Good run while it lasted

I think it is really interesting to see how many Gonzaga Bulldog basketball fans are out there. I mean fans that had no idea that the school existed until the tournament runs the last 24 years. Since I had two older siblings that attended the school I knew a lot about it and I also know that John Stockton went there and that Dan Fitzgerald preceded Dan Monson who preceded Mark Few as the head coach for the beloved Zags. A majority of the Gonzaga fans today only know about Few and really don’t care about any other Bulldog history. Someday I might talk about Coach Hank Anderson, no relation and some other Zag greats who wore the Bulldog uniform.

I have heard a lot of chiming in about the latest Gonzaga run through the tournament. When the season started with an exhibition game in Texas against Tennessee expectations were high with the return of Drew Timme, Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton. Tennessee took over the second half and defeated the Zags by 20 or so. I heard the rumblings from others and I tried to convince them that it was an exhibition game. Most exhibition games aren’t seen by many people and you hardly ever hear what the final score was. But the fear factor began

The Gonzaga schedule was daunting to say the least but playing big games against big talent in big venues is how you recruit top talent. The Zags would lose to Texas, Purdue in blowouts and Baylor by one when the Bears rallied in the last minute. Oh man, the world is coming to an end. Playing such a difficult schedule did help this team. Remember they lost an experienced point guard and a NBA lottery pick from last year’s team. It’s kind of hard to make up that talent.

Playing a very difficult schedule helped the Zags win some very close games against some improved WCC opponents. Gonzaga had to rally from behind to defeat San Francisco, Santa Clara and BYU. The Zags lost to St. Mary’s in overtime on the road and LMU at home but GU returned the favor winning big games to tie for the conference championship. They would rout St. Mary’s to win the conference tournament and would receive a number 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga would win their first three games coming from behind against Grand Canyon, Texas Christian and UCLA. These games were exciting and fun to watch.

Fans are fickle about what they think is a good game. A lot of Zag fans want the local team to win by 20 or 30 while true basketball fans want to be glued to the edge of their seat to see a Julian Strawther, Nolan Hickman or Rasir Bolton 3 or a Anton Watson dunk or a Drew Timme sweet up and under at the rim. The most memorable games are the buzzer beaters rather than the blowouts when the winning team dribbles out the last 25 seconds of the game because it was decided several minutes earlier.

I know that UConn defeated Gonzaga by 28 in the Elite 8 game ending a very interesting basketball season for GU. Some people say that it is too bad it had to end in a blowout rather than losing by one or two. I’m not sure I could have stomached a close loss like that knowing what was on the line. UConn won its first 14 games before going into a funk. They were seeded fourth but should have been a 2 seed in another region. Just sayin’. They were that good in the tournament.

Now is the time that Mark Few and his assistants have to figure out who is leaving for the draft, transfer portal and who can step up to replace the likes of Drew Timme and Anton Watson. Will Strawther leave? Dominick Harris and Hunter Sallis have put their names into the transfer portal thinking they can be stars somewhere else instead of role players at GU. Do you want to be role players that make it to the NCAA tournament or a star at someplace that may make it to March Madness?

We can be upset that these young guys are deciding to move on but it is their decision and we appreciate their efforts while wearing the Bulldog uniform. I think we all made some decisions around the age of 21 that may not make any sense today. But good luck and we will be rooting for you unless you are playing Gonzaga.

If you are a true Zag fan you will congratulate this team and coaching staff for a great 31 win season. The excitement was unbelievable and it truly was a great run while it lasted.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].