Week One Evaluation

[IowaSERE]

What other team in the country has 2 highly rated recruits that are 7 footers, and have had a year in the system?

[GoZags]

I'm not worried about Pavel or Oumar filling in should Drew get in foul trouble. We may be a bit thin, compared to our guards, but I'm sure they've been working on it in practice. One thing we know about the Zags: they prepare for just about every situation.

Not only that, I'm incredibly comfortable with Corey at the 4 and any 3 of Suggs, Nembhard, Cook or Ayayi playing with Watson at the 5 (if Drew is sitting).

[jazzdelmar]

Not only that, I'm incredibly comfortable with Corey at the 4 and any 3 of Suggs, Nembhard, Cook or Ayayi playing with Watson at the 5 (if Drew is sitting).

Agreed, that would be quite a lineup. Take pressure off Tims.

[IowaSERE]

Agreed, that would be quite a lineup. Take pressure off Tims.

The speed of Watty and Ayayi fronting the big 5s would be interesting

[jazzdelmar]

The speed of Watty and Ayayi fronting the big 5s would be interesting

Lots of quick hands in that lineup

[TexasZagFan]

Not only that, I'm incredibly comfortable with Corey at the 4 and any 3 of Suggs, Nembhard, Cook or Ayayi playing with Watson at the 5 (if Drew is sitting).

That's an experienced five when you have Corey, Andrew, Cook, and Ayayi on the court at the same time, no matter who the fifth player is. If the fifth player is Jalen, then you add a freshman who's mature beyond his years. They're all 6'4 or taller, so it's not like the height mismatch would be that severe.

Practices must be something to see.

[TexasZagFan]

What other team in the country has 2 highly rated recruits that are 7 footers, and have had a year in the system?

Is that a trick question?

[Zaglaw]

Iowa may be the big test at the 5 for us. From the clips I saw, Garza is a beast.

[OldGoatZagFan]

Iowa may be the big test at the 5 for us. From the clips I saw, Garza is a beast.

When I watched some clips of Iowa today, my first thought was that Garza is going to be sucking wind 2 minutes into the game...hopefully. He is a beast but a bit of a plodding beast.

[jim77]

My biggest, very pleasant surprise is the ease at which Corey is getting to rim and finishing. Last year he would tend to get blocked at the rim but this year he is just scoring through guys at the rack. Huge addition to his skill set and now it makes defenders stay honest and respect his driving ability.

Loved Markburn1's description of Timme.............hilarious. Too true, fundies have been going out of style since the 70's.

Go ZAGS

Timme even has the headband.

[jim77]

...a right-now-capable Timme backup. This fan's not a coach, but it seems from Coaching Amateur-ville that a good strategy for W. Virginia and Iowa to employ is "get Timme in foul trouble" then with Timme on the bench, attack the middle with their bigs.

Just a non-coach, amateur, remember.





:]

Not a slight to Pavel or Oumar, by the way.

Well said...and accurate.

Hes pretty young and getting In there with KU and Auburn is a track meet. Not a lot of margin of error in fast paced games...and when somebody is still working on their game...understandable. However, like Kidwell said...Teams in the near future ARE going to go after Timme...since Balo isnt going to be up to speed by then...Id play zone D while hes in there...it keeps the game in front of him AND our length on the perimeter should lessen the damage. Besides, it seems these days that offenses have no clue how to beat the zone...with the exception of jacking up 3s.

The kid needs more game time...his size/length...strength..and a soft touch in close should help him. Just get him minutes every chance we get.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the ZAGS play a deliberate 1/2 court hame.

[Zag365]

Well said...and accurate.

Hes pretty young and getting In there with KU and Auburn is a track meet. Not a lot of margin of error in fast paced games...and when somebody is still working on their game...understandable. However, like Kidwell said...Teams in the near future ARE going to go after Timme...since Balo isnt going to be up to speed by then...Id play zone D while hes in there...it keeps the game in front of him AND our length on the perimeter should lessen the damage. Besides, it seems these days that offenses have no clue how to beat the zone...with the exception of jacking up 3s.

The kid needs more game time...his size/length...strength..and a soft touch in close should help him. Just get him minutes every chance we get.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the ZAGS play a deliberate 1/2 court hame.

Agree and it seems pretty obvious. DT is our leading scorer, maybe our top rebounder, and logs the most minutes along with CK and JA. He hasn't been injured or in foul trouble so we don't what it looks like to play extended minutes with him sitting. I expect WVa and Baylor to go at him to see if they can get him in early foul trouble (why wouldn't they take a shot at what appears to be our most vulnerable position and see what happens). I'm sure the coaches have a plan if Timme has to sit for a stretch. Hopefully we won't need to see it.

[scrooner]

Timme's foul rate last year was 5.4 per 40 minutes. This year so far it's 2.6. Small sample size obviously, but I assume his rate will be lower this year because we need him on the court.

[Reborn]

This was definitely the best first week of Gonzaga basketball that I've ever seen. Not even close. What a way to start the season, playing Kansas, rated #6, right out of the gate. And it was a truly awesome basketball game. It was one of my favorite Zag games ever. Maybe the best. Kansas is sooo tough. Always. We had never played them, and I have always wanted to because I just wanted to see Mark Few up against Self, who just may be one of the best in the colliate game. And the game never let me down at all. I've seen it 3 times now, and am just so impressed with the Zags. This team has a great chance of going undefeated. And wouldn't that be something with the schedule we have in non conference play.

The Baylor game will be the test that's for sure because they have so many guys coming back from last year. That's why they're ranked #1 in some polls. But Gonzaga is playing like they've been playing together for a year. They are so polished, and have such fantastic chemistry. Their cohesion is what makes the engine that drives them so powerful. We waited a long time to see Suggs play, and he completely blew us away. At least he blew me away, and I believe the same for my son Demian. This is going to be such a wonderful season to watch because of him. Ammo was great to watch his first year, and he was also a pleasant surprise. But he really wasn't in the same ballpark as Suggs. Suggs is a total, complete player, and like no one that I've seen.

I knew Timme would be great, and I honestly believed that teams would have trouble guarding him. He showed us a lot at the end of the season last year. But he has surpassed by expectations. Yes, he's unstoppable, but I didn't think he'd have the outside shot that he has, and the ability to dribble and pass as well as he can.\

Kispert, like Suggs, has really blown me away, and he believe he's blown a lot of people away, including many of the analysts. He has become such a complete player, and drives to the basket in ways I never ever have seen. I think Suggs may have given him some lessons because Kispert DOES HAVE a dang good Euro step like Suggs. And Kispert handles the ball in transition like I had never seen him do, and dang he's a great passer too, and even becoming a darn good defensive player.

Ayayi is everything I have hoped for, and maybe more. He's such a complete player and does so many things on a basketball court. He too plays his role perfectly. He is truly a star too. I love his game. Always have. He can knock down the 3 ball, and this team doesn't have a lot of players who can. Of course I'm not thinking of Kispert when I say that. But every team needs that player who can knock down 3's from the corner, and that's Ayayi's specialty, that and rebounding and stealing the ball.

Watson is playing really well. Those that question his play don't understand the role he plays on this team, and he plays it perfectly like Ayayi does. He is everywhere he needs to be on the court, and he fills in all the holes. He's a role player, and championship teams need one like him.

I think Nembhard is still trying to find his role on the team. But I have to say, he played a great game against Kansas, and we would have lost that one without him. He will be a vital player against the better teams we play because he has the experience against those kinds of teams. I expect him to play really great in all those great games. He didn't have his best game against Auburn, but he didn't need to.

I really like what everyone is feeling about Cook, and I feel the same. I enjoy every minute he's in the game, and I love to watch him play defense. I like to watch how he gets down low in his defensive stance and gets right into the chest of the guy he is guarding. If you like defense, like I do, you enjoy watching guys who can play it like he does. And he can drive to the basket really well, and he can handle the ball like every very good point guard can. He has the skill and the experience to be the very good back up point guard that he is. We don't miss a beat at all when he comes into the game. And honestly, that's the great thing about this team. We don't miss a beat when Those Two guys who come off the bench and into the game.

I agree with you all that Ballo is a work in progress, but I see that he does have high potential. His upside is really awesome. He's just so young and raw. He'll get there. By the end of the year he will have improved a lot I think.

This coming week is going to be another really really good one. I feel sooo lucky to be Zag. This week could possibly be better than last which was really awesome.

Go Zags!

[zag67]

Reborn thanks for a great review of our players and the skills they bring. I also agree that our subs come in and we do not lose a lot. They have different skills but the team seems to integrate what they bring to the table. Watson and Ballo both will be better as the season goes on. Thanks again

[ZagsGoZags]

Reborn,
your post after every game might as well be put in the Spokesman-Review and AP along with Meehan's. All you need is a bit of journalistic polish and you would be the content analysis of how our team played that game. Last year I just waited for your detailed wrap-up after each game.

[jsnider]

This was definitely the best first week of Gonzaga basketball that I've ever seen. Not even close. What a way to start the season, playing Kansas, rated #6, right out of the gate. And it was a truly awesome basketball game. It was one of my favorite Zag games ever. Maybe the best. Kansas is sooo tough. Always. We had never played them, and I have always wanted to because I just wanted to see Mark Few up against Self, who just may be one of the best in the colliate game. And the game never let me down at all. I've seen it 3 times now, and am just so impressed with the Zags. This team has a great chance of going undefeated. And wouldn't that be something with the schedule we have in non conference play.

The Baylor game will be the test that's for sure because they have so many guys coming back from last year. That's why they're ranked #1 in some polls. But Gonzaga is playing like they've been playing together for a year. They are so polished, and have such fantastic chemistry. Their cohesion is what makes the engine that drives them so powerful. We waited a long time to see Suggs play, and he completely blew us away. At least he blew me away, and I believe the same for my son Demian. This is going to be such a wonderful season to watch because of him. Ammo was great to watch his first year, and he was also a pleasant surprise. But he really wasn't in the same ballpark as Suggs. Suggs is a total, complete player, and like no one that I've seen.

I knew Timme would be great, and I honestly believed that teams would have trouble guarding him. He showed us a lot at the end of the season last year. But he has surpassed by expectations. Yes, he's unstoppable, but I didn't think he'd have the outside shot that he has, and the ability to dribble and pass as well as he can.\

Kispert, like Suggs, has really blown me away, and he believe he's blown a lot of people away, including many of the analysts. He has become such a complete player, and drives to the basket in ways I never ever have seen. I think Suggs may have given him some lessons because Kispert DOES HAVE a dang good Euro step like Suggs. And Kispert handles the ball in transition like I had never seen him do, and dang he's a great passer too, and even becoming a darn good defensive player.

Ayayi is everything I have hoped for, and maybe more. He's such a complete player and does so many things on a basketball court. He too plays his role perfectly. He is truly a star too. I love his game. Always have. He can knock down the 3 ball, and this team doesn't have a lot of players who can. Of course I'm not thinking of Kispert when I say that. But every team needs that player who can knock down 3's from the corner, and that's Ayayi's specialty, that and rebounding and stealing the ball.

Watson is playing really well. Those that question his play don't understand the role he plays on this team, and he plays it perfectly like Ayayi does. He is everywhere he needs to be on the court, and he fills in all the holes. He's a role player, and championship teams need one like him.

I think Nembhard is still trying to find his role on the team. But I have to say, he played a great game against Kansas, and we would have lost that one without him. He will be a vital player against the better teams we play because he has the experience against those kinds of teams. I expect him to play really great in all those great games. He didn't have his best game against Auburn, but he didn't need to.

I really like what everyone is feeling about Cook, and I feel the same. I enjoy every minute he's in the game, and I love to watch him play defense. I like to watch how he gets down low in his defensive stance and gets right into the chest of the guy he is guarding. If you like defense, like I do, you enjoy watching guys who can play it like he does. And he can drive to the basket really well, and he can handle the ball like every very good point guard can. He has the skill and the experience to be the very good back up point guard that he is. We don't miss a beat at all when he comes into the game. And honestly, that's the great thing about this team. We don't miss a beat when Those Two guys who come off the bench and into the game.

I agree with you all that Ballo is a work in progress, but I see that he does have high potential. His upside is really awesome. He's just so young and raw. He'll get there. By the end of the year he will have improved a lot I think.

This coming week is going to be another really really good one. I feel sooo lucky to be Zag. This week could possibly be better than last which was really awesome.

Go Zags!

Reborn - Outstanding work. You nailed it.

[FloridaZagFan]

Based on lots of footage of Ballo prior to this season, I would guess that at least half of his woes are nerves/rust/lack of confidence. Once he gets his bearings, I think we’re going to see significant improvement and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sooner rather than later.

When you play trying not to make a mistake you make lots of them. He was never going to surprise anyone with his speed. He is really good at what he does just needs some reps.

[WallaWallaZag]

When you play trying not to make a mistake you make lots of them. He was never going to surprise anyone with his speed. He is really good at what he does just needs some reps.

i didn't think ballo was going to be ready for prime time yet, and the little bit lost look isn't surprising...but i was expecting dunks instead of layups...