It's still early

I know a few people that are worried about the Gonzaga basketball team because it has lost two games early in the season and really struggled against a couple of lesser foes.

Sure, the Bulldogs took it to a talented Texas team and made UCLA look average at times in a 20 point victory. Then the Zags dropped a close one to Duke. Oh yeah, Duke is pretty good if you hadn’t noticed. They beat Tarleton State, in a game that seemed to be played in slow motion, by 9. It could also have been a four point game.

A week ago last Saturday the Bulldogs were slapped around by Alabama in the Battle in Seattle. The players that were counted on last year struggled in this game. The number 1 recruit this year had a lot of troubles as well and shots that had been dropping from 3 point range didn’t. And Alabama’s three point shooting was certainly impressive.

Freshman Nolan Hickman and Anton Watson seemed to be the only bright spots for the Zags and helped to keep the game somewhat close. But too many turnovers and missed FTs were hard to overcome and the Crimson Tide showed why they are the defending SEC champions. Alabama 91 Gonzaga 82.

Why would a coach want to schedule such a gauntlet of teams early in the season? Well. Is there a better way to get a young, talented team to grow up and understand what it takes to win than to schedule tough games?

There was a time when padding victories was the way to look good but seeding into the NCAA tournament is an important input. That input is strength of schedule. No one knows that better than Zag head coach Mark Few.

There was also a time when teams would not schedule a game on GU’s home court figuring a loss to the Bulldogs would not be good. So the Zags scheduled big games at neutral sites and when they started winning more of those games than losing them it changed how the big teams started thinking about scheduling games with GU. I’m sure those teams located in the central and eastern time zones thought that it might help with recruiting if they at least showed an interest in playing in the northwest. Face it Gonzaga will play anyone, anywhere.

Maybe C-19 had something to do with it, who knows. But after going an entire season with cardboard cutouts where fans used to be it’s a breath of fresh air to see fans in the stands again. I hope these people that think sports fans aren’t done with C-19 mandates turned the TV on to Gonzaga basketball games. 20,000 fans in Las Vegas and 18,000 fans in Seattle certainly had basketball on their minds and it was wonderful to see. The home crowd of 6,000 at the MAC on the GU campus sure does appreciate their Bulldogs and can be as loud as 18,000 fans.

Basketball is also back at Gilson gym. The attendance at Friday night’s game was great to see and the game was truly a battle. Davenport came away with the victory but the Gorillas are a really good team and should be seen as one of the favorites to win the league championship.

Both teams battled as if it were midseason even though both teams had been in the football playoffs not too long ago and a few kids are still cleaning off the grass stains. The game was filled with great drives to the basket and decent 3 point shooting. The Broncos are youthful with no seniors and start a freshman and a sophomore and 3 juniors. There is a lot of catching up to do since the teams played an abbreviated schedule in May and June. Once the team gets a few more practices in and a couple of more games under their belt they should also gain some more confidence.

The Broncos are 2-2 with their wins coming against 1A schools Medical Lake and Connell. Those teams had some physicality and the Broncos had to pick themselves off the court a few times. But games like that will be beneficial in the weeks to come.

It’s early in the season and I’m sure your favorite team is learning to play as a team. Just sit back and watch their improvement and appreciate the hard work.