In the scrimmage at the Pepsi Center in Denver this past Saturday, Harris, the highly touted Freshman mentioned below, allegedly scored 22 points and had 8 rebounds against the third-ranked Texas Longhorns.

Robert Sacre was apparently Gonzaga's big producer with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Certainly softening any arguments that his back-you-down post game is ineffective. According to one of the Zags leaders; the team "looked good" in the 77-74 loss to Texas.

For a Zags team with more questions surrounding what to expect during the season than many of the other teams in recent GU history, this is all good news.

More info here.

Next up in our preview series is freshman Elias Harris.

Harris is a 6'8" forward who will undoubtedly be a vital addition to the Bulldogs this season.  Harris is a high energy guy who will provide rebounding and defense to a somewhat shallow Gonzaga frontline.  Harris has a more advanced skillset than most incoming freshmen due to his experience playing in his native Germany.

Over the last four seasons Harris has played in the German ProB third division,  somehow maintaining his amateur status.  Last season, Elias averaged nearly 21 points per game and pulled down just over 9 rebounds per contest.  In addition to his regular season play, Elias also was selected to be a member of the senior German national team.  Harris had limited minutes and scored only 13 points in six games against the high level competition at the FIBA European Championships.  Regardless, the experience he gained playing on a world stage will only help his development at Gonzaga.

This season Harris should be a pleasant surprise for the Zags.  His ability to score in the paint and attack the rim will help open up the floor for shooters like Bouldin and Gray.  Harris has superior athleticism but may struggle against elite competition with his ball-handling and questionable mid-range and outside shooting ability.

Look for a lot of excitement out of Harris as he will be a major contributor this season and into the future.

The scrimmage this weekend is great for both Gonzaga and Texas.

For Gonzaga, this weekend’s scrimmage is a unique opportunity to decide which players really can compete against the NCAA’s best talent. Against Alberta and against Team Blue (or Team White) many of the unknowns looked like they deserve the chance to play. However, against the third-ranked Texas Longhorns, this year’s rotation will likely differentiate themselves from the redshirts. Despite being an “informal" match-up, this scrimmage will effectively determine which Zags crack against legitimate collegiate pressure and which Zags can rise to meet the Longhorns' level of play.

For Texas, on the other hand, this weekend’s closed scrimmage is an opportunity to face off against one of the NCAA’s perennial finest, without the media being able to assess any weaknesses. At the same time, this scrimmage gives such a young team (only 3 seniors) a legitimate early season challenge before their game against UNC.

Both Coach Few and Coach Barnes have an chance to see how their teams react against real NCAA talent (as opposed to Alberta, Canada or UC Irvine). It's also an opportunity test out various offenses and defensive schemes that the teams may (or may not) be capable of executing successfully.

Also, we “allegedly” beat the Longhorns last year and it gave our team the confidence to know that they could beat all of the teams in the Old Spice Classic and take University of Connecticut to the wire, so we might as well keep the scrimmage going.

Go Zags!

Today marks the beginning of our individual player previews. We are all waiting for the Zags to return to action against Mississippi Valley State and then the real test against Michigan State.

First up for player previews is G.J. Vilarino.

Vilarino is a 6'0" point guard out of McKinney, Texas (Dallas suburb).  Initially signing a letter of intent to play for Billy Gillespie at Kentucky, Vilarino was released from his commitment after Gillespie was fired and John Calipari was brought in to coach the Wildcats.

Vilarino was actually born in Spokane, and still has family in the area.  He visited campus last April and committed on the spot.

Vilarino is a left-handed point guard with very good quickness and an ability to knock down open jumpers.  His quickness will be beneficial on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.  If Coach Few is willing to employ an in-your-face man defense then there will be very little drop-off between Meech and G.J.

Vilarino will clearly need to add strength and bulk in order to become a real dominant guard, as he is listed between 165 lbs. and 177 lbs.  He has great vision and playmaking ability and will look to get teammates involved.  The question mark will be his ability to finish in traffic against bigger and stronger competition.  He will back up Goodson this season and as the year goes on look for him to get increased minutes off the bench.

Stay tuned for more previews over the next couple weeks.

This documentary did not fail to dish out several moments that would give any true Zags' fan the chills. The Calvary tip-in against Florida, Dickau and Stepp deep 3's from just over half court, crazy haired Turiaf power dunks, Morrison's Battle-in-Seattle against OSU bank 3-pointer, Pargo tomahawk jams and so on. Despite including all of those moments, when the credits start rolling, anyone who has followed the Zags for the last ten years is left wondering, "Well, why didn't they show [insert at least one of your personal favorite GU Hoops moments]?" The simple fact is that compiling all of the personal GU Hoops favorite moments is just not possible in a two-hour documentary. As the title more than suggests Gonzaga truly has put together an astonishing body of work over the last decade.

While the film has highlights and interviews covering all of the seasons from '98/'99 to '08/'09, the first thirty/forty minutes focus primarily on the ‘98/'99 and ‘99/'00 seasons. In terms of entertaining interviews, Quentin Hall and Casey Calvary steal the spotlight ("Q" as a happy-go-lucky Caribbean hoopster who loved every second at Gonzaga and Calvary as an intense warrior who you would never want battle on the court). But ladies, not to worry, there were enough interviews with Richie Frahm to make any female fan of the Zags blush. The build up to Calvary's tip-in to topple Florida in the 1999 Sweet Sixteen game was surprisingly suspenseful despite knowing that his tip in does fall. The chemistry and camaraderie of those teams is contagious and reminds you what it is to be part of the Zag family. For instance, I was fighting off tears during a particular interview clip featuring Santangelo discussing his last game as a Zag.

"A Decade of Excellence" then transitions from documenting those two seasons and progresses through player "eras", focusing on the careers of a few unforgettable individuals who have worn a Gonzaga jersey and who have collectively maintained Gonzaga's status as an elite basketball program. These "eras" included the Dan Dickau era, the Blake Stepp era, the Ronny Turiaf era, the Adam Morrison era, the Derek Raivio era, and the Jeremy Pargo era. The film seemed to hint that the Demetri Goodson era was next... Surprisingly missing from this documentary were any interviews from Turiaf, one of Gonzaga's most animated characters of all-time. Watching this portion you can't help but remember guys like Errol Knight and David Pendergraft who certainly had an impact on Gonzaga's program and played "Zag" basketball.

Coverage of the seasons from 2000 and beyond felt rushed but such coverage was understandable since those first two seasons were critical as a catalyst for this program's success over the last decade. Each season ending tournament loss brought out hints of those man-now-we-have-to-wait-till-next-season feelings while every alley oop and 3-pointer got the "Go Gonzaga! G-O-N-Z-A-G-A!" cheer running through my head.

In short, "A Decade of Excellence" is a must have for anyone who has been a Gonzaga Basketball fan during the last decade. I would be shocked if this film cannot get you excited for the upcoming basketball season.

Buy Decade of Excellence today!

In the last ten years we have seen Coach Few adjust and manipulate the Zags offense to exploit what he sees as the best weapon on the floor. Dan Dickau had a blank check to run the offense, create on his own, or pull up from 30-feet and hit a dagger three. We saw an inside out game with Blake Stepp, Cory Violette and Zach Gourde. We've seen near sole reliance on a post game with Ronny and a two-man game with Morrison and Batista. The real question this year is what is the Gonzaga identity?

As has been said numerous times in the last decade, this is likely the most athletic squad that's ever taken the floor. However, with that seeming glut of slashers what is going to happen with the offensive and defensive gameplan...

What I want:

1)A return to the traditional flex offense

With a projected starting line-up of Meech, Bouldin, Gray, Harris and Sacre, Gonzaga has the ability to have four threats at every spot on the floor. With the traditional flex and the emphasis on screens and the mid-range game, the Zags will be able to exploit match-ups all over the floor while allowing Sacre to play garbage man and pick up easy buckets, collect rebounds, and get to the line.

2)A return of the fast break

There was little that was more exciting for me as a student in the early 2000's than seeing the Zags push the ball and see wings like Anthony Reason on the receiving end of Blake Stepp alley-oops. With the speed and athleticism on the roster there is no reason for this team to play a slow down half-court game.

3)Offensive Defense

Defense seems to always be the most pointed problem area of a Mark Few team. Again, with the depth and athleticism, there is no reason that the Zags cannot incorporate Nolan Richardson's 94-feet of hell defense and play either a full court press or a trapping half-court attack. These kinds of defenses will best use our talent, create turnovers and lead to easier scoring opportunities.

Coach Few has instilled a system at Gonzaga and it has been reasonably successful, relatively. It's time to take the jump to elite and these three topics will help get the Zags there. The system has won the WCC, but the talent this year is what will get Gonzaga to the next level.

Gonzaga vs. Davidson

December 12, 2009

Pre-Game 2:00 p.m.

Seattle Center - Olympic and Rainier Rooms

Located on the NW side of Key Arena on First and Republican

$10.00/adults; $5.00/kids 10 and under, admission fee includes lunch and a hosted beer bar!

Tip-off 4:00 p.m.

Key Arena
305 Harrison
Seattle, WA 98109
Map of Key Arena

This was ugly.  The standard Gonzaga exhibition game where it's close for five minutes then quickly turns into a blowout.  Let's find out what we learned.

1) Despite some pretty solid frontcourt depth, the talent is at best raw, and at worst unskilled in the paint.  Sacre played garbage man, but his one post move, power through the defender will not be effective against NCAA teams.  Foster had a nice reverse lay-in but still did not show the ability to be an effective offensive center.  Poling = Sean Mallon.  Olynyk and Dower were impressive and MTR will cover them later.

2) Run, Run, Run, Run, Run -- I talked about pushing the tempo, and boy did the Zags ever.  There were times when this looked like a Fieldhouse pick-up game.  Very little offense was run tonight and we saw a lot of fastbreaks end in 15 foot jumpers.

3) Shooters.  Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray were what we thought they were.  The outside game was disappointing.  Meech struggled from the field.   Grant Gibbs has a phenomenal stroke but still looks lost and uncomfortable on the floor.  Arop is a slasher and likely won't become an outside threat.  The one guy who did impress was G.J. Vilarino.  G.J. gets great elevation on his jumper and his left-handed form is as pretty as Manu's.  As the season progresses look for him to be a threat from deep.

4) It's difficult to get a good read on the defense considering the opposition.  The Zags did come out with a full court man press as well as some good in your face half court man defense.  The weak side still helps too much when someone gets beat, considering there is always a 7-footer in the paint waiting for the block, there is no reason for so much help.

That's it for tonight; we'll be back later this week with more thoughts and analysis as the season kicks off.

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.