Zags have Georgia on their minds
DULUTH, Ga. – If it seems like the Gonzaga Bulldogs have already dealt with a similar situation or two this season, it’s because they have.
That should provide some comfort for GU fans agonizing over the potential outcome of this afternoon’s intersectional men’s basketball showdown against the University of Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Classic for Kids.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. PST in the Gwinnett Center Arena with the 16th-ranked Zags (9-2) facing another young, but extremely talented, opponent with an impressive record.
Georgia (6-1) comes in riding a four-game winning streak that includes an 87-86 win over Wake Forest in its only road contest of the season. Much like North Carolina, Texas and Washington – the three other big-name schools the Zags have bludgeoned this winter – UGA boasts a roster loaded with talented, but relatively untested, players.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few pointed that out earlier this week, saying he felt like Georgia coach Dennis Felton has finally recruited the players he needs to fit the system he installed after taking over the academic mess his predecessor, Jim Harrick, left when he resigned following the 2002-03 season.
“Dennis has been there long enough now that he has his stamp on the program,” Few said. “He’s got the right players in there for his system.”
Felton, who is 45-50 since taking over the embattled Georgia program, agrees with Few’s assessment – to a point.
“I don’t know about fitting our system,” he said, “but we have better players now who would fit any system. And we needed players badly, because we have been very depleted of any depth of talent for most of the time since I’ve been here.
“This is clearly the most complete team we’ve had. We simply have more answers than we’ve had in the past.
The Bulldogs, who finished 15-15 overall and 5-11 in the Southeastern Conference last season, have an abundance of freshmen and sophomores on this year’s roster, but many of them have performed like seasoned veterans.
Mike Mercer, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, is averaging a team-high 17.6 points per game and has also contributed an average of four rebounds and 2.9 steals per game.
In addition, teammates Levi Stukes, a 6-2 senior, and Sundiata Gaines, a 6-1 junior, have combined for 18.9 points and 8.1 assists in the Bulldogs’ near-perfect start, marred only by a 70-67 mid-November home loss to Western Kentucky.
Georgia is shooting 45.8 percent (60 of 131) from 3-point range and has outscored its first seven opponents by an average of almost 30 points per game.
“The most impressive thing about them is the way their guards shoot the 3,” said Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, who was in charge of scouting Georgia. “They shoot it great, they shoot it deep and they shoot it in transition, because they want to play really fast.
“And inside, they have four big, strong capable guys who are all 6-8 and 250-plus.”
The best of the Georgia “bigs” is junior Takais Brown, a first-year JC transfer, whom Felton suspended for the first two games of the season for academic reasons. The 6-8, 250-pounder is averaging 16.6 points and five rebounds as the Bulldogs’ first man off the bench.
“He’s an animal,” Lloyd said of Brown, who is shooting 61.8 percent (34 of 55) from the field. “He’s super active, he’s got good skills inside and he plays his butt off.”
Working against Georgia is the fact that the Bulldogs – like Gonzaga – have been dealing with final semester exams this week. They haven’t played since Dec. 5, when they thumped Gardner-Webb 96-67.
“That is a concern,” Fenton said of the long layoff. “It’s been a challenge.”
When questioned about his concerns about Gonzaga, Fenton brought up the Zags’ ability to score.
“They’re very effective offensively,” he said. “They can really score a lot of points, because they run well and they pass well. Mark has done a lot of tremendous things with them and what they run. … They’re a team full of good passers, and they’re difficult to defend. They play with a supreme level of confidence, which is always tough to deal with.”