Following last weekend's loss in The City, and tomorrow's match-up against third place Portland, it seems like a good time to assess the state of this season's team.  Expectations seemed lower this year after losing six players from last year and there was talk of rebuilding, having a down year, and being competitive given the difficult schedule.  After seeing Elias Harris for the first time, thoughts quickly shifted to an NCAA tournament run.  After Rob Sacre essentially exercised his will against Michigan State and in Maui dreams of a potential Final Four flitted through the heads of Gonzaga fanboys. With four legitimate offensive weapons and a point guard that defends, the Zags seemed lined up to make a big run.

2010 has shown that whatever happened in Novemer and December came about from smoke and mirrors.  Similar to last season's collapse, 2010 has proven to be difficult for the Zags.  Matt Bouldin was forced to play 37 minutes against a bad Pepperdine team AT HOME, who lost to a D-III school this season and has a RPI ranking of 282; followed by putting in 39 minutes against a bad LMU team who is ranked 217 in the RPI.  In addition to Bouldin, both Steven Gray and Elias Harris are averaging 32 and 30 minutes per game.  This league is not getting better at the bottom, the Zags are failing to pull away at the top.  There is no reason that the three best players on this team need to be playing nearly the entire game against teams that are vastly inferior to the talent on the Gonzaga roster.  Something needs to change.

In November this post talked about what Gonzaga fans should look for this season offensively.  The problem is that Gonzaga is playing 3-on-5 offensive basketball at this point.  There are no pick-and-rolls, there are no off-ball screens that actually hit people, there are no back door cuts, you see an offense that consists of what looks like 17 year-old AAU-look at me basketball and Elias Euro-moving it to the rim (with or without traveling).  The Bulldogs have become so reliant on Elias and jumpshooting that when the shots are off, Duke game, or the guards are off, 1-10 from three vs. USF, the Zags are going to be unable to compete.

Gonzaga and Mark Few have lost their way offensively and need to get back to having an OFFENSIVE SYSTEM.  The Zags look like they're constantly playing in a pick-up game in the fieldhouse.  Goodson has terrible court vision and negligible passing skills, shoots the ball like Randy Johnson used to throw fastballs in 1988 (no idea where it is going) and has failed to show that he is even an above average defender.  Put him on the bench.  Rob Sacre has shown a total lack of desire to rebound the ball, and when you're SEVEN FEET TALL rebounding is really only about desire; an inability to be able to pass the ball out of a double team, and a lack of ability to play without getting into foul trouble. Put him on the bench.

NEW PLAN

Return to the flex offense, or some variant.  Mark Few formerly was a huge fan of this offense because it consisted of effective movement and putting people into positions where they can be effective.  Look at this if you don't know what the flex is; and at the bottom of the page where Few and Rice hawk books/videos about the flex.  Gonzaga's best offense is wasting away because the coaching staff is failing to put its players into situations where they can succeed.

Gonzaga's best players are Matt, Steven, Elias, Bol, Manny, Kelly and Grant.  Since Bol is too slow to get a shot off the dribble, maybe we could set some screens for him to get open and take advantage of his 46% three point accuracy.  Since Kelly is too weak physically to battle in the low post, maybe we flash him to the high post to knock down 15 foot jumpshots.  Flash Matt across the low block so he can post-up his defender, which he does so well.  The options from the flex are innumerable and Gonzaga is wasting its talent by standing 25 feet from the rim and pounding the ball into the floor waiting for someone else to do something.

Why is this coaching staff so entirely opposed to playing pressure defense?  Given the length and athleticism of nearly everyone on the roster, why is there no press or half-court traps?  The best options for winning are not being optimised by Coach Few, with maddening results.

This team needs to find a new direction or else it is going to be another season with an early exit come March.

Jim Meehan of the Spokesman Review reports Friday that Dirk Bauermann (German National Coach) believes Harris needs more seasoning before trying to make the jump to the NBA. Harris is showing up on more NBA mock draft boards, often in the middle- to late- first round.

"To me, it's very clear. He needs to stay in school and we talked about it (Wednesday night) and he completely agrees with me," Bauermman said. "He feels there are a lot of things he can work on before he takes the next step, so that's what the plan is.

"He's getting great coaching here. It's a great program, they know what it's like to work with international kids and they've had really good ones. It's a great atmosphere and he's really impressed with how people have treated him. It's the perfect situation for him."

Harris doesn't disagree.

"I try to ignore all the NBA hype and all the rankings stuff because I don't think it's important for me right now," he said. "I could probably go right now and I could probably make it, but I don't think it's the right time yet. Let's put it that way."

Gonzaga picked up their seventh win in a row last night, defeating a bad, but competitive Pepperdine team, 91-84 in Spokane.  The Bulldogs now sit alone in first place in the West Coast Conference, a league that will have to work amazingly hard to get more than one bid into the NCAA tournament.

What we have discovered so far is that Elias Harris is the most important player on this team, sorry Matt.  Harris has developed into both a scoring and rebounding machine and is driving the Zags to victory after victory, you could say Bouldin is the fuel in the car.  Harris is currently averaging over 15 points and over 8 rebounds per game.  His talent better be appreciated by Gonzaga fans because at the rate he is going, it would be no surprise if Harris becomes a high NBA draft pick this season.

The next topic that has to be discussed is the Gonzaga defense.  The Zags have continued to allow a single player from a team that is not very good to stay in games and be close enough to pull off an upset.  Last night we saw Keion Bell go for 37, against Portland, underwhelming Robin Smeulders went off for 24, and against Illinois Dominique Keller went for 22 OFF THE BENCH.  Historically, the Zags, under Mark Few, have allowed an opposing team to get hot, hit some threes, and stay in games that have no business being close.  The Gonzaga defense needs to get its head on straight if it wants to win games in March.  Duke exposed the Zags, and they must improve on the defensive end for this season to end successfully, which leads me to my next point...

Why is Demetri Goodson robbing Gonzaga fans and teammates?  His minutes should go to Manny Arop.  Goodson is averaging 26 minutes per game and it can't be because of his defense, 1 steal per game on average this season; it can't be because he takes care of the ball and gets his teammates involved, 35 turnovers and 33 assists this season...yes our point guard has a sub-1 assist to turnover ratio...it can't be for his clutch free throw shooting, 54% this year, and it certainly isn't because he's a lights out long range threat, 11%...yes you read that right, ELEVEN percent from three. Stats Here I'd love for someone to make a good logical argument for why Goodson is getting minutes...

Our next major problem is what is happening to Robert Sacre.  After starting the season like gangbusters and having every Gonzaga fanboy dreaming of three years of J.P. Batista part deux, Sacre has dropped both his rebound and point figures dramatically over the last six weeks.  As of today he is averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game.  Last night against Pepperdine, as the best center on the floor Sacre had ZERO points and 4 rebounds. He wasn't even in foul trouble, so that excuse goes out the window.  Gonzaga needs to find ways to get Sacre to contribute on the offensive end and get him more involved in the rebounding game because Matt, Steven, and Elias aren't always going to be able to provide 79% of the teams points like they did against a bad Pepperdine team.  Mark Few needs to find ways to get Sacre involved and make him effective for this team to continue to improve.

FINALLY...in a shocking and sad moment in the history of Gonzaga athletics, former Head Coach and Athletic Director Dan Fitzgerald passed away suddenly on Wednesday evening.  Fitz, as he was known, is the reason that most people know about Gonzaga, and is the reason that I became a Zag and fell in love with the school and the basketball program.  In 1995 my AAU team had a tournament on Gonzaga's campus.  My precocious mother approached Fitz and informed him that her uncle happened to be Fitz's insurance agent.  One thing led to another and before too long Fitz had myself, my younger brother, and one of my AAU teammates on the floor of the Kennel to watch the Zags practice and then into the locker room to talk to the players and get autographs.  Keep in mind that all of this was taking place the week before Gonzaga was about to play in the school's first ever NCAA tournament.  Moments and stories like that are the reason why people, who have been on the Gonzaga bandwagon before they were the hot topic, are so saddened by the loss of Fitz.  Despite being practically blackballed by the Gonzaga Administration for keeping a "slush fund", of which he personally never kept any money, and that literally keep Gonzaga Athletics alive through the late 1980's and early 1990's; he will be fondly remembered in many circles.  His stories, wit, wisdom and love of basketball, his family and friends will be a touching memory for all of those he came into contact with.  Peace be with you Fitz.

Go Zags

Gonzaga opens conference play tonight against a spirited Portland Pilots squad in the Chiles Center.  Portland comes into this game with a 9-5 record with wins over Pac-10 leading Oregon as well as UCLA; with equally impressive losses to Idaho and Washington.  Portland loves the home games and is 6-1 so far this season when playing at Chiles.  There will be familiar faces for Portland tonight as they return the majority of their lineup from last season, including guards Nik Raivio and T.J. Campbell as well as big men Robin Smeulders and Ethan Niedermeyer.  After breaking into the Top-25 with a 5-0 start, Portland has dropped five of their last nine and fallen back into typical WCC form.  Tonight's conference opener is a great measuring stick for both teams as they were voted 1-2 in the preseason conference polls.

Portland is a very balanced team both in scoring and rebounding, with only T.J. Campbell being the outstanding team leader in assists per game.  Raivio, Campbell and Smeulders all score in double figures, with Jared Stohl also chipping in nearly ten per game.  The Pilots are not especially skilled on the interior but shoot just a hair under 40% from the three-point line.  Portland's shooting prowess gives them a great opportunity to pull what must be considered an upset, seeing that Gonzaga has won 12 straight and 26 of the last 27 match-ups.

Gonzaga enters this game coming off of two very big non-conference victories over Oklahoma and Illinois.  The Bulldogs must be able to overcome what will be a raucous Chiles Center in order to come away with a victory.  The defense of the Zags will be key as Portland will be putting up jumpshots all evening.  Gonzaga must be aggressive on the defensive glass and seek out long rebounds from Portland misses.

Offensively, the focus will be on Elias Harris.  Portland doesn't have anyone who can match-up physically with Harris.  Staying out of foul trouble and getting shots within the offense will lead Harris to a huge game.  There will be a battle in the backcourt, as Campbell will be on Demetri Goodson and the guard play here could set the tone for either team.  Good nights for either point guard could lead that team to victory.

Gonzaga's bench production will be vital, as on paper, Kong, Arop and Olynyk are more talented than Portland's reserves.  Coach Few will likely be limiting the rotation as the conference season progressess, and minutes will continue to get tighter.

Vegas says Zags by -2.5.

GU Professor Peter Tormey (on twitter @GonzagaU) caught up with Matt to ask him about Twitter. You can follow Matt's tweets at twitter.com/mattbouldin15.

Gonzaga has finally wrapped up its non-conference season, sans Memphis and senior night versus Cal-State Bakersfield.  We've learned a lot about the Zags in the first two months, so let's hit the major topics.

First, the Zags survived another brutal non-conference schedule that had them racking-up the frequent flier miles.  Despite coast-to-coast trips, with stops throughout the Midwest and a Thanksgiving spent in Maui, the Zags are 11-3 and ranked in both national polls.  The last two wins against Oklahoma and Illinois were good momentum for heading into conference play.  Oklahoma is not very good this season, and the game will likely be most remembered for Tiny Gallon going all Casey Calvary on the backboard in the Arena.  Illinois on the other hand was another battle for Gonzaga and showed both the highlights and lowlights of this team.  Great production out of 4/5ths of the starting lineup is exceptional, poor point guard play and a lack of bench depth and production against good teams will be the downfall.  Despite starting off looking like world-beaters, the WCC has come back to Earth and shown again that it is not a very deep conference.  A loss or two would be no surprise, however another undefeated conference season is not out of the question.

Tied for First has to be the emergence of Elias Harris.  Harris has become the go-to-guy and most important player on this team, his production cannot be overstated.  There were some expectations for Elias considering his age and experience in Europe, but it's doubtful that anyone could imagine the impact that he would have on the Zags so far this year. Hopefully we get more than one season of him in Gonzaga uniform.

The Third storyline so far has to be the bench play.  Gonzaga's bench production has been hit or miss so far this year.  As conference play begins, expect the starters to get more rest and for the bench players to see more time on the floor.  Most production has come from Kelly Olynyk, Manny Arop and Bol Kong.  There have been appearances by Gibbs, Foster and Vilarino as well, but their contribution has been fairly minimal.  Expect to see a continued emergence out of the Canadian trio and more scarce minutes for the other three.  Finally, it was announced this week that Andy Poling is leaving the program and looking to transfer.  Poling is unquestionably talented, however its difficult to see a scenario where he would have seen  significant playing time this or even next year; best wishes Andy.

Finally, the other major storyline so far has been Gonzaga's back-court play.  Matt Bouldin has been solid in non-conference play, and continues to lead the team in scoring.  His health problems, revolving around the concussion he suffered against Augustana, should be resolved so he looks to continue what has been a fairly standard Bouldin season.  Steven Gray has been frustrating to watch offensively, as he looks dominant one minute and then can't manage to find the rim the next.  Recently, Gray's stroke has looked very solid and his defense has been key to multiple Gonzaga victories.  Lastly, there is the play of Gonzaga's point guard.  As the only guard on the roster with more turnovers than assists, it's miraculous that considering his playing time, the Zags are still able to post victories.  It is befuddling why Coach Few continues to provide huge chunks of minutes to a player who consistently makes terrible decisions and has shown a complete lack of a functional jumpshot.

Now a look into the future.  The WCC has again failed itself in an effort to prove that it is not an RPI drag to its leading member.  After hot starts by most of the conference, most teams have reverted back to their sad selves.  St. Mary's appears to be a viable opponent, as does Portland, at least when the Pilots are at home.  The Zags really face the gauntlet as they open: at Portland, at St. Mary's, and at San Diego; if Gonzaga can escape with three victories, be ecstatic, but 2-1 out of that stretch will be just fine. Remember that as long as the Zags are in the top two heading to Vegas there really is no difference between 1st and 2nd.

As the conference season plays out, watch for more contributions out of the bench, and hopefully Coach Few limiting the minutes of Bouldin, Harris, Gray and Sacre in preparation for both the WCC and NCAA tournaments.  Again, the Canadian trio should continue to see increased minutes, and along with that, look for increased production out of those talented Canucks.  Also, watch to see if Grant Gibbs role is increased throughout conference play.  If he can show he is a competent ball-handler, distributor and shooter his minutes should increase.

Block out your Thursdays and Saturday evenings Zags fans because the conference season will be a great test for the Bulldogs.

HERO

GU vs. Illinois Box Score

We'll be back early next week with a weekend recap for both the Oklahoma and Illinois game, along with a preview of the conference season.  Go Zags

Tonight the Bulldogs square off against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Spokane Arena.  The Zags are coming off of a victory over Eastern Washington, while Oklahoma enters fresh off of a bad 15 point loss to UTEP.  Read on for more on this match-up.