Archive for the 'Gonzaga Bulldogs' Category

Ain’t this great? The Huskies again did some public posturing a couple days ago about the possibility of dropping their ongoing hoops commitment to facing Gonzaga every year. Bulldogs’ coach Mark Few weighs in on the subject in today’s T-N-T, and minces no words whatsoever:

“You know, if we were ever in a situation where we lost seven of the last eight games, I’d probably look to get rid of that team,” he said. “I don’t blame them at all.”

This goes back to last November, when Lorenzo Romar first talked about quitting the series, and made it clear it was because the Huskies couldn’t compete.

“One thing that certainly helps is if we can be successful,” he said. “If one side is successful and the other isn’t, it’s not much of a rivalry.”

Romar added that his comments were aimed at his own program.

Fast forward back to today, and T-N-T writer Don Ruiz is inexplicably making excuses for UW.

Yes, Gonzaga annually plays a dazzling out-of-conference schedule – this season’s lineup features Texas, Duke, Virginia and more. But then the Zags head into West Coast Conference play and pad their win total there.

Night in and night out, the Pacific-10 Conference is simply stronger and deeper. Strong and deep enough that the Huskies might reasonably want to leave room for a few clear-the-bench breathers in their nonconference plans.

C’mon, Don. Don’t let them off the hook so easily.

Number one, it’s not Gonzaga’s fault the WCC is a notch or two below Gonzaga’s level. They have no control over that part of their schedule. If they did, it’s pretty obvious they’d prefer to play tougher competition leading up to March Madness.

Number two, let’s not make the Pac-10 out to be some incredible hoops hotbed. UCLA had a great run last year and UW the year before that, but traditional powers like Arizona and Stanford have been down the past few years, and teams like WSU, ASU, and USC are every bit the doormat that WCC teams are.

Ultimately, I stand by what I said last November: Dropping the Gonzaga series because you can’t beat the team sends the wrong message to fans and, more importantly, to kids/players. It’s a bad idea.

… Adam Morrison is struggling on the defensive end as he begins his NBA career with the Charlotte Bobcats. Says Rick Bonnell in the Charlotte Observer:

Right now rookie Adam Morrison is just what you’d anticipate from afar — a fine shooter who struggles constantly at the defensive end. Considering all the difficulty he had chasing Carroll on Sunday night, I’m not sure how he’s supposed to stay close to a Jason Richardson or Tracy McGrady.

Not that he will be asked to guard those guys. Wallace will be assigned the opposing team’s top wing scorer. But Morrison will also have trouble against a team’s second option.

ESPN asks several NBA media types today to give their choice for who among the young players is most likely to become a superstar. Ex-Bulldog Adam Morrison is the pick made by 3 of the 6 experts, including Orlando Magic beat writer John Denton, who has some harsh words for the Portland Trail Blazers.

I had the pleasure of covering the Orlando Summer League back in July, and of all the rookies there, Morrison was far and away the most impressive. It left me wondering just what the Portland Trail Blazers — a team desperately in need of a box-office draw and a scoring machine — were thinking.

None other than Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird, Morrison’s boyhood hero, left the Orlando summer camp shaking his head at just how skilled Charlotte’s floppy-haired rookie is. And Bird had this prediction: “He’ll probably win Rookie of the Year with the talent that he has.”

Couple quickies here….

Gary Washburn has a really good status report on the Sonics’ current situation with respect to Chris Wilcox and the team’s draft plans.

And there’s a brief note in the Morning Journal (OHIO?) about the Blazers wanting to move up to pick Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison.

With no big studs at the top of the draft, there’s a lot of uncertainty and that should make for an interesting couple days leading up to Wednesday. Don’t know how much of it I’ll be able to keep track of since I have a lot of travel ahead between now and then….

Thx to Phil again for the link…

Adam Morrison Successfully Misses Easy Layups During Workout For Raptors

Andy Katz has a great, great article written after spending a day with Adam Morrison, who’s knee-deep in visits to most of the worst teams in the NBA. He’s working out with a few other draft candidates and some NBA vets, and is being guided / coached by ex-NBAer Don MacLean.

MacLean’s assessment?

“No one is going to expect Adam to be a lock-down defender,” MacLean said. “At the end of the day, he’s going to get 25 a night. He’s one of the guys who makes more shots in competition in 2-on-2 and full court than he does [in] shooting drills by himself. (snip) Adam will be a very, very good scorer, but he won’t be a pure isolation guy like [Tracy] McGrady or Bryant.”

25 a night sounds on the optimist side to me, but who am I to question the wisdom of Don MacLean?

I also think it’s pretty doubtful Morrison would be picked 1st by Toronto, but going 4th to Portland wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Anyway, it’s a great read — Morrison’s TV interviews are short, cliché-filled quips, but he seems to open up a bit with Katz on a few things.

You knew it had to happen. When the worst team in the NBA fails to get the top pick in the draft, the conspiracy theories start popping up. Sam Smith lays it all out before backing off and admitting there’s no conspiracy theory. He’s just having fun, is all.

Oh, yeah, and I see Adam Morrison’s and Brandon Roy’s names mentioned in there, too.

Bud Withers has the story in today’s Times:

Gonzaga’s Morrison headed to NBA

Announcement tomorrow. Draft in June. Huge contract shortly thereafter.

Morrison was a joy to watch at Gonzaga. He played with a confidence and swagger you rarely see from college kids, and singularly lifted the Bulldogs to a few wins they didn’t deserve.

But that swagger was also a real turn-off at times — trash-talking is one thing, and Morrison was the best at it, but there were reports during the season from opposing players that Morrison got too personal with his mouth. Confidence is one thing, but there comes a point where you need to grow up, shut up, and play the game. (He’ll also need some serious instruction on what defense is, something the Gonzaga coaching staff never bothered to teach him.)

On ESPN.com, Andy Katz takes his annual stab at putting together a way-too-early Top 25 for next season. It’s not too kind to Washington teams — Gonzaga checks in at #23, while the Huskies and even the Ducks are in the “getting consideration” category. Other Pac-10 teams do better — UCLA is #5, and both Cal and Arizona are in the teens.

By the way, Katz was pretty accurate when he did this at the end of last season.

And last but not least for tonight, what about the future for both the UW and Gonzaga basketball teams?

Don Ruiz covers the Huskies in today’s TNT.

And the TNT has an AP article focusing on the Bulldogs’ future.