Gonzaga vs Alabama St Post Game thoughts and analysis

[FuManShoes]

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

He also appears to have a really solid base that’s usually lacking in freshman bigs. Could speed his development.

[FloridaZagFan]

I am a big fan of who Kispert is on and off the court so it was great to see him play such a great game last night. Although we did not look like a #8 team last night, keep in mind that our best player, Tillie, was not even on the floor. When he gets into the rotation, things will look much better. With the ability for Killie and Kispert and hopefully Gilder to spread the floor with 3 point shooting, it will open up the for our bigs down low and our guards cutting to the basket. I was very impressed with Timme's ball handling skills. One possession after a rebound, he brought the ball up court. I do not think we will have to hold our breath for an at-large bid in case we did not win the tourney.

However, I want to say this now before multiple wins open a few eyes, don't sleep on Santa Clara. They have five players listed at 6-9 or above, they have 3 freshman that will surprise and DJ Mitchell from Wake Forest is now eligible. He is 6-8 and shoots from all 3 spots and is quick. I would not be surprised to see them as a major contender in WCC. St Mary's beat Wisconsin but Jordan Ford had to play every minute, including 5 mins in overtime. Menzies played a total of 1 min.. Except for their starting 5, they are pretty thin. BYU is so short handed at the post, they need to light it up from 3 but that remains to be seen. Pepperdine let Cal shoot 70% and lost by double digits.

Santa Clara definitely not helpless. The had a tall but thin Italian kid who looked pretty skilled last year as a freshman.

[LongIslandZagFan]

The defense really needs to tighten up quite a bit. I really thought they would have come out stronger on the defensive end in the second half... but alas... ASU shot nearly 50%. More distressing is the nearly 55% 3 pt shooting in the second half.

Some of that is youth, some is first game sloppiness. Really hope Few gets them dialed in on the defensive side next game.

Offensively, I was quite happy. I mean, a bunch of missed bunnies, but that is just an issue of shaking a bit of rust out. That being said, Filip has some really great post moves as does Timme. I really like that rotation of Timme and Petrusev... similar skill sets but different types of motors and good way to keep teams off balance. When Tillie is back, this team will be a tough matchup for most teams. Corey is showing flashes of brilliance... his name just might start showing up on a few lists by the end of the season. CK is definitely ready to be the team leader.

[Bouldin4Prez]

Timme looked like the game was moving way too fast for him last night. Hope he gets up to speed as he gets a few more games under his belt, we need some of his playmaking.

[Mantua]

He also appears to have a really solid base that’s usually lacking in freshman bigs. Could speed his development.

I hope he gets enough minutes. He looks very strong.

[Shanachie]

Heister said he thought it was Lang's first ever appearance but I'm almost positive he dropped a trey on the Pilots in Portland last season. His family and friends all had pre-made signs.

I believe he also hit the taco-clinching shot in the New Year's Eve game at home last year.

[Vanzagger]

Great analysis!

[RenoZag]

However, I want to say this now before multiple wins open a few eyes, don't sleep on Santa Clara. They have five players listed at 6-9 or above, they have 3 freshman that will surprise and DJ Mitchell from Wake Forest is now eligible. He is 6-8 and shoots from all 3 spots and is quick. I would not be surprised to see them as a major contender in WCC. St Mary's beat Wisconsin but Jordan Ford had to play every minute, including 5 mins in overtime. Menzies played a total of 1 min.. Except for their starting 5, they are pretty thin. BYU is so short handed at the post, they need to light it up from 3 but that remains to be seen. Pepperdine let Cal shoot 70% and lost by double digits.

SCU's bench had 47 of their 97 points last night vs. the Banana Slugs. Mitchell with 18 pts, 7 boards.

LMU might be a better "sleeper" than Pepperdine; we'll see if they can knock down three's against better foes as the OOC schedule moves along. Last night they went 12 - 18 on the way to putting up 105 points vs. NAIA Westcliff.

FWIW: Very happy to have college hoops back. Great distraction from the day after day "news." I think the WCC will be a better conference to follow this season.

[zagzilla]

Great posts already.

Several other things....

1. Kispert's rim rattling dunks were a nice surprise. If he can hit from deep and also play above the rim, he is going to have a great season. The sophomore to junior year leap is something we have seem from other 4 year players and Corey seems like the latest to do so.
2. Timme doesn't look that athletic but that is deceptive. His spin moves to the baseline needed more lift as 2-3 of his layups didn't get above the rim and should have either been dunks or makes. He is raw but I liked what I saw.
3. In garbage time it was tough to tell much about Zakharov and Arlauskas but it appears neither will redshirt which is a minor surprise to me. Both looked like they are behind the rest of the group developmentally.
4. Filip's footwork is much better and he seems stronger with his hands on the ball than last time we saw him
5. Our guards look shaky at the stripe which is a concern if the trend continues. We have gotten used to our guards being nearly automatic when shooting FT's
6. Ballo is huge. Seeing him standing next to Tillie and Filip during timeouts, he just looks bigger. He must be a load in practice. Hard to believe he is 17. Can't wait to see him next season.

Great win Zags. So excited for the season to be here at last.

ZZ

[GonzaGAW]

- saw the same as most, defense not so good, woolridge looks smooth, one game in and ayayi looks to be more than capable to be the 3rd guard.

- I think f.t. will be an issue, our 3 guards historically as simply okay to below average at the free throw line. hopefully most of our fouls will come from our big men who have a stronger track record at the line.

- thin at guard, this is going to be a recurring theme I can see..........but let's not forget last year we went with a 3 guard rotation all year long. ayayi and foster only saw playing time at mop up time last year.
- that is not to say it would be great to have a fourth strong contributor, but currently we have arluaskas listed as a guard and walk on lang as our mop up guards. I'd like to see arlauskas get as many minutes as possible at the 2 spot.

[CPkZagFan]

SCU's bench had 47 of their 97 points last night vs. the Banana Slugs. Mitchell with 18 pts, 7 boards.

LMU might be a better "sleeper" than Pepperdine; we'll see if they can knock down three's against better foes as the OOC schedule moves along. Last night they went 12 - 18 on the way to putting up 105 points vs. NAIA Westcliff.

FWIW: Very happy to have college hoops back. Great distraction from the day after day "news." I think the WCC will be a better conference to follow this season.

Thanks for a great reply. Even in this age of "political correctness", why would any school name their team the Banana Slugs? It is a California school however, that might explain it.

[gon2mt]

I thought Ayayi was so smooth, under control, and his size is impressive in rebounding and defense. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets more and more minutes as the season goes along. Petrusev is much improved both offensively and defensively. He still needs to body up more on defense down low. I thought he was a little more tentative after the ankle sprain in the second half which is understandable. It was nice seeing Zakharov and Arlauskas. I thought they looked pretty good and might be pretty important if the Zags get in foul trouble. One random comment about the announcers. Heister at one point had to my thinking an inappropriate comment in talking with Fox about music and Alabama State alumni.

[sonuvazag]

Thanks for a great reply. Even in this age of "political correctness", why would any school name their team the Banana Slugs? It is a California school however, that might explain it.

It is the preeminent pot-smoking hippie granola school in California, and their brand was memorialized by Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction.

[FlyZag]

It is the preeminent pot-smoking hippie granola school in California, and their brand was memorialized by Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction.

It's a beautiful campus. In the hills of Santa cruz right on the Monterey bay.

[sonuvazag]

It's a beautiful campus. In the hills of Santa cruz right on the Monterey bay.

Agreed.

[billyberu]

From John Blanchette:

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...ust-learn-to-/

Rarely has it been said that they can walk the walk, but not talk the talk.

[zagamatic]

For those who are concerned about free throw percentages right now, ask yourself how much emphasis is being put on free throws in practice right now considering how much this year's Zags need to learn the coaching concepts and gel with respect to the level of the opponents in the last few days? I'm not worried about free throw percentage until at least the A & M game, realistically the Atlantis tournament.
Also, with respect to Ayayi, he swooped in and grabbed at least a few rebounds that should have gone to the bigs who were blocking out . Can't fault Ayayi for the hustle.

[zagzilla]

Ayayi looks like a plus rebounder. Much like Norvell last year who rebounded his position better than most 2's.

ZZ

[Goshzagit]

Ayayi looks like a plus rebounder. Much like Norvell last year who rebounded his position better than most 2's.

ZZ

That's one type of player we could use this year.

Talkative, vocal, energetic on sidelines and in practice.

Not a woulda coulda shoulda post about Norvell, rather about these guys filling the void he left behind.

A guy who talks, not afraid to say and do what the team needs.

Coach Few keeps saying, "this team is too quiet, they need to talk, be more vocal on and off the court".

They say Drew Timme is that one guy, but hes still so young/new/inexperienced.

[scrooner]

Zags free throw percentage in the first game vs their season average:

2014-15 0.650 0.691
2015-16 0.647 0.758
2016-17 0.600 0.717
2017-18 0.565 0.708
2018-19 0.692 0.761
2019-20 0.630

[TheBunnieRancher]

Lang is a redshirt sophomore. He took his redshirt year last year which is why Heister thinks he is a newbie this year. He did hit a three pointer in Portland in front of family and friends his freshman year. He only played in maybe 8 games and scored like 6 points.

[ProVeeZag]

Corey had a "Thunder Dan Majerle" game.

Great analogy...!!

[SageOfZagville]

Did you notice how long it took Heister and Fox to notice Petrusev was back in the game. I saw him at the scorers table and said cool, it must not have been to bad. Then he was in the game for at least a minute before they said anything. Heisters powers of observation are legendary .

[ProVeeZag]

Yes I did notice. On the plus side, having just Heister with Fox opened up the mics a bit. I did not hear, was Dichau assigned to another game last night? Anyhow, I did not miss him!

[SLOZag]

Thanks for a great reply. Even in this age of "political correctness", why would any school name their team the Banana Slugs? It is a California school however, that might explain it.

Yup, those California folks sure are wacky. Why do they resist the good-old-fashioned, traditional, manly, not-weird mascots that are so popular around the rest of the country ... like the Syracuse Orange (First adopted in 2004, after the term "Orangemen" -- so-named because of their dominant uniform color -- was abandoned. But the uniform colors did not change.), the Dartmouth Big Green (when they got rid of "The Indians" as a mascot the unofficial mascot became not a character named Greenman nor Greenie, but a beer keg named ... Keggy), The Richmond Spiders (the only spiders in Division 1), the Arkansas Boll Weevils (a 6mm long insect that reportedly terrified cotton plantation owners), the Virginia Tech Hokies (it's sort of a turkey), the Wichita State Wheat Shockers (No relation to something shocking, a "wheat shocker" in agricultural parlance is a wheat harvester. His harvested wheat bundle is apparently called a wheat shock.), the Williams College Ephs (Short for Ephraims, but the mascot looks less like an Ephraim than a purple cow.), the Saint Louis University Billikens (A charm doll created decades ago by Florence Pretz of Kansas City, Missouri, who is said to have created it after seeing the mysterious figure in a dream.), the Ohio State Buckeyes (It's a local nut.), the Evergreen State Geoducks (It's a local mollusk.), the Delta State Fighting Okra (Is it a local MMA vegetable?), the Campbell University Fighting Camels (Is it a local MMA dromedary?), the Akron Zips (Shorthand for zippers.), and the Nebraska Cornhuskers (its ... someone who prepares corn for a meal?)?.

My personal favorite good-old-fashioned, traditional, manly, not-weird mascots are found at the Rhode Island School of Design. "As might be considered fitting for an arts school [that has been around for 142 years], the symbolism [i.e. mascoting, or "team naming"] used for the [RISD] teams is unique. The hockey team is called the "Nads", and their cheer is "Go Nads!" ... The basketball team is known simply as the "Balls", and their slogan is, "When the heat is on, the Balls stick together.""
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_...hool_of_Design

So in conclusion, CPkZagFan, I agree -- if you want to take a swipe at a state because you find a unique school mascot name there, then you certainly can choose California for your target. And if you, CPkZagFan, are in fact a grad of the Rhode Island School of Design, that might help to explain your choice!

ps: If you're wondering which is the least unique choice of mascot, “Bulldogs” is the most frequently used nickname/mascot in NCAA Division One athletics." -- 14 teams use it at last count.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...on-one#slide18