Katz article on Zags

[zagfan07]

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=katz_andy&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fname%3dkatz_andy

Anyone an ESPN Insider? Katz wrote an article on the Zags, but I can't get to it. Any chance someone could copy it to the board?

[spokzagis]

Zags face a tough roadposted: Monday, January 14, 2008 | Print Entry

LOS ANGELES -- Josh Heytvelt got a good sized ribbing Saturday night at Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion.


So, too, did the rest of his Gonzaga teammates.



The Zags won the WCC opener handily 91-68 in front of fairly raucous 3,692 fans. But what isn't underscored enough is how Gonzaga's road trips are akin to what the following teams face away from home: Duke and North Carolina in the ACC, Kansas in the Big 12, Florida and Kentucky in the SEC, Michigan State and Indiana in the Big Ten, UCLA and Arizona in the Pac-10 and even Butler in the Horizon.



Team get up to play the Zags in the WCC and so do the fans. LMU's last home game against a solid Sam Houston State drew 1,230 fans on Dec. 30.



LMU head coach Rodney Tention was on the Arizona staff prior to landing the here so he knows all about how much the Zags have to have their A game every time out -- just like the Wildcats did when he was an assistant in Tucson. Still, Tention is convinced that if the Lions win they'll pack the house (LMU beat Gonzaga here a year ago).



"You can't describe it," Gonzaga sophomore guard Matt Bouldin said of always going on the road and being a target. "We watch these games on TV … Georgetown and UConn looked so intense but our games are just as intense. You've got to come out to play. It's a challenge every game."



The LMU fans rode Heytvelt hard because of his arrest on a drug charge that ultimately got him suspended from mid-February on last season.



"You hear it, it made me laugh," Heytvelt said. "Everybody had something to say. I take it with a good heart and forgive and forget. But these people don't forget anything."



Heytvelt, who missed the first half of the season with a broken foot, scored a team-high 19 and grabbed five boards.



"I'm definitely starting to play better," said Heytvelt, who produced his most points since coming back from his injury on Dec. 20.




Random notes


• The Zags finally feel like Matt Bouldin gets that he needs to be the go-to guy on the Zags. Once he embraces that role they feel they'll be fine in the NCAA Tournament.



• Clay Thompson was at the UCLA-Washington State game prior to the tip he said that the Cougars' No. 4 ranking gave him even more confidence about the decision to sign with WSU over Notre Dame.



Thompson, who is the son of former NBA player Mychal, said that the Cougars' team-oriented system would suit him fine. The perception used to be that the Bennetts couldn't land someone like Thompson.



• I kept hearing from scouts over the weekend that UCLA's Russell Westbrook would get plenty of good looks if he were to declare. Also, if Gonzaga's Austin Daye can ever get meat on his bones, the feeling is that he's skilled enough to be an NBA player.

[zagco]

Zagco has long considered starting a business where he would help these college athletes who need to get meat on their bones. Zagco has never had any problems with this, thus leading him to believe that he could be of great assistance in this regard.

[GonzagaLove]

You got to love Andy.

[BobZag]

Andy attended the WSU-UCLA game then drove over to the GU-LMU game. What a tough life.

[sdzag]

I love Andy and he is great writer but I feel like every year we see this article. I wonder if he just happened to pull it out of the ESPN article bank. Change some words around; add a few comments about Josh and Pargo. BAM! New story. I still read it first thing when I got to work but just feels familiar.

[lothar98zag]

Andy attended the WSU-UCLA game then drove over to the GU-LMU game. What a tough life.

probably had someone drive him.

[BobZag]

probably had someone drive him.

The Coug game ended about 1:30pm. The Zag game began about 5:30pm. It probably took all that time to drive from one place to another.