2018 Recruits

[Zagdawg]

David Singleton, Scout's 58th ranked player, is starting to focus on recruiting after a state championship run

Inside The Kennel‏ @InsideTheKennel 52m52 minutes ago
After a state championship, @DavidGBuckets remains a priority for Gonzaga. Here's the latest on the 2018 guard

http://www.scout.com/college/gonzaga...cus-recruiting

[CDC84]

Donny has been recruiting him like crazy. There are a lot of talented players in the state of CA in 2018. Singleton has HIGH interest in Gonzaga.

[Coach Crazy]

It may very well come down to us and Arizona. He's severely underrated, as well. Once he hits the upcoming AAU stint, it's going to get crazy. A combo guard with his physical makeup and acumen gets put in places on that recruiting big board that makes blue bloods start to get in line. He could be Top 50, 40, or 30 on ESPN.

[cggonzaga]

Singleton would be a great start to the class. Combo guard extraordinaire.

[Zag_Dad]

How does a recruit not make GU a serious contender at this point? The fact that we play in a weak conference is no longer a liability. We have proven that, despite this, we can still make the championship game. In fact we have played in an elite eight, sweet sixteen and championship game over past three years. How many programs can claim this? So, come to GU... mop up the court with the "weak" competition, be on TV most games, play against some great programs in non-conference, play for the national coach of the year, be almost guaranteed to make the tournament and have a high likelihood of playing in the second weekend of the tournament. Not to mention having first class training facilities and staff that have a history of developing players and getting the ready for professional careers.

Other than the weather in Arizona is WAY nicer... it seems like GU is a pretty compelling program. It seems like the recruits are truly warming up to the idea that GU is an elite program. We will be on the short list for top rated recruits and will likely land some studs.

[MontanaCoyote]

How does a recruit not make GU a serious contender at this point? The fact that we play in a weak conference is no longer a liability. We have proven that, despite this, we can still make the championship game. In fact we have played in an elite eight, sweet sixteen and championship game over past three years. How many programs can claim this? So, come to GU... mop up the court with the "weak" competition, be on TV most games, play against some great programs in non-conference, play for the national coach of the year, be almost guaranteed to make the tournament and have a high likelihood of playing in the second weekend of the tournament. Not to mention having first class training facilities and staff that have a history of developing players and getting the ready for professional careers.

Other than the weather in Arizona is WAY nicer... it seems like GU is a pretty compelling program. It seems like the recruits are truly warming up to the idea that GU is an elite program. We will be on the short list for top rated recruits and will likely land some studs.

I think you just made the case that playing in a "weak conference" is actually a positive recruiting tool. If I'm right I agree.

[Zag_Dad]

I think you just made the case that playing in a "weak conference" is actually a positive recruiting tool. If I'm right I agree.

That's actually correct. I am no longer in the camp that feels like we need to bail on the WCC. First off, the conference is better than most think and getting better. It's also good to be the King! Owning the conference year after year with a high probability to get the auto-bid isn't so bad.

[CDC84]

Coach Few said in numerous interviews this season that the #1 thing that is used against Gonzaga in the recruiting wars in their conference affiliation. It's yet another reason why GU is, at times, not very happy about that affiliation.

Few said in an interview with Rothstein (I think) that it is the only thing coaches can use against Gonzaga anymore unless you have the draw of being a blue blood program (a team that not only makes the tourney every season, but also wins national titles and makes final fours regularly). Few said that a guy who coaches at a non blue blood BCS university risks "losing" a recruit if he criticizes Gonzaga in any other way. The Zags have accomplished too much at this point. Few has shown that he is staying for good, the academics are great, the basketball amenities as good as any BCS program, a chartered plane, the team makes the tourney every year, etc.

Back in 2006 (I think it was that year), Deon Thompson chose North Carolina over Gonzaga. He said he absolutely loved Gonzaga, but he just didn't want to play in the WCC. He flat out said it was the only reason he chose UNC, and that's saying something, because UNC is a blue blood program.

[Zagger]

......Other than the weather in Arizona is WAY nicer... it seems like GU is a pretty compelling program. It seems like the recruits are truly warming up to the idea that GU is an elite program. We will be on the short list for top rated recruits and will likely land some studs.

This has me thinking .... It'd be neat to have BB recruits answer a questionnaire about why they chose the school they did - with climate/weather being a choice to rate. I imagine that some things rate very high and some rate very low in a 4* recruit and different levels of recruits may show different types of answers. It might be a neat survey for the NCAA to conduct. Maybe they already have????

[seacatfan]

Is weather that big of a deal? Players spend most of their time indoors anyway. Some places w/ good basketball programs can't be top of the list places to be hanging around in December thru February I'd think--Lawrence, KS, East Lansing, MI, Storrs, CT, Syracuse, NY, plenty of others I'm sure. It certainly doesn't appear that more southerly or coastal based schools dominate college basketball.

[Vanzagger]

Big and empty sucks compared to standing room only. Most our players the last 15+ years have picked Zags over BCS, including "blueblood". We did get some before the PAC fully committed.

[maynard g krebs]

Is weather that big of a deal? Players spend most of their time indoors anyway. Some places w/ good basketball programs can't be top of the list places to be hanging around in December thru February I'd think--Lawrence, KS, East Lansing, MI, Storrs, CT, Syracuse, NY, plenty of others I'm sure. It certainly doesn't appear that more southerly or coastal based schools dominate college basketball.

Nate Robinson was once asked why Seattle is such a hotbed for basketball talent, and he answered that it's the rain that has kids in the gym all the time. Could say the same about the cold in the upper midwest.

[Zagceo]

Nate Robinson was once asked why Seattle is such a hotbed for basketball talent, and he answered that it's the rain that has kids in the gym all the time. Could say the same about the cold in the upper midwest.

Jamaal Wilkes claimed So Cal was hot bed for basketball because of the weather and number of outdoor courts.....i said maybe.....or numbers.

[CDC84]

The weather thing is really overrated. Heister once asked Sam Dower on his show if he adjusted to the Spokane cold weather yet. Sam said: "Man, I come from Minnesota." Spokane is like Hawaii compared to living in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Besides, the kids are unbelievably busy when it's cold and the season is happening. If you aren't playing games, practicing (on your own or with the team), travelling, going to class, studying.....you're pretty much sleeping. Most activity is indoors anyway.

Spokane during the summer has weather that is very similar to most of the United States. I mean, it's not like San Diego, but it's pretty normal.

[Zag_Dad]

The weather thing is really overrated. Heister once asked Sam Dower on his show if he adjusted to the Spokane cold weather yet. Sam said: "Man, I come from Minnesota." Spokane is like Hawaii compared to living in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Besides, the kids are unbelievably busy when it's cold and the season is happening. If you aren't playing games, practicing (on your own or with the team), travelling, going to class, studying.....you're pretty much sleeping. Most activity is indoors anyway.

Spokane during the summer has weather that is very similar to most of the United States. I mean, it's not like San Diego, but it's pretty normal.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the weather in Spokane. There is something to be said for four distinct seasons. But, to say it's not a factor is naïve. Tell me that you wouldn't prefer to pull a pair of shorts on every day and walk across campus seeing the co-eds in bikini tops all year long. San Diego, Arizona, UCLA and a number of other schools can offer this. The fact that Dower was not bothered by the weather is comical. He's from MN!!

No matter how busy the basketball players are in the winter, they still notice the weather. The HBO series was a classic example. The kids mentioned how they only turn the heat on for special occasions and resort to blankets and jackets the rest of the time.

Gonzaga has an can overcome the weather aspect by pointing out the other attributes that GU has to offer. I think, on balance, the pros greatly outweigh the cons even if one views the weather as a con.

[CDC84]

How many great basketball programs are located in areas like this??? And if they are a great basketball program, how many scholarships do they have left?


If you have a chance at the NBA as a top 75 recruit (whether after 1 or 3 years in college), you're not going to UC-Irvine because the chicks are hotter and the sand is warmer.

[gonzagafan62]

How many great basketball programs are located in areas like this??? And if they are a great basketball program, how many scholarships do they have left?


If you have a chance at the NBA as a top 75 recruit (whether after 1 or 3 years in college), you're not going to UC-Irvine because the chicks are hotter and the sand is warmer.

I can also tell you weather in Kansas and Kentucky aren't ideal either.

[CDC84]

A couple of the kids that SDSU snagged away from the Zags would not have chosen SDSU if Fisher wasn't winning 28 games a year at the time.

Weather can help, but it is just overrated when it comes to the major prospects. If I am kid that has little chance to play in the pros and has a chance between playing at New Hampshire or Long Beach State, well, different story.

[roxdoc]

I'm with you CDC. Weather and references that there is nothing to do in Spokane are very overblown, generally from people who don't live here or haven't been here in years.

[maynard g krebs]

Jamaal Wilkes claimed So Cal was hot bed for basketball because of the weather and number of outdoor courts.....i said maybe.....or numbers.

SC has 30 million people. Seattle has 3.

[zagsfanforlife]

Jamaal Wilkes and Deon Thompson both referenced in this thread. Two people that my family grew up close to in our lives. Jamaal Wilkes is the salt of the earth. Great dude. Cool stuff!

[WallaWallaZag]

Coach Few said in numerous interviews this season that the #1 thing that is used against Gonzaga in the recruiting wars in their conference affiliation. It's yet another reason why GU is, at times, not very happy about that affiliation.

Few said in an interview with Rothstein (I think) that it is the only thing coaches can use against Gonzaga anymore unless you have the draw of being a blue blood program (a team that not only makes the tourney every season, but also wins national titles and makes final fours regularly). Few said that a guy who coaches at a non blue blood BCS university risks "losing" a recruit if he criticizes Gonzaga in any other way. The Zags have accomplished too much at this point. Few has shown that he is staying for good, the academics are great, the basketball amenities as good as any BCS program, a chartered plane, the team makes the tourney every year, etc.

Back in 2006 (I think it was that year), Deon Thompson chose North Carolina over Gonzaga. He said he absolutely loved Gonzaga, but he just didn't want to play in the WCC. He flat out said it was the only reason he chose UNC, and that's saying something, because UNC is a blue blood program.

anyone who doesn't think the wcc affiliation is a major issue for the elite recruits has never been a high-level competitive athlete or anything similar, say chess champion...to be the best you want to compete against the best...all day everyday...not just precon and in march.

[Vanzagger]

anyone who doesn't think the wcc affiliation is a major issue for the elite recruits has never been a high-level competitive athlete or anything similar, say chess champion...to be the best you want to compete against the best...all day everyday...not just precon and in march.

High level competitive athlete competing against the best? Zags non conference schedule is toughest in country. They play the most games in that little end of the year tournament. Everything in between is either in front of the Best Fans in all of sports or against Rabid fans that show up once a year just to try and rip our hearts out.

Have you been to many PAC 12 games on a Thursday night?

[WallaWallaZag]

Zags non conference schedule is toughest in country.

this makes anything else you wrote lack credibility...zags non-con sos ranking was #69 (espn) this year...

edited to add: even worse if you go by kenpom...#127

[Vanzagger]

The directional schools

Yes. When they step on the private jet they are heading to play NE Texas, Central Villanova, and W. Florida. I always forget to look for the abbreviations