Zags, Sooners collide at the Arena
I've got several items to post tonight.
Thursday is the debut of the S-R's Four Corners college basketball page, so I'll post my contributions to that below. Also, my GU-Oklahoma game preview. And a recruiting update. There are a limited number of tickets available for Thursday's game at the Arena (www.ticketswest.com, or 509-325-SEAT). By the way, fans are encouraged to wear black.
Read on.
Here's GU-related copy for the Four Corners page....
First, this note, which will be part of a combined notebook with the four D-I schools in our area:
Air time
When Gonzaga completes an upcoming road trip to
In the 2006-07 non-conference season, GU had 15,865 air miles with trips to
The Bulldogs will close in on 20,000 non-conference air miles when they visit
(There will also be a note on how teams are defending Demetri Goodson by sagging off him on the perimeter. You can find that note on the day-after EWU post on this blog).
Here's a look ahead at Saturday's game...
COMING UP: Saturday vs.
OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs have precious little preparation time for
Here's the GU-Oklahoma preview...
By
Nothing like a couple of breathers before a relaxing trip or two to open conference play.
Yeah, right.
Gonzaga, no stranger to tough scheduling, dials it up even higher over the next few weeks, beginning with tonight’s showdown against Oklahoma at the Arena in the annual Ronald McDonald House Charities Classic. After that, Gonzaga hops on a plane for
“Usually this time of year you get to really work on yourself a lot, but we don’t have that luxury,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We’ve kind of been thrown into the fire. We have a really tough stretch coming up, probably as difficult a stretch as we’ve ever faced at Gonzaga.”
First things first. The Sooners (8-4) have run hot, thumping Arkansas and Arizona, and cold, with a three-game November losing streak and a 15-point setback against hot-shooting UTEP 10 days ago in their last outing.
“They’ve had a few tough losses, but they’re very capable,” GU senior guard Matt Bouldin said. “I know their back court is solid with (Willie) Warren and (Tony) Crocker, and they have a lot of young talent in the front court. We have to play hard and physical, like we did (against
“Back in
Senior guard Tony Crocker has stepped up his play, averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds in the last six games. Point guard Tommy Mason-Griffin (10.9 points, 4.6 assists) and 6-9, 290-pound Tiny Gallon (11.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg) have made big contributions as true freshmen.
“
And finally, recruiting...
I haven't been able to connect with Kyle Dranginis, but I have confirmed the 6-4 guard from Skyview High in Nampa, Idaho, has verbally committed to Gonzaga. He's a junior, so he'll be in the 2011 recruiting class.
His father, Tim, told me Wednesday night that GU offered Dranginis a scholarship just before Christmas.
"He called the coaches back a day or two later and gave them a commitment," Tim said. "It's kind of a cool Christmas present."
Dranginis was the 4A player of the year in Idaho last year after leading the Hawks to the state title. The Hawks are 7-1, the lone loss was in the season opener to No. 3 Timberline, a 5A school. Tim said his son was offered scholarships by Utah, Utah State and Boise State, and Notre Dame, Washington State, San Diego and Portland were among the schools showing interest.
I'll post more on Dranginis tomorrow.