Gilder Jr.

[zaguarxj]

It's nice that Woolridge has been able to play fewer minutes recently. I don't know if it's "load management" or Few messing around with lineups because of Gilder's improvement but it's good Ryan is getting more rest. I was starting to get worried about wear-and-tear on his knee. He seems to be one of those people who are too tough for their own good when it comes to playing through injury.

[Grand Valley Zag]

His game is fun to watch.

[sittingon50]

I'm a fan. I don't think his role right now is necessarily what he was expecting, but from everything I have witnessed he's is handling things with class.

[Mantua]

I thought I saw the light go on in Gilder during the previous game. He seems energetic and confident.

It’s stunning that this team has played so well considering all the adversity players have battled.

[kitzbuel]

A great read from The Athletic on Admon. https://theathletic.com/1541302/2020...shared-article
(Btw, The Athletic is the only site I pay for and it is worth it)

Corey Kispert has really taken on a role in bringing Admon onto the team and getting him to buy into the role Few envisages.

It is apparent that a lot of what Few says about getting the team to vocally communicate is targeted at Admon. Few is getting him to change from being just a quite leader by example to being lead from the front.

Kispert says Admon is starting to take on that role the last few games which also correspond with his knee getting healthier. Admon doesn’t have an issue coming off the bench.

The results have been apparent. The Woolridge/Gilder combination is becoming as good as any GU has had.

[raise the zag]

A great read from The Athletic on Admon. https://theathletic.com/1541302/2020...shared-article
(Btw, The Athletic is the only site I pay for and it is worth it)

Corey Kispert has really taken on a role in bringing Admon onto the team and getting him to buy into the role Few envisages.

It is apparent that a lot of what Few says about getting the team to vocally communicate is targeted at Admon. Few is getting him to change from being just a quite leader by example to being lead from the front.

Kispert says Admon is starting to take on that role the last few games which also correspond with his knee getting healthier. Admon doesn’t have an issue coming off the bench.

The results have been apparent. The Woolridge/Gilder combination is becoming as good as any GU has had.

Good post.

Admon still favoring that knee off defensive plays and dribble drive opportunities, yet getting better every single game.

A couple of those transition buckets were a sight to see! That dunk was incredible and he launched off his "bad" knee too.

He looks like he's turning a corner, and we are beginning to see the player we saw the first 2 games of the season, and the one we saw at A&M. Happy for him.

I still worry about Woolridge's knee, yet he's so tough and quick, you'd never know it, yet he guards and avoids using that leg on every drive, jump, etc. He literally holds that leg up while driving to rim and STILL pulls it off. Unreal. Incredibly hard nosed, fighting through it.

[White lightning]

I think Gilder is finally feeling better physically and even more mentally.

Coming to a new team is such a challenge. Nothing is familiar. A New coach, system, teammates, and location. Playing on a team that he's has no connection to. Now throw in another injury after missing a year due to injuries.

Now that he's feeling better, I believe he knows that his team, with his teammates are kicking tail and for the first time he's on the #1 ranked team in the nation. They play together as well as any team playing and it shows.

Gilder isn't flashy. At times he seems slow but we know better. He plays under control, probing on offence, and baiting on defence. His experience is much needed. When the shot clock winds down he makes the extra pass without panicking . He doesn't need to slam the ball on breakaways but can as we witnessed in the BYU game.

I believe the crowd, the talk about how they don't deserve a #1 ranking, and the we / "I'm" Gonzaga pushed him to sky.

I'm so happy for this kid!!!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1218756369169305600

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[ZagBlue]

I think Gilder is finally feeling better physically and even more mentally.

Coming to a new team is such a challenge. Nothing is familiar. A New coach, system, teammates, and location. Playing on a team that he's has no connection to. Now throw in another injury after missing a year due to injuries.

Now that he's feeling better, I believe he knows that his team, with his teammates are kicking tail and for the first time he's on the #1 ranked team in the nation. They play together as well as any team playing and it shows.

Gilder isn't flashy. At times he seems slow but we know better. He plays under control, probing on offence, and baiting on defence. His experience is much needed. When the shot clock winds down he makes the extra pass without panicking . He doesn't need to slam the ball on breakaways but can as we witnessed in the BYU game.

I believe the crowd, the talk about how they don't deserve a #1 ranking, and the we / "I'm" Gonzaga pushed him to sky.

I'm so happy for this kid!!!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1218756369169305600

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Admon’s maturity is what I admire about him the most. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute:
He left Texas for the first time, left his family, and put his trust in our staff. When he got here, he was coming off what apparently could have been a life threatening blood clot and had not played basketball in about a year. He was named a starter. He got hurt. He was moved into a bench role. Our head coach challenged the quiet kid from Texas to become a vocal leader for the #1 team in the country. And now here is Admon dominating games, scoring in bunches, smiling, leading, and enjoying basketball again. Many kids would have crumbled. It is awesome to see and he is so easy to cheer for.

[LTownZag]

It is awesome to see and he is so easy to cheer for.

This kind of thing is why I'm a Zag fan. The players (be they 1 yr or 5 yrs guys) are genuinely SO easy to cheer for, heck hard NOT to cheer for. I know some other teams have that dynamic with some guys some years, but for GU it's the absolute norm with very very few exceptions.

[JPtheBeasta]

Admon’s maturity is what I admire about him the most. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute:
He left Texas for the first time, left his family, and put his trust in our staff. When he got here, he was coming off what apparently could have been a life threatening blood clot and had not played basketball in about a year. He was named a starter. He got hurt. He was moved into a bench role. Our head coach challenged the quiet kid from Texas to become a vocal leader for the #1 team in the country. And now here is Admon dominating games, scoring in bunches, smiling, leading, and enjoying basketball again. Many kids would have crumbled. It is awesome to see and he is so easy to cheer for.

He plays with such joy and has an infectious smile. I'm happy for him as a person and a player that he got it going finally. The Zags shine brighter now that his light has come on.

[GeorgiaZagFan]

The Woolridge/Gilder combination is becoming as good as any GU has had.

I must admit I was worried after watching those 2 at the Battle 4 Atlantis....but I do believe they were both hurting and have gotten healthier since then....

[Reborn]

after being criticized for talking about my experiences playing basketball I decided to delete the post.

[Spike#1]

Article from the Spokesman on Gilder and Tillie:

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...hSWLWjOuqX1MT8

[zaguarxj]

AYAYI, like Gilder and Woolridge, attacks the rim without fear. Our three guards are as tough or tougher than any we've ever had, imo. AND I don't remember seeing any other group attack the basket successfully.

I want to tell you about toughness at the D1 level, because if you have not played D1 ball you may not have a good idea. In high school, big is like 6'5". AND THATS TALL. In D1 the bigs are mostly 6'9", 6' 10" and yes 6'11" and 7'. They are not only tall but they are BIG. By big I mean muscular and many of them look like middle linebackers or defensive ends.
T
These bigs are taught from the very first day, that when an opposing guard attacks the basket, he had better pay dearly every time for it. That guard had better be picking himself up off the floor, often with the help of his teammates. So if you are a guard, you know that when you attack the basket you are going to get hit and you're going to get hit hard. Thank God, many basketball guards were running backs or quarterbacks in high school, and are used to getting hit hard. However, I will saY, that in basketball we don't wear pads, and the floor is made of hard wood. There was a time that the basketball courts were called Hardwood courts. And it's really not fun to hit that floor over and over and over again. It may be hard to believe, but beyond that, some coaches even encourage their players to hurt these penetrating guards. It's true.

I played against these kinds of bigs. AND even at Gonzaga when I played, our bigs were told the same things. So when some of us talk about having tough guards, I just wanted you to know that they really do get beat up, and at times injured. Sometimes seriously, but more often, just banged up, and banged up bad. Playing injured IS part of the game. Yes, there are levels of injuries and some are bad enough where a player can not play for a period of time. But more often, our guards especially play somewhat injured all the time. And I'm not talking about scratches. I'm talking about cuts, bruised muscles all over your body, deep floor burns on both knees and elbows. Swullen joints, especially elbows. I fractured a bone in my left hand, took two weeks off, and played with one hand for a few weeks while the left hand healed (this was in high school).

I watch our guards closely. I always have, and Gonzaga has certainly had tough guards, and tough players. Yet, as I've said, I believe these guards at GU right now are the toughest. Watch their fearlessness as they attack, and try to remember that the opposing bigs are thinking about hurting them. I was so glad when the flagrant foul rule was put into place a few years back. It needs to be there.

I've only talked about the guards, but rebounding for the others is a whole other story. Their battles are just as tough and just as risky. And that's one reason why I respect Ayayi especially the way he rebounds. But when I check the stats after the game, I see that all of our guards are getting at least 5 boards, even Woolridge. Amazing. I love these Zags. This Zag team will never be accused of not being tough.

Go Zags!!!

Didn't you already post this in another thread???

[Reborn]

I thought it might fit in better in this thread.

[LTownZag]

This version doesn't include the story about the 6'5" (6'1") guard for Weber State (Idaho State) who played for the Lakers for 15 years (2 years).

Reborn, I hope I have your enthusiasm and positivity when I get to your age. You seem to live life with an authentic joy. If you didn't repeatedly reference your playing time over 50 years ago as a source of authority, I would find your posts more compelling.

The reason I bothered checking your "back in my day" claims is that you use them to buttress or provide theoretical credentials for your current basketball perspective as appeal to imagined authority, yet your claims of personal experience are frequently fish stories. I'm sure I'll have many of my own inflated nostalgia memories by your age (probably already do!) but I hope not to rely on them to support opinions and put down those of others.

[ProVeeZag]

Article from the Spokesman on Gilder and Tillie:

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/20...hSWLWjOuqX1MT8

Thanks Spike! Love that photo at the top of article, obviously late in a game during mop-up minutes. A friendship built between a former volleyball player from France and a transfer from Texas - nice moment.

[Reborn]

This version doesn't include the story about the 6'5" (6'1") guard for Weber State (Idaho State) who played for the Lakers for 15 years (2 years).

Reborn, I hope I have your enthusiasm and positivity when I get to your age. You seem to live life with an authentic joy. If you didn't repeatedly reference your playing time over 50 years ago as a source of authority, I would find your posts more compelling.

The reason I bothered checking your "back in my day" claims is that you use them to buttress or provide theoretical credentials for your current basketball perspective as appeal to imagined authority, yet your claims of personal experience are frequently fish stories. I'm sure I'll have many of my own inflated nostalgia memories by your age (probably already do!) but I hope not to rely on them to support opinions and put down those of others.

I'm not sure how closely you read all of the thread, but recently several fans who post here indicated in a post they had written that they wished that I would talk more about my experiences playing at Gonzaga. That's why I wrote the one above. I responded to your criticisms of me before, and that I have tried hard over the fifteen years here to NOT talk about my Gonzaga basketball experience, and to especially rely on those experiences to support my opinions of things I might write about. I do realize that at times I have used my basketball experiences to help discuss some topics, but in my mind not as often as you "imagine." I will guarantee you of one thing, that my credentials are not "thoretical" nor is my knowledge of basketball "imagined." And my personal experiences are not fish stories, and hopefully my memories of those playing and coaching days are not inflated. I have tried my best to not make them inflated. I will finish by asking you what kind of pleasure do you get in putting me down like this and trying to humility me in a public forum about Gonzaga basketball. Especially when the Gonzaga uniform that I wore and played in at Gonzaga University was not imagined, nor has been anything that I've EVER written about here on this forum. I wonder what motivates you to do this kind of thing. Like I said, I wrote the last post that I did because several people wanted me to talk MORE about my experiences. That was all that motivated me......but I will erase them, and try harder to not talk about them any more. I'm getting too old, and get too hurt by the kind of things you say about me. Congratulations!!!!

[ProVeeZag]

I'm not sure how closely you read all of the thread, but recently several fans who post here indicated in a post they had written that they wished that I would talk more about my experiences playing at Gonzaga. That's why I wrote the one above. I responded to your criticisms of me before, and that I have tried hard over the fifteen years here to NOT talk about my Gonzaga basketball experience, and to especially rely on those experiences to support my opinions of things I might write about. I do realize that at times I have used my basketball experiences to help discuss some topics, but in my mind not as often as you "imagine." I will guarantee you of one thing, that my credentials are not "thoretical" nor is my knowledge of basketball "imagined." And my personal experiences are not fish stories, and hopefully my memories of those playing and coaching days are not inflated. I have tried my best to not make them inflated. I will finish by asking you what kind of pleasure do you get in putting me down like this and trying to humility me in a public forum about Gonzaga basketball. Especially when the Gonzaga uniform that I wore and played in at Gonzaga University was not imagined, nor has been anything that I've EVER written about here on this forum. I wonder what motivates you to do this kind of thing. Like I said, I wrote the last post that I did because several people wanted me to talk MORE about my experiences. That was all that motivated me......but I will erase them, and try harder to not talk about them any more. I'm getting too old, and get too hurt by the kind of things you say about me. Congratulations!!!!

+1 Yes, there is a private messaging feature that would have been more appropriate for that critical comment ... or better yet, let it go entirely and move on to more positive posting. Reborn, I enjoy your posts. I'm an old fart too and my memories are what I hold most closely.

[LTownZag]

Reborn, I’m not doubting your general claim that you played 2 seasons at GU in the 1960s. That’s really amazing and I’m sure you have a lot of b-ball experience and knowledge.

You have experience which is obviously far from theoretical.

It is when you make specifically very inaccurate claims in order to provide bonafides that a reality check is worthwhile.

[Reborn]

Reborn, I’m not doubting your general claim that you played 2 seasons at GU in the 1960s. That’s really amazing and I’m sure you have a lot of b-ball experience and knowledge.

You have experience which is obviously far from theoretical.

It is when you make specifically very inaccurate claims in order to provide bonafides that a reality check is worthwhile.

Your research is a little inacurrate. I played 3 seasons at Gonzaga.

[Grand Valley Zag]

I'm not sure how closely you read all of the thread, but recently several fans who post here indicated in a post they had written that they wished that I would talk more about my experiences playing at Gonzaga. That's why I wrote the one above. I responded to your criticisms of me before, and that I have tried hard over the fifteen years here to NOT talk about my Gonzaga basketball experience, and to especially rely on those experiences to support my opinions of things I might write about. I do realize that at times I have used my basketball experiences to help discuss some topics, but in my mind not as often as you "imagine." I will guarantee you of one thing, that my credentials are not "thoretical" nor is my knowledge of basketball "imagined." And my personal experiences are not fish stories, and hopefully my memories of those playing and coaching days are not inflated. I have tried my best to not make them inflated. I will finish by asking you what kind of pleasure do you get in putting me down like this and trying to humility me in a public forum about Gonzaga basketball. Especially when the Gonzaga uniform that I wore and played in at Gonzaga University was not imagined, nor has been anything that I've EVER written about here on this forum. I wonder what motivates you to do this kind of thing. Like I said, I wrote the last post that I did because several people wanted me to talk MORE about my experiences. That was all that motivated me......but I will erase them, and try harder to not talk about them any more. I'm getting too old, and get too hurt by the kind of things you say about me. Congratulations!!!!

Don't let it get you down, dude. I can only speak for myself, but I'm usually interested in reading about your playing experiences.

[LTownZag]

Your research is a little inacurrate. I played 3 seasons at Gonzaga.

In those days, how did the JV team work in terms of filling a roster with only freshmen?

Did schools simply try and entice or recruit 10+ freshmen each year, and then basically tell most of them not to come back for their sophomore year when they would have to make the general roster?

I never knew until researching this era that freshmen weren't allowed on the official school team in that era, but that most schools had an entire JV team comprised of a new freshmen cohort each year, and then their "official" team would be a mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

[Grand Valley Zag]

Any idea why you previously claimed 4 seasons with GU's team?
Or why the roster list has only has you on 2 seasons ('67-'68, '68-'69)?

(Maybe those rosters are wrong and mistakenly left you off the '69-1970 team)

You're making somebody look bad, and it isn't Reborn.

[LTownZag]

You're making somebody look bad, and it isn't Reborn.

You're right. I shouldn't have linked to the identity stats. I'll delete that link and post entirely. Thanks for calling me out on it.