dropping but had points. This team isnt going to wow you but the offensive skill especially inside will keep them in games.

[gueastcoast]

Couldn't help but think that there are a lot of decent teams out there (and Zag teams of yore) where Arlauskas and Zakharov would be getting meaningful minutes. Speaks volumes about our overall talent level. Was nice to see them getting some run last night.

[ZagHouse]

No doubt far and away the best player. Only a 100% healthy Tils challenges that. I’m pleased w Timme but he appears very slight to me. I thought he was a burly type but he’s 25 lbs from that. He swims in his uni. But great talent. Joel is a solid looking 3rd guard. Kispert reverted to Kispert, slow-footed and questionable shot selection. Petro’s growth is stunning.

This post feels like it’s purposely trying to start something. The jab at Kispert? The team won by 50. What shot did Corey take that was questionable? The only player that seemed slow of foot was Graves in garbage time (repeatedly beat). The comment on Timme swimming in his uniform? Maybe you’re trying to get people commenting on the absurdity of your posts, and here I am commenting instead of ignoring. So, good job I guess.