The Lost Season

[IMADEYOUREADTHIS]

Thought this would be a good spot to put down our memories, favorite players/moments/games and what-if’s of the 2019-2020 Lost Season.

I’ll start with the most recent which was Drew Time’s coming out party against SMC in the WCC title game. How fun was that and to watch Vitale go nuts for him?

Side-note, were we in the last title game played in 2019-2020?

[gu03alum]

I'm really going to miss Tillie

[TheOtherGreatOne]

It wasn't lost. I really enjoyed this season. Lost 5 of top players, actually 6, because Tillie was out at start of season. Placed 3 of those players in NBA and another was the second winningist player in college basketball history. So here we go a rebuilding year right ? Well that rebuilding year ended up 31-2, what a year. What Zag fan would not love this season ? At least now referee john higgins can not take a game away from us like he did last year. I can't wait for next year to begin.

[Bogozags]

Thought this would be a good spot to put down our memories, favorite players/moments/games and what-if’s of the 2019-2020 Lost Season.

I’ll start with the most recent which was Drew Time’s coming out party against SMC in the WCC title game. How fun was that and to watch Vitale go nuts for him?

Side-note, were we in the last title game played in 2019-2020?

Next year Timme will be even more confident AND if he can learn to shoot free throws and a 15 foot jumper, he will really make it tough on each defending team to guard all 5 players we put on the court.



It wasn't lost. I really enjoyed this season. Lost 5 of top players, actually 6, because Tillie was out at start of season. Placed 3 of those players in NBA and another was the second winningist player in college basketball history. So here we go a rebuilding year right ? Well that rebuilding year ended up 31-2, what a year. What Zag fan would not love this season ? At least now referee john higgins can not take a game away from us like he did last year. I can't wait for next year to begin.

If Joel comes back next year, that squad could well be the most talented to have ever played at GU and should be as Dickie V stated be ranked #1...I hope the Zags schedule the hardest schedule possible to leave no doubt how good GU has become...btw Orange Koolaid is my favorite...

[Reborn]

The biggest surprise to me was Ayayi. And what a surprise he was. He was like the best Christmas present ever. And he finished the season in a spectacular way. He saved the best for the last. I love how he handles the ball. I love how he maneuvers his way down court and finds the right lane to attack the basket a puts in one more runner. He also has a beautiful 3 point shot, and was definitely one of our best Ninja shooters.

I loved how Gilder played. He is so tough and unstoppable. He played awesome defense all year long, often guarding players much bigger than him. He too was a good Ninja shooter. When I think of him I think of a tough Ninja warrior with the headband, with an unstoppable attitude.

Woolridge. If Ayayi and Gilder were pieces of cake, Woolridge was the ice cream. These 3 guards were definitely a treat to enjoy. I enjoyed Woolridge's ball handling in the same way I enjoyed Ayayi's. He just did it differently. He was an aggressive attacker with speed. At times he seemed like a lightning bolt, and would energize the whole team. He has fantastic speed and knew how to control it. Could be a Sharp Shooter at times.

Some analysts questioned our guards and wondered if we had enough guard talent to make the Final Four and win it all. They proved in the Conference Tournament that they were good enough. That's one reason I will miss the NCAA Tournament is because these guards had things to prove and they were ready to it. I would have loved to see them up against the best guard tandems in the country.

The WCC was tough this year, and I liked that a lot. Because it was I really enjoyed the Conference Tournament. It was one of the best ones for me, and I will cherish the memories that I have of it. I think one reason I loved it so much is how well our guards played and Ayayi getting the MVP of the tournament. I will also cherish how well Timme played against St Mary's and Vital going crazy over his play.

The biggest disappointment of the season was how bad North Carolina was this year. I was really excited to see them come to the Kennel. But because they weren't really all that good this year, and they had lost their star player, the game just wasn't what I had hoped it would be.

Go Zags!!!

[MickMick]

I used to think of this team as a bunch of overachievers and attributed their success to Mark Few, but that is much too simple.

This is a group with a lot of experience that played together as a team. They really surprised me.

I still have my doubts that they could have made it past the second weekend, but I guess we will never know.

[Kong-Kool-Aid]

We ended the season with a win, what's the last time Gonzaga could say that?

[TexasZagFan]

I used to think of this team as a bunch of overachievers and attributed there success to Mark Few, but that is much too simple.

This is a group with a lot of experience that played together as a team. They really surprised me.

I still have my doubts that they could have made it past the second weekend, but I guess we will never know.

The Zags that beat SMC by 17 in the second half of the WCC championship game was the team that could have gone all the way.

The Zags that struggled against USF in all 3 games was the team whose ceiling was the Sweet 16.

Matchups during the tournament would likely have dictated how far the Zags could go.

[IMADEYOUREADTHIS]

Tillie telling the other 67 teams "You'll have to guard everybody so good Luck with that!" when answering Andy Katz's question on what opposing teams will be facing in the NCAA tournament.

https://youtu.be/6CYsEhQ7c68

[Zags11]

Feeling empty rn.

[77Zag]

The season stands for itself - the Zags were tremendous, especially with the expectations after last season and the players that moved on...

That being said, my heart bleeds for Ryan and Admon -- to transfer and play their hearts out and be shorted of the dance is tragic. Tillie is another that causes me grief, he deserved the dance.

Let's keep in mind some teams that really got shorted as well...the Portland Pilot Ladies, BYU, SMC and others ...

Godspeed on this virus - I still think in my heart, it may happen --- MAY MADNESS!!

Go Zags... Forever!!

[scrooner]

We ended the season with a win, what's the last time Gonzaga could say that?

1986.

[MDABE80]

Hardly a lost season. No 1 seed and ranked 2 but led the entire nation in offense. We kicked ass . And the Nation knows it. !! And we’ll do it again in 8 months or so! With The new 3 guards, and with the returnees, expect to be No1 Come Sept!

[Zagdawg]

Matt Norlander
@MattNorlander
NEWS: NCAA senior VP of basketball Dan Gavitt tells
@CBSSports
that despite the fact there will be no March Madness this year, the NCAA has not yet completely killed the idea of building and releasing a 68-team 2020 NCAA Tournament bracket.

[kitzbuel]

Reborn, I am with you. The guard position was the biggest question mark going into this season. We all saw it as our Achilles Heel for this year. Then we got Admon and Ryan, but with their injury history, we all thought they were question marks. Ayayi was hardly even on our radar, based on his pedestrian play from last season.

The Battle for Atlantis, however, was my eye opener. Ayayi played with confidence, control and pace. Gilder and Woolridge were starting move well and showing that they were learning the offense. By the end of the out of conference season, our backcourt went from a weakness to a strength. Great defense, high octane transition offense, patience and discipline in feeding the bigs in the middle. Everything you want from great guard play they gave us. That was awesome.

Teams that thought they could take advantage of our backcourt were left with shredded game plans. Great stuff!