Gonzaga Preview

[AKZAG]

Hi Billikens! I know our game is a few weeks away yet, but thought I'd drop in early and give you a quick rundown of how we are looking for the rematch this year.

Overall, we have to be happy with where we are at with our two losses being by 2 to UConn in Maui, and by 4 to UW in Seattle.

Turiaf is gone, and we do miss the extra depth and athleticism under the basket.

But the rest of the significant minutes from last year return.

Our three additions;

Mammery Diallo - juco transfer that at this point has had trouble with the transition. Has more DNPs than points at this time.

Jeremy Pargo - true freshman guard from Chicago. Built well, has bought into the system quickly and contributed key minutes. Likes to drive the lane. Has predictably had too many turnovers, but Coach Few is okay with them, as they are aggressive mistakes.

Larry Gurganious - true freshman, slasher/wing from the SF Bay area. He'll end up being a good one, but has been nursing a wrist injury that hurts both his shooting and ball handling.

Injuries (Walking wounded);

LG - see above

Josh Heytvelt - RS Frosh big that would have been a huge help inside. Out until Feb. (?) with a broken ankle suffered in UConn game.

Errol Knight - senior starting guard that just can't catch a break. Had his knee scoped at the start of the season. Has not practiced yet this year, and is now dealing with an infection from the surgery. Was to be our defensive glue. Still a week or two away, so you might see him. Plays above the rim on both ends of the court.

Derek Raivio - this one really hurt as he is our starting point guard and our third option on offense. He has missed the past game and a half after getting a deep bruise on his hip and back in the UW game. Questionable for Okahoma State on 12/10, should be back but might still be gimpy in Saint Louis. Emotionally getting over the death of a close friend a few weeks back.

Otherwise;

JP Batista - you might remember him from last year, and all he has done is improve. Immovable big with limited hops. One of the strongest low-post players around, with ironically the softest touch. Nothing too fancy, just gets the job done with finesse. He loves to trail on the break and hit the 3 from the top of the key. Around 20+ pt.s / 8 reb. night in and out.

Sean Mallon - our other starting forward has had a quiet start this year. We hope that his first double digit output last night against WSU is a sign of his regained confidence. Also an able 3 point shooter.

David Pendergraft - total hustle, is team first, second, and third. He is "only" 6'5" and has been asked to play out of position at the four, which he does bangingly, if not at a risk of fouling out against taller opponents.

Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes - sophomore guard from Quebec. Has a tendency to be too unselfish. Needs to drive more, shoot more. Otherwise, he just doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Smart player.

Nathan Doudney - senior transfer guard from Texas Tech. Came in with a reputation as a long-range bomber. Tore his ACL & MCL early last year. Still sporting a brace as much mentally as physically. Minimal minutes ... I think he has shot three times so far.

Adam Morrison - I won't bore with info on Ammo. Suffice it to say, he is shooting over 50% from the field, so it isn't as though he is just throwing up prayers.

Concerns;

Our defense is still suspect, especially giving up threes.

Depth, especially our bigs, has been a negative surprise. We really miss using a regular rotation and got in a lot of foul trouble at Washington.

Only 4 Zags scored Thursday. We'd love to see it spread out more. Again, not Morrison's fault. Some of the others are just passing up opportunities in deference. We cannot become dependent on him. For the first say five games of the season, Morrison + Raivio + Batista = 90 % of our scoring. It is asking a lot to shut down all three on the same night, but one bad performance would leave the door open.

That's it for now. Enjoyed watching your performance at Chapel Hill. There seems to be new life in your team, and I'm looking forward to a great game.

[alameda bob]

AKZAG you left out the most important person on your bench, coach Few. He gets his guys playing as sweet a team game as anyone these days. They are a pleasure to watch and I usually root for you guys. Not this game though.

[Schasz]

I really like the Zags and the style of basketball they play is very exciting to watch. I wish the Zags nothing but success with one exception, and that is on Dec. 22nd when they play our SLU Billikens. Heck, if I was not getting off a cruise ship on the 22nd I would be in St. Louis to watch that ball game.

[jjray]

Thanks much for the preview. Given that LoRo is our old coach, many of us follow Washington as well (saw the Zags v. Wash. game).

>>Our defense is still suspect, especially giving up threes.<<

Unfortunately, shooting 3s is not a strength of this team. As UNC showed, the key to playing the Billikens is to stop Ian V. and make the rest of the team beat you. We are all very high on Ian and like our freshman guards Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch but to play top competition we need all our guys to have big games the same night. Should be interesting.