Tonight's exhibition game against Alberta made it clear that Mark Few is going to have a tough time deciding who gets playing time this year. Sam Dower, the 6'10 forward from Minnesota, had been rumored to be a redshirt candidate, but tonight showed off a smooth looking left handed (think Sam Perkins or Zack Randolph) jump shot on his way to scoring 15 points and pulling down 5 boards in only 17 minutes. It is fun to imagine the type of impact Dower could have next year if he uses a redshirt year to get stronger, but GU may need his scoring down low this year.

Kelly Olynyk also looked impressive tonight, especially on back to back plays in the first half. First, Kelly showed his ability to put the ball on the floor after getting his defender in the air using a nice head fake, and finished with an authoritative dunk. Next, he made a nice pass between two Alberta defenders to Matt Bouldin under the basket. Olynyk's size and guard-like skills could create matchup problems for opposing teams like Austin Daye was able to do his Freshman year. Also, like Daye, it does not seem likely that Olynyk will add much weight over a redshirt year, so it may not make sense for him to redshirt.

But, someone has to redshirt. Tonight's starting 5, and likely starting 5 all year barring injuries, was Meech, Bouldin, Gray, Sacre, and 20 year freshman Elias Harris from Germany. Manny Arop dominated the glass pulling down 12 rebounds and looks to be the first player off the bench at this point. GJ Vilarino displayed speed, toughness, and a nice looking jump shot and it is easy to imagine him getting lots of minutes as the season progresses. Plus, there is no way GJ redshirts because he will be needed to back up Meech at point guard. Andy Poling figures to get minutes backing up Sacre this year, and pulled down 7 rebounds and 7 points in only 12 minutes tonight. At this point, those 8 players appear to be the top 8 players in Mark Few's rotation.

Bol Kong did not play tonight. While the circumstances of why he did not play seem a bit mysterious (an "ankle" injury according to the local paper, and a "foot" injury according to Heister), the rumors surrounding Bol Kong's arrival were that he would make an instant impact. So assuming that Bol's injury is not serious, he could be the 9th player in Mark Few's rotation.

That leaves Dower, Olynyk, redshirt freshman Grant Gibbs, and Will Foster battling for what figures to be the 10th and final spot in the rotation. Assuming Foster and Gibbs get regular playing time, it is tough to imagine much time being left for Dower or Olynyk. Alternately, if Dower and/or Olynyk do not redshirt, it appears as though Gibbs or Foster may be the odd man out in the rotation.

Gonzaga's first official game is in less than two weeks, and during that time it is going to be a battle for the 9th and 10th spots in the rotation. Next weekend Gonzaga will travel to play in a closed scrimmage against a tough and physical Texas team. This will be a good opportunity for Few to see how close Sam and Kelly are to being physically able to compete at a high level. Stay tuned.

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Website

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment