RIP: Our Board's Founding Father, BobZag, Has Passed Away
This past weekend the Gonzaga family lost not only one of its greatest basketball fans and alumni, but also one of the greatest friends I have ever had in this board's admin, BobZag. BZ died peacefully at his home after suffering from a number of medical ailments that such a courageous and kind person should never have to endure. As always, he handled these things with bravery and dignity.
I will never forget first meeting BobZag. It was back around 2003 or so when the scout.com Gonzaga basketball message board was gaining traction. The scout.com board admin, BobZag, immediately noticed that I had come out of nowhere to post about the games, the staff, the players, my love for the WCC, and my deep love of U.S. college basketball and my continued belief that, flaws and all, is still the best developmental tool in the world for developing basketball talent.
Before long he asked me to give him a call. I tend to be an introverted person, so I was initially hesitant, but I thought, "What the heck."
It ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made.
From the moment we first started talking, the conversation just flowed. We not only loved our Zags and college basketball in general, but we also discovered that we shared a love of rock music (we dug many of the same bands and artists), had a similar sense of humor, and a love of writing. As some of you may know, Bob was a very talented screen writer with a deep love of films. We had so much in common, and yet enough differences to keep things interesting.
Eventually he asked me to write articles for the scout.com site as the company were asking for more and more content from him. Unfortunately, scout.com had no idea of the hardships in BZ's life that made it hard for him to keep up with its demand for articles. I was glad to help out, but eventually a number of us decided that this wasn't a job for middle aged men who had jobs, spouses, kids, and other things to do in life.
Through a number of connections Bob was able to get things moved over to this site where we didn't have to produce content and where we also were better able to keep the dang Washington Husky trolls away (ending the series for a time got rid of many of those idiots as well). Several other people stepped up to the plate to be co-admins and moderators as the message board got bigger than it ever did at scout.com.
It is my belief that BobZag's work on both message boards did a great deal to expand the popularity of Gonzaga basketball not only nationally, but even globally as Coach Lloyd assumed more and more of a roll in bringing international talent into the program. Another key thing that BZ did was bring great attention and enthusiasm to the Lady Zags, which I know that Coach Graves and so many others really appreciated. Like the men, they too have become one of the finest basketball programs in the west.
However, what I will miss most about BZ was the fact that I sat next to him at the Kennel for countless games. Always grabbing an extra chair from the Kennel staff so that I could sit more closely to him to actually hear him (we all know how loud the place can get when it's really rocking), I felt we had the best seats in the house. Just behind the backboard to the left. We could see all the plays develop on both ends - especially in the 2nd half when we could see the work of Coach Few's magical offensive schemes come alive.
The truth is, BobZag now REALLY has the best seat in the house. He'll be standing right above the court of every Zag game from here until the end of time. It is sad that the GU men didn't win a national title before he passed, but he was able to see the team make its first final four - something that was unimaginable in the early 90's when GU was arguably a true low major basketball team. However, whether it's this year or some year in the near future, I am confident that Coach Few and his men will hang a banner at the Kennel one day, and BZ will be there to witness it all.
I ask all of you to think of BZ and his family in the coming days. They are honestly some of the nicest people I have ever met. The work Bob did on the two message boards, and the lives he touched will not be forgotten.
It's been a rough three weeks for me. Two of my very best friends have died (the other a long time high school basketball coach to a sudden stroke who, although a UCLA man, admired Gonzaga basketball greatly). These things happen in life, but we must move on and think of all the positive things these people have brought to our lives. And for so many on this board, that's what BobZag brought: a whole lot of positive, and a whole lot of inspiration. He was and still is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Thanks big guy for all that you did for me and for being my friend.
----CDC84
P.S. - we are looking into possibly "renaming" this board and the women's board after BZ, but some things need to be worked out first. Much like we renamed the GU sports forum after El Voce.
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Originally Posted by Salsageek
