Sleeping Dogs in the Kennel

With all eyes on the UW-Wazzu senior day tilt tomorrow in Pullman, the 24-6 Gonzaga Bulldogs continue to fly under everyone's radar, even though they've reassumed their rightful position in the nation's Top 25. Why? Probably because they didn't get the huge early season, out of conference win that they usually do to remind everyone what giant kilers they are. But even at that, their only bad loss was to Texas Tech — the rest were hard-fought failures at the hands of Tennessee, Memphis, Oklahoma, Wazzu, and St. Mary's (whom they just beat handily to exact revenge and lock up the WCC).

But Gonzaga's resume' isn't what should scare people; their talent, versatility, and depth is. Don't laugh when I say this, but they might have more talent, first through eighth man, than any other team in the country. These guys have size, speed, dexterity, and can play at any pace. They've got a quintet of NBA prospects in Heytvelt, Pargo, Bouldin, Downs, and Daye (and maybe even Gray from Bainbridge), and a steely senior leader in David Pendergraft, who's so ubiquitous that it feels like he's in his eighth collegiate year.

The problem? Maybe too much division of labor. For instance: Who's their go-to guy? Should be Bouldin or Pargo, but neither underclassmen has quite grown into that role. So while this squad should scare the pants off anyone they face in the tourney, smart money's on next year being the year of the Dog — if Heytvelt doesn't try his luck in the pro draft.

Topics: Gonzaga

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Gonzaga Overcomes Home-Cookin'

First, let's talk about the boring game: The Sonics, for the second night in a row, hung around for three quarters against a very good Texan team (in this case, Houston) before tanking in the fourth. Ray Allen was magnificent offensively and the Border Collie (21 points, 17 rebounds) continued his string of double-doubles. But Weezy and the rest of the crew were virtually nonexistent. Collison, at this point, may be the story of the season, playing exactly like he did at Kansas and almost justifying his sky-high draft selection (almost). But, hey, Damien Wilkins need to start. Not because Mikey "Basquiat" Gelabale has been bad as a starter, but because unless he starts, Wilkins is either maddeningly inconsistent or doesn't seem to get proper minutes on a team that needs his offense. Also, Earl Watson needs to be told to shoot only when he's wide open and/or the shot clock's running down. He doesn't just miss three pointers, he misses them by a colossal margin.

But on to more exciting things: Anyone watch that 2OT Gonzaga victory at Stanford last night, which came on right after the Sonic's snoozer? Wow, did the referees try with all their might to give that game to the Cardinal, which has more players who look like butch lesbians than I have ever seen assembled on one roster. When Gonzaga was on D, obvious charges became blocks and boxing out became over-the-back. I haven't seen that much home-cooking since the days of Hickory High. Yet Gonzaga, behind the heroic one-on-one play of Jeremy Pargo and Derek Ravio, still managed to win. The notion that the Bulldogs are a bubble team is a bit foolhardy: With a creampuff conference schedule and non-conference wins against North Carolina, Texas, Washington and Stanford, the 'Zags'll be there come March.

Topics: Gonzaga and Sonics

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