A Thing of Beauty

[TacomaZAG]

I know it's only been two games, but the ZAGS have been beautiful to watch. From the floor spacing to the back cuts to the transitions to the tempo to the run outs. From Suggs court vision to Timme's footwork to Corey's inside/outside game to Joel's rebounding, it's all been truly gorgeous basketball. This team is so skilled and so unselfish. Great switching defense, intensity on the defensive end, getting on the boards to limit 2nd chance points. Two beatdowns against two totally different styles. All the pieces are there.

Buckle up, it's gonna be another great year. The Kool-Aid still tastes so good................

Go ZAGS

[zagzilla]

I had the same thought. The right players were in the right spots and making the right decisions-especially the first unit. The first couple of minutes in the second half really stood out. Demonstrates the solid coaching from Few & co. Combine that with elite athletes and the occasional razzle dazzle play like the Alley Oop from Joel to Suggs and the sky is the limit for this squad.

To borrow a soccer metaphor from Brazil the Zags played 'O Jogo Bonito'-"The Beautiful Game", today.

[zag buddy]

I've been impressed by their great spacing. Just opens everything up.

[Birddog]

I seem to remember when “spacing” wasn’t always a good thing.

[tummydoc]

Espn announcers said Zags are the only team that looks in midseason form during halftime of the St Mary's game.

[ProVeeZag]

The ball movement on offense has been phenomenal. The no-look flip pass by Suggs yesterday that led to the breakaway lay-in was something else. Poetry on the hardwood!

[tempe85]

They really look like a great team now and it's exciting to think about what they can do as the season progresses. I really think Ballo is going to bring more than he has so far, Few has put him during important minutes, unlike Rui his freshman year who mostly played garbage time, so he must be showing some good things in practice.

This is being really nitpicky but my only complaint is they get caught with their pants down on defensive rotations sometimes and allow too many open 3's. I don't care if a guy hits a 3, that's going to happen, but if it's wide open, in this day and age, players are just practicing that too much not to burn you. It was an issue last year as wells if I remember correctly. Last year's team only allowed 32% from 3 so maybe I'm remembering earlier in the season and they improved over time. But honestly that's the only thing I can really think of. They will probably be a much better free-throw shooting team compared with last year (at 75.7% so far, compared with 68.8% from last year), which will be nice. Few has his hands full trying to figure out how to allocate the minutes because we have so many good players, but that's a great problem to have.

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

I love watching Aaron Cook play D.

Timme’s work to get to his spots on offensive end and how he gets his defender on his hip then seals him off to create passing angles for littles to feed him the ball may be his most underrated skill

Kispert showing what a senior stud looks like.

[jazzdelmar]

* Cook is Gilder plus. Typical GU transfer guard. Mature, solid, clutch, unselfish.
* Tims is ideally a 4. Another in long line of great 4s at GU. Not that I miss Petro, but a space eater only would be an asset. Not Ballo quite yet.
* Suggsy combines Matt S’s verve, DD’s leadership, Pargo’s fearlessness, and Nigel’s gamesmanship; then triples it. Geez.
* Kispert has improved more than any Zag since KO. What a poster boy.
* Norvell would be a senior, right? And Ravet a soph? Sometimes things are for the best.

[TacomaZAG]

* Cook is Gilder plus. Typical GU transfer guard. Mature, solid, clutch, unselfish.
* Tims is ideally a 4. Another in long line of great 4s at GU. Not that I miss Petro, but a space eater only would be an asset. Not Ballo quite yet.
* Suggsy combines Matt S’s verve, DD’s leadership, Pargo’s fearlessness, and Nigel’s gamesmanship; then triples it. Geez.
* Kispert has improved more than any Zag since KO. What a poster boy.
* Norvell would be a senior, right? And Ravet a soph? Sometimes things are for the best.

Jazz - Great call on Suggs similarity to Matt Santangelo in terms of verve. Matt has always been one of my favorites and very underrated in the guard pantheon at GU. I love it when people on the Board fire up the way-back machine, all the way back to the late 90's in this case for you newbies.

Also, Kispert is a perfect illustration of what 4 years of hard work at the college level can produce.

Go ZAGS

[NotoriousZ]

Suggs is the piece of the puzzle the puts us at the top of the basketball universe, but Kispert’s leap up from last year cannot go unnoticed. I’m so proud of him. It really is mind boggling to try to imagine the immense amount of work he must have put in to get to where he’s at now. And it’s not like he wasn’t productive last year, but it’s one thing to be a great college player and quite another to be an NBA prospect. I will be following his career with joy and I’ll be enjoying every minute of this season.

[zaguarxj]

Funny how, with the arrival of Nembhard and Cook, so many people here were overlooking Ayayi. He has, as usual, been stuffing the stat sheet and doing the dirty work. I'm surprised he doesn't get as much love from the fans as he should. It's obvious what Few thinks, given that he's starting and playing in crunch time.

[amaronizag]

During the KS game, I never felt in my bones for one second that we were going to lose the game. Even when KS made runs to catch us in the 4th quarter, I always felt confident GU was going to win. In past years, I often had doubts late in the game, and said to myself, oh no, this is where we slow it down and play not to lose, and when the pace was slowed down sometimes we did lose. Against KS, I never had that feeling. GU put the petal to the metal, poured it on, and breezed to a win. We have had a few players that capably took over during late game situations, but not even Goss was as confidence inspiring to me as Suggs. I never doubted for an instant that he would guide us to the win against KS. I want to get used to that feeling.

[SorenTodd45]

Kispert has improved more than any Zag since KO. What a poster boy.

Exactly. Corey has shown pure senior leadership so far.

[Zags11]

Funny how, with the arrival of Nembhard and Cook, so many people here were overlooking Ayayi. He has, as usual, been stuffing the stat sheet and doing the dirty work. I'm surprised he doesn't get as much love from the fans as he should. It's obvious what Few thinks, given that he's starting and playing in crunch time.

Ppl down on him more then others even though he is solid.

[White lightning]

Funny how, with the arrival of Nembhard and Cook, so many people here were overlooking Ayayi. He has, as usual, been stuffing the stat sheet and doing the dirty work. I'm surprised he doesn't get as much love from the fans as he should. It's obvious what Few thinks, given that he's starting and playing in crunch time.

Joel is so smooth he's almost a ghost on the court. He's everywhere. Against Auburn late he set Ballo up for a nice post play. Made the pass and then glided over for a rebound put back. Most guys would have watched and then dropped back on D. Definitely a critical cog to the system.

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[billyberu]

What amazes me about Corey Kispert is the dramatic increase in speed from his freshman year. There is a suddenness to his movements that was lacking in years past. He's always been a big, physical guard who finishes well, but now he has the quicks too.



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[Birddog]

Agreed, the difference is Knight and day

[Reborn]

What has always impressed me about Gonzaga teams is their passing. It's always really good. And this year it's at a completely different level, especially when you consider that we've only played two games. The passing is so crisp and so strong, and players can pass with total accuracy up to 100 feet away, especially Suggs. I have never seen anyone pass at the collegiate level like Suggs. I love to watch his pitch-perfect passes passes. The are bullets. And I think that Ayayi is not too far behind. Joel is really threading the needle on a consistent level. And Kispert's passing is, I believe, his greatest improvement.

What amazes me the most about these guys is that it's so early in the season. We are playing at least a way most teams will play at mid-season. And I believe much further into the season than the mid-point.

The other thing that separates this Zag team from others is their transition basketball. The Zags are relentless. They have the speed of a racecar. And the passing, to me, is what makes it work. Plus the fact that almost all of the them handle the ball like a guard. The one exception is Ballo. But Timme, Watson, Kispert all handle the ball in transition like a guard, both dribbling and passing. I am loving it for sure. Keep it up guys.

Go Zags!

[jim77]

The ball movement on offense has been phenomenal. The no-look flip pass by Suggs yesterday that led to the breakaway lay-in was something else. Poetry on the hardwood!

"Poetry on the Hardwood"

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