Benny G Show, Ep. 4: With Jordan on board, the Gregg brothers go one-on-one, talking hoops, family and report cards
From staff reports
Even at 6-foot-10, it’s nice to have a big brother who looks out for you.
For Gonzaga basketball player Ben Gregg, that’s always been his oldest sibling, Jordan.
It started years ago, during one of Ben’s fourth-grade basketball games, when Jordan was thrown out of the gym for telling a referee he was on a power trip after a bad call against Ben.
“Ben likes to bring that one up a lot,” Jordan said, laughing, during Monday’s “Benny G Show,” a podcast starring Gregg and co-hosted by Spokesman-Review reporter Theo Lawson.
“I’m a pretty laid-back guy, but when it comes to family, a grizzly bear comes out sometime,” said Jordan, a second-team NAIA All-American at Eastern Oregon in 2010. “I was actually really calm, the ref just maybe took it the wrong way.”
In Monday’s podcast, the Gregg brothers talk about growing up in the gym, Jordan’s playing days, their admiration for each other and the family’s special connection to Nike basketball shoes.
Among other observations from Ben:
Looking back to UConn: “We did a good job matching that toughness aspect. I think we beat them on the boards. That was a big takeaway for us, just hanging with them and being physical. I think we just need to improve on our communication on defense, a couple of slip-ups that they got easy baskets on that if we eliminate some of those it would have been a different game. And then get some better flow on offense, more ball movement, player movement. We’ll be fine. No one’s worried in the locker room, no one’s stressing. Hopefully, no one’s giving up on us. We’re sure as heck not giving up on ourselves. So a long ways to go in the season, we’re gonna be fine.”
On GU’s frontcourt depth: “We’re playing really well right now. We can put any of those combinations of us two in the game, or three, and we all play together so well, we’re always looking for each other, trying to get it into the post whenever we can. The depth in the frontcourt is really good. With Luka (Krajnovic) going out and Steele (Venters) out, the guard depth is hurting us right now. The guys (Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard) are playing 40 minutes, which is tough for anybody to do. They’re high-level players, but eventually you’re going to wear down.”
On possible lineup tweaks: “You might see (three bigs on the floor) more often. The depth with the two injuries to the guards, it really is hurting us. ’Ton (Watson) is so good on the perimeter and he guards so well that he can easily play the 3, and get that big lineup in there. I think we should be seeing it more. We’ve been practicing it a lot. Just getting used to playing with each other, we’re not used to having one of us play at a guard spot. Being able to get in the flow of things with the three-big lineup will be key for us moving forward.”
Catch the entire third episode at www.spokesman.com/podcasts/benny-g-show/.
The “Benny G Show” is available wherever you get your podcasts.